Francis reports about his day with Team 1:
The beauty about Tim's circular Guildford route was that it was possible to visit previously out of the way towns and quaint villages such as Tilford, The Sands and Elstead, and the added bonus of lunch at the picturesque Barley Mow pub at Tilford and its two ancient pack horse bridges and the Tilford Oak.
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| sculpture by artist Daren Greenhow (2015) |
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| Steph's photo of the ancient Tilford Oak |
As it was a Tim C ride, we had a variety of off-road terrain ranging from soft sand, gravel, firm wooded paths, all a joy to ride under mostly shaded paths such as Cleygate Copse, Green Lane East and Christmas Pie trail.
Post lunch, we noticed the sudden rise in temperatures but thankfully we had a short 12 miles back to Guildford via the historic village of Farncombe.
It was well worth coming out to Guildford to enjoy Tim's route and the excellent pub in Tilford.
My thanks to my group of Paul J, Mick A, Steph and back-marker Stephen H for your fun company and support.
~ Francis___________________________________
Tim reports about his day with Team 2:
We understood when we did our recce that the café staff in the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre were looking forward to our visit. And despite the forecast of high temperatures over 30°C the turnout from A and B groups was good. Ian joined us for Elevenses but sadly, due to serious issues with Sonia’s car, he had to ride back to Cobham to get it fixed.
My second group was away slightly ahead of time and, as planned, intercepted John outside the station. There was some conversation in the peloton about how awful it is cycling in the Guildford Town centre, prompted in part by the closure of our favourite route from the station to the theatre. So I was pleased to lead the team, Julie, John and Chris, out through the University and onto a sequence of high quality cycling routes taking us away from the town and into the suburbs.
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| "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle" |
The sculpture suggests that a fish might have some use for a bicycle after all.
At the edge of suburbia we turned off Applegarth Avenue into a narrow path, passed through a gateway and ventured into the woodland shrubbery which lines the Chrismas Pie Trail and were soon brushing through the nettles, negotiating the tree roots, small mounds of horse dung, and other micro-undulations in Broadstreet Common, through to Broad Street where we passed The Royal Oak in Wood Street Green. This pub used to be a popular destination for us but sadly it closed down in March, 2025.
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| Crossing under the railway line after Cleygate Copse |
Just after Flexford and near Wanborough Station we passed through Christmaspie. We kept our eyes peeled but there didn’t seem to be anything there and we were unable to verify that it is an actual place. But small hamlets like this one are entitled to their own sense of place. This is one of several on the southern border of the Parish of Normandy; to learn more about the local history of this locality it is illuminating to read a short article by a local historian, Jack Kinder. The content is possibly more pastry than filling and you may be none the wiser, but thank goodness for historians who work to preserve local knowledge like this in their communities.
Where were we?
Oh yes!
More than once, when we thought that stretches of tarmac would continue all the way to lunch we would find ourselves back on the rough stuff for most of the way to Tongham.
John had some anxiety about how we would get from the north to the south side of the Hogs Back but just beyond the Hogs Back brewery we moved onto the footpath, passed under the A31, and took a couple of very tight hairpins on the narrow path to drop down into Sandy Cross and towards the land of the golf courses.
Some scenic cruising through rather majestic forest brought us closer to our lunches but we had to stop for team photos on one of the ancient packhorse bridges in Tilford, the West Bridge. The two bridges were built by Cistercian monks of nearby Waverley Abbey in the 13th Century and each spans a different arm of the River Wey. Perhaps they were built to provide the monks with easier routes to The Barley Mow, as indeed they did for us.
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| Crossing the West Bridge, Tilford |
Seven of us had preordered our lunches and we were pleased to enjoy warm hospitality, friendly service and good food when we arrived. And we were glad to be eating inside where it was cool and breezy. John was able to buy himself a chocolate dessert from the Little Latte café next to the pub.
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Good fare at The Barley Mow |
We walked across the old Packhorse Bridge (the East Bridge) then down a short track to the river to have a good look at the ancient structure, which in a major project was recently rebuilt after sustaining major damage from a vehicle crash in 2017. And of course, more team photos were required.
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| Beautifully restored after serious damage in 2017 |
Up the hill from the old bridge we turned into Whitmead Lane for a stretch along part of the Medieval Waverley trail. With the soft surface, loose gravel and occasional tree roots this was difficult riding but it’s a lovely and shady way to go. We regrouped for the faster ride on the Farnham Road, through Elstead, turning off up Shackleford Lane for some sustained climbing, up to Shackleford Heath then past Charterhouse School and through Farncombe.It’s a shame that our favourite Route 22 into Guildford is closed around the Shalford Water Works so we had to divert along the A281 before regaining Route 22 in Shalford Park.
We skipped the opportunity to take Tea at Frida’s in order to catch our various trains.
I have to thank the eight people who signed up to join Francis and myself on this adventure. The prospect of the Met. Office advising an Amber warning for today threatened the possibility of our ride going ahead and not all of us can cope with a challenging bike ride when it is this hot.
It is always enjoyable to spin off into a different orbit beyond our home territory. So thanks to everyone for coming along for the ride and making the most of our sunny day. And a big thank you to Francis for leading his team today.
~ Tim C
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