North Wessex Downs Flow

A 433 km loop

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

Leave the city behind and spend the day on roads with texture. A 433 km loop that starts and ends near Old Windsor, about 8 h 01 of riding. On the way it passes in Wivelsfield Green, Cranbrook and near Great Dunmow. near Bracknell is the high point.

Roadbook

1. Fuel stop in Old Windsor fuel

   Fuel at 0 km.

2. High point near Bracknell pass

   You top out here; the road stops climbing.

3. Food stop in Wivelsfield Green food

   A break here at 124 km.

4. Near Cranbrook, on the way back swim

   The High Weald of Kent is a landscape of small fields, sunken lanes, oak woods and oast houses with their white cowls turning in the wind, and Cranbrook sits right in the middle of it. The town is small, about four and a half thousand people, with white weatherboarded houses and the tall Union Windmill rising over the rooftops, one of the finest working smock mills in England.

   Cranbrook grew rich on cloth. In the late Middle Ages Flemish weavers settled in the Weald, and the broadcloth made here was sold across Europe; the big church, sometimes called the Cathedral of the Weald, was paid for by that wealth. In the eighteenth century the area had a darker reputation, as the Hawkhurst Gang, a notorious band of smugglers, ran contraband through these lanes from the coast and terrorised anyone who stood in their way. A few kilometres north, Sissinghurst Castle is home to the famous garden made by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930s, with its White Garden and its brick tower, and it draws visitors from all over the world.

   On swimming, be realistic. There are no natural lakes here, and the rivers are small. Bewl Water, the big reservoir a few kilometres west, is the nearest large body of water, and while it has hosted organised open-water swimming at times, free swimming is not allowed. If you want to cool off, a shaded pub garden or the woodland at Bedgebury, the national pinetum near Goudhurst, may be the better plan.

   The riding is the real pleasure of the Weald. The roads twist and dip constantly, with short steep climbs, blind crests and tight bends between hedges, and the surface can be patchy, with gravel at junctions and mud from farm gateways. In spring, the woods fill with bluebells, and in autumn the colours are rich. Traffic is light on the lanes, but be ready for horse riders, cyclists and wide farm machinery around every corner.

   Cranbrook has cafés, pubs and shops, and fuel can be found nearby. Tenterden, about eight kilometres east, is the nearest larger town, with a broad tree-lined high street, its own steam railway and good services. Hawkhurst and Sissinghurst are close too, and the ride home towards London can be as fast or as slow as you like.

5. Photo stop near Great Dunmow photo

   Photo stop near Great Dunmow sits at 247 km, about halfway.

6. Scenic stretch near Old Harlow scenic

   Scenic stretch near Old Harlow comes up 309 km in.

7. Near Brent finish

   The Hanger Lane gyratory has a fearsome reputation among London drivers, and this finish lies right next to it, between Ealing, Alperton and Park Royal. It is a sprawling roundabout system where the A40 Western Avenue meets the North Circular, with traffic lights, lanes and junctions that confuse even regulars. Keep your wits about you and know your exit before you arrive.

   Ealing, to the south, likes to call itself the Queen of the Suburbs, a leafy district of Victorian houses, parks and a busy town centre. Its film studios are said to be the oldest continuously working studios in the world, and the Ealing comedies of the 1940s and 1950s made the name famous. Pitzhanger Manor, the country house that the architect John Soane designed for himself, has been beautifully restored and is open to visitors.

   Park Royal, to the north-east, is one of the largest industrial estates in London, and for decades it was home to the Guinness brewery, which closed in 2005. The Grand Union Canal winds through it, and its towpath is a surprisingly peaceful route through the industrial landscape.

   Coming back from the North Wessex Downs, the M4 or the A40 brings you into London, and the final stretch is a test of patience. Traffic is heavy, especially at rush hour, and the North Circular is often jammed.

   Once off the gyratory, the world calms quickly. Ealing Green, with its old trees and the studio gates on one side, is a five-minute ride away and a far better place to end than a petrol forecourt, though there are plenty of those too.

8. Back to North Wessex finish

   Runnymede is a few minutes away, and it carries more weight than any other meadow in England. King John sealed Magna Carta there in June 1215, and a memorial stands on the riverbank, with another to John F. Kennedy on a hillside above.

   It is a good place to finish a ride that crossed the Wessex Downs. The roads here are flat and busy, with traffic lights and roundabouts, and the surface is generally good, though patched in places. But Windsor Great Park, just south, has long straight avenues and quiet lanes, with ancient oaks and herds of deer, and the Long Walk, which runs three miles from the castle to the Copper Horse statue, is one of the finest avenues in the country. Vehicles are not allowed on the Long Walk, so park and walk.

   The river is the real feature. The Thames here is wide and slow, with meadows, locks and boat houses, and swans and geese gather along the banks. Datchet has a pretty green, a village pub and a long bridge over the river, and Old Windsor has an old priory site and a church with a tower. The castle, which has been a royal residence for almost a thousand years, is the largest inhabited castle in the world, and its walls dominate the skyline for miles around.

   Fuel is easy at Windsor and Old Windsor, with stations and supermarkets, and the streets of Windsor have cafes and pubs for every taste. A pint by the river, with the castle across the water, is a fine ending to a day.

   Heathrow's flight path is nearby, so expect aircraft overhead, but the quiet of the meadow is a surprising contrast.

Where this sits

Rides near here