Chilterns Ridge and Thames Valley · short arc

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. London motorcycle escapes

   The Greensand Ridge runs across Bedfordshire like a low spine, and Potton and Gamlingay lie on its eastern edge, a pair of small towns of brick and clay tile that once made their living from the soil. Potton, with nearly five thousand people, was famous for its market gardens, and Gamlingay, with about thirty-two hundred, has an old heath and woodland, the Gamlingay Wood, which has been managed for nearly a thousand years and is one of the oldest in the county. Everton, a tiny village nearby, sits on the ridge with views over the Ivel valley.

   Read the complete London motorcycle escapes write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   London motorcycle escapes is where the day begins. Next is Food stop near Wingrave.

2. 2. Food stop near Wingrave

   Planning note

   Food stop near Wingrave is where this day stops to eat. Next is Photo stop near Milford.

3. 3. Photo stop near Milford

   Milford is a village just south of Godalming in Surrey, on the old road from London to Portsmouth. The A3 runs past it, climbing south towards Hindhead and the Devil's Punch Bowl, a huge natural hollow in the sandstone hills, and that climb is the reason this is a high point on the ride.

   Read the complete Photo stop near Milford write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Chilterns Ridge and Thames Valley checkpoint 8.

4. 4. Morden

   The Northern Line ends here, deep in suburban South London, and Morden is the place commuters come home to. It is a district of semi-detached houses, parks and shopping streets, built mostly in the 1920s and 1930s when the Tube arrived and turned fields into suburbs almost overnight.

   Read the complete Morden write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chilterns Ridge and Thames Valley checkpoint 8 closes the day. Next is High point near Royal Tunbridge Wells.

5. 5. High point near Royal Tunbridge Wells

   Tunbridge Wells owes its existence to a rusty spring. In 1606 a young nobleman, Lord North, was resting in the woods here and noticed a pool with an orange scum; he tried the water, felt better and told the world. Within a few decades the court was coming down from London to drink it, and the Pantiles, a raised, colonnaded walk with trees along it, became the place to be seen taking the waters. The town was granted its Royal prefix in 1909 by Edward VII, and has been the butt of letters to the editor ever since, usually signed by someone disgusted.

   Read the complete High point near Royal Tunbridge Wells write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   High point near Royal Tunbridge Wells tops the climb. Next is Scenic stretch near Sevenoaks.

6. 6. Scenic stretch near Sevenoaks

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 300 km.