Wayfarer’s B Group Ride to Harlington

Twenty-four riders signed up for this ride from 11’s at Molesey Boat Club, so three groups were needed. Julie kindly volunteered to lead one group, and a late recruit, Bernard, stepped in to lead the third.

Groups were:

• Group 1: Bernard, Sabina, Stephen, Tim G, Mick A, Tim C, Nigel A, Keith, Ian, and Dawn

• Group 2: Tony, Liz, Diane, Pete B, Gill F, Sue F, Geoff, and Steph

• Group 3: Julie, John C, Robert T, Dave F, John A, and Arwyn

Group sizes shifted a little due to last-minute dropouts and latecomers.

We left 11’s heading toward Hampton Court Bridge, then into Bushy Park and along Cobbler’s Walk, making our way to Fulwell and the A316 before turning onto the off-road River Crane path. We emerged at Hanworth Road and continued off-road toward Feltham.

A brief stop at 22 Gladstone Avenue—the former home of Freddie Mercury, complete with a blue plaque—was a highlight for many.

We continued through various side roads and bike paths to Hatton Cross, into Heathrow briefly, and then joined another section of the River Crane path to Cranford. Crossing the Bath Road, we followed Cranford Lane into Harlington and the White Hart pub for lunch. Although we’d started at ten-minute intervals, all three groups arrived almost simultaneously!

With 24 hungry cyclists, I expected a long wait for food, but the service was impressively quick. Meals arrived promptly and were very good—yes, Fixie Dave had his fish and chips! The pub had set aside the entire dining room for us, so we could all sit together and enjoy plenty of banter and good conversation. Time passed quickly, and soon it was time to roll again.

We set off in intervals once more but often caught sight of the group ahead. At Harmondsworth, we paused to view the Sir Barnes Wallis memorial—he did much of the development work on the bouncing bomb here and was instrumental in the design of the Wellington Bomber.

From there, we continued toward Longford, then re-entered Heathrow to follow the cycle path along the western edge of the airport, exiting at Stanwell and heading south. Due to traffic, all three groups briefly came together near Ashford before reforming. Soon after, we reached Charlton, and then it was just a short cycle to tea at Squires, Halliford. My group arrived first—oops! We were meant to be the middle group.

Not everyone stopped for tea as dusk was drawing in, but for me, it was an easy five miles home from there.

All in all, a great day out: slightly chilly but with some sunshine and, best of all, no rain.

Thank you all for joining the ride—special thanks to Julie and Bernard for sub-leading, and to Geoff for back-marking my group and looking after Diane.

Tony.