Lockdown is a real struggle for me, I deal with a lot of my emotions and thoughts by driving and riding, clocking up miles. Music going and thought process running in the background whilst I focus on a simple purposeful task, to make it somewhere else or awake somewhere new. There is something particularly simple and settling about waking up somewhere new, and particularly primal about taking in the sunrise especially on a the coast. However whilst we have been in lockdown I haven’t done any journey’s further than about 5 miles, therefore I have been thinking about the rides that are going to be top of my list when we are able to ride properly again.
Here is the first of the five, a perfect day ride to warm back into the saddle…
1 | Portsdown Loop Twisty’s
At 205 miles avoiding motorways this is a solid days ride, if you are not a fan of slightly gravelly roads or single track lanes then this ride is probably not for you. It has some larger more open roads but to keep to a reasonable time including stops this route requires making good progress when it is safe and possible to do so on all roads.
I suggest starting off with a good breakfast and an early start, on a nice summers day, some of the roads towards either end of this route are not conducive to being ridden first time in the dark.
In the clockwise direction the first ‘stop’ is Loomies in my opinion it’s a bit over hyped, it’s on this route as a meeting point for friends to join me from the south. It’s also got a conveniant petrol station next to it, which makes sure everyone has gogo juice for the rest of the day. The ride upto this point is a good technical warm up to have you prepped for the rest of the ride.
After some wiggling round East Meon the next place that is worthy of note is Old Winchester Hill, from here you can on a clear day easily see the stacks at Fawley and the Isle of Wight. If you want an easier day this is a brilliant place to stop and take a walk round the top of the hill / iron age fort, though if the weather is good it is often busy in the carpark… I would pause and get a couple of good photo’s but continue on as the road takes you over the back of the hill.
After wiggling over Old Winchester Hill and finding your way down the other side, there is a lovely tea room in Hambledon called The Old Forge Tea Rooms. They do a reasonable coffee, fantastically sweet / sickly cakes but best of all a proper sized home cooked sausage roll! If you went light on breakfast this will definitely keep you going for the next couple of hours.
The route then wiggles through the back of Denmead to Southwick, this is a great section of road though the forest that often smells fantastic after the rain. Southwick is a unique place in the fact that the whole villaged is still own by the Southwick Estate and you have to get there permission to buy a house there. They hold a wonderful historic WWII revival event every year and there is a fantastic pub at the east end of the high street called The Golden Lion, the landlord and regulars really make everyone feel welcome and they do fantastic food if you can get a booking. The limit is the size of the kitchen not the number of tables!
From Southwick it is a clear run up to Portsdown hill, if you skipped the other stops there is the well known ‘Micks Monster Burgers’ on the top of the hill. With classic burger van quality but with large size servings, the real treat here is the fantastic views out across Portsmouth and Southsea.
Down from the hill we cut across central Hampshire via Winchester to stockbridge, Winchester is a beautiful place and well worth a wander round especially near the cathedral. If you are breaking this route up or have more time you can break this transition up avoiding Winchester and take the twisty roads further south. I suggest cutting through the back of Bishops Waltham, Colden Common, Otterborne across to Hursley and then out the back of Hursley (Standon) toward Braishfield before heading towards Kings Somborne and finally to Stockbridge.
Stockbridge is easy to stop in there is a long parking layby on the outskirts of town , alternatively there is street parking either side in the centre. There are plenty of places to stop and eat, though I normally only spend 5 minutes stretching my legs if I stop here at all.
If you want to have a little fun on this next section then miss this right turn (picture below) and take the second one on Winchester Road (B3420) and come back on yourself into Wherwell, that little kink is a cracking downhill hairpin that requires smooth bike control.
The reason I don’t normally stop is because it is worth keeping the momentum and instead making a stop at the Red Lion in Overton, this is on the west of the village as you enter and nicely tucked away. Does nice food and drink and is perfect for a mid afternoon snack / stop before going for the finish line.
This route takes you out of Overton towards Kingsclere on this road lies White Hill and the views from this point are breath taking, making it a good photo stop if there aren’t too many badly parked cars around.
From Kingsclere the route becomes the ‘skirting Reading’ technical challenge with a lot of windy single track lanes again up until Henley On Thames, which if you want to stop for a fancy dinner is an excellent stop. The route then takes the main road from Henley towards Marlow, this is a cracking section of road that just flows beautifully, again Marlow (Just off the route continue past the Frieth turning) is another great dining location. If you want upmarket the Botanist does great food and cocktails (for your pillion), alternatively if you want a good eatery style dinner the Britannia is worth stopping at for a solid meal to end the day.
Finishing off the route with a nice twisty ride up through Frieth into Lane End before crossing the M40 to head back into High Wycombe. If you are going to finish the day with Dinner in High Wycombe, then the Mad Squirrel does great fresh Pizza and excellent beer, Kappad does great South Indian Food or if you fancy American then there is Bluegrass.
Maybe this time when I do this route, I will take some more pictures to go with this description.
Link to Route on TomTom – where you can view, edit and download the GPX file.
LazyModernTraveler 