This ride mashes together elements from two previous rides: Salisbury to Winchester and the Test Valley Way.
On this humid midsummer day, we took the train from Woking to our start at Winchester, where we arrived around 1100am, despite the usual rail meltdown which seems common on this main line. After a brief visit to the magisterial Cathedral and a coffee in the town centre, we cycled out of town on the busy B3040, but soon picked up the route of the old Roman Road via Farley Mount to the village of Kings Somborne in the Test Valley, where we had lunch in the garden of the Crown Inn. We were intending to pick up the disused railway (NCN246 aka Sprat and Winkle Line, aka Test Valley Way). However, just for a change, we decided to stay on the parallel roads. Up until Stockbridge, this was a very quiet country lane, passing Marsh Court - the imposing Lutyens mansion built from brilliant white chalk stone, glimpsed through the trees. Beyond Stockbridge, there was a bit more traffic, but nothing too bad, and the reward was some impossibly lovely thatched cottages in the villages along the way, worthy of any chocolate box. We stopped for tea at the Longstock farm cafe, part of the Leckford Estate: this is owned by the John Lewis partnership and is where they grow produce for Waitrose supermarkets. We were pleased that the thunderstorms threatened in the weather forecast held off, and arrived at Whitchurch around 7pm, from where we caught the train back to Woking, having cycled 28 miles.
On this humid midsummer day, we took the train from Woking to our start at Winchester, where we arrived around 1100am, despite the usual rail meltdown which seems common on this main line. After a brief visit to the magisterial Cathedral and a coffee in the town centre, we cycled out of town on the busy B3040, but soon picked up the route of the old Roman Road via Farley Mount to the village of Kings Somborne in the Test Valley, where we had lunch in the garden of the Crown Inn. We were intending to pick up the disused railway (NCN246 aka Sprat and Winkle Line, aka Test Valley Way). However, just for a change, we decided to stay on the parallel roads. Up until Stockbridge, this was a very quiet country lane, passing Marsh Court - the imposing Lutyens mansion built from brilliant white chalk stone, glimpsed through the trees. Beyond Stockbridge, there was a bit more traffic, but nothing too bad, and the reward was some impossibly lovely thatched cottages in the villages along the way, worthy of any chocolate box. We stopped for tea at the Longstock farm cafe, part of the Leckford Estate: this is owned by the John Lewis partnership and is where they grow produce for Waitrose supermarkets. We were pleased that the thunderstorms threatened in the weather forecast held off, and arrived at Whitchurch around 7pm, from where we caught the train back to Woking, having cycled 28 miles.
 |
| We made a brief diversion to Winchester Cathedral |
 |
| The monument on Farley Mount: it is the tomb of a horse called 'Beware Chalk Pit'. As the inscription explains: "Underneath lies buried a horse, the property of Paulet St. John Esq, that in the month of September 1733 leaped into a chalk pit twenty-five feet deep a foxhunting with his master on his back and in October 1734 he won the Hunters Plate on Worthy Downs and was rode by his owner and was entered in the name of Beware Chalk Pit" |
 |
| Farley Mount is an excellent viewpoint, though somewhat hazy today |
 |
| You can tell where the road follows the old Roman Road to Salisbury (Sarum): dead straight |
 |
| Crown Inn, Kings Somborne |
 |
| The lane out of Kings Somborne was quite a climb |
 |
| Instead of taking the disused railway, we followed this quiet lane along the Test Valley |
 |
| The signature Lutyens steep pitched rooves and tall chimneys, and the brilliant white walls, of Marsh Court are just visible |
 |
| Stockbridge |
 |
| Lovely thatched cottage - 1 |
 |
| The River Test |
 |
| The access road to the Longstock emporium at the Leckford Estate |
 |
| Longstock garden centre |
 |
| Lovely thatched cottage - 2 |
 |
| Lovely thatched cottage - 3 |
 |
| Longparish church |
 |
| The River Test again |
 |
| On the platform at Whitchurch station |
Comments
Post a Comment