Join Lewisham Cyclists for this Essex Lanes explore. It's a short hop from Liverpool Street to to Bishops Stortford and only a 37 minute train ride ride which should help to maximise the riding time in the available daylight. Anyone wanting to do some Christmas shopping could leave the ride in the very nice Essex town of Saffron Walden. It's on the same train line as Bishop's Stortford so there are no complications involved with fare adjustments - just get a return to Saffron Walden.The ride loops back to Bishops Stortford from Saffron Walden on quiet roads.

Depending on pace this ride could finish in the dark so it is important that you bring lights.

Pub lunch.

Suitable for any bike.

Report

A bright, clear and sunny December day tempted 8 riders for the early 08:30 meeting at Liverpool Street.

Ian, Robert, Gary, Colin, Jane, Ke, Bill and Alan.

Having been turned away from the Stanstead Express, no bikes allowed on this train unless they are folding. There’s only room for suitcases and major polluting air travellers so we settled for the slightly slower and emptier service to Cambridge.

Disembarking from the train we squinted into the bright winter sun, low enough on the horizon to make Colin dash (unsuccessfully) to a nearby shop in search of sunglasses. Anyway the journey out of Bishop Stortford would be predominantly north bound with the sun permanently behind our backs.

So we headed north, with the River Stort to our right and after 5 miles we reached Manuden our first nice Essex village with its beautiful Elizabethan wonky walled houses and thatched cottages .At Manuden we turned off the quiet lane we had been riding on onto an even quieter, narrower lane that took us to Rickling Green, Widdlington and into Saffron Walden.

The ride description had said something about Christmas shopping in Saffron Walden, but a quick visual inventory of the bunch I was with told me I was with cyclists and not shoppers and I hustled the bunch through the town without mentioning we had arrived.

So out of Saffron Walden we went west passing Audely End Station and the telegraph pole with a proliferation of Sustrans route 11 stickers that point in every direction and was remembered by all who had done the Saffron Walden to Cambridge ride in October (photographs). Fortunately we kenw where we were going.

Into Arkesden and it was midday and the Morning Advertiser’s Anglia Best Food Pub 2006, Axe and Compass, enticed us through its doors. The food I ate deserved its accolade but I found the yes sir, no sir after everything I said to the barman sycophantic and irritating. Give me a what you see is what you get ‘matey’ Aussie (despite the current situation in the cricket) any day of the week. The pub was good though comfortable and cosy with a roaring fire and the food excellent, but pricy. My Chicken Supreme was £11.95 and other meals seemed to range between 10 to 15 pounds. There was also a sandwich selection for 4 to 5 pounds and the vegetarian section of the ride told me that their food was nice but fairly ordinary.

Dinner eaten and we headed south, now into the sun to return to Bishop’s Stortford. The route took us through Hill Green to Clavering where the group took great delight in riding backwards and forwards through the ford. Kids and water! The bare branches of the trees which had had all their remaining leaves torn from them by the high winds and heavy rain of the past few days produced a strobe effect as the sun shone through from behind. It’s worth noting that it’s worth considering taking sun glasses with you on a ride even at this time of the year as the low on the horizon sun can be very annoying. They will also stop your eyes watering as you whiz down hill in the cool air. I overshot a couple of turns because mine were streaming and I couldn’t read the GPS.

We arrived back in Bishop’s Stortford at 14:50 jumped on the first train which as it happened turned out to be the Stanstead Express. It wasn’t announced at the station and the departure board also didn’t detail this information. It was easy to tell once you got on, we were obviously  in the coach reserved for Italians, Gucci luggage, stylish clothes and passionate expressive conversation although none of them were more expressive that the loud Englishman in the corner venting his anger to a mate on the phone about unions, managers, Tony Blair and George Bush. To summarise “Fucking cunts, all of them” Even the Italians understood and were obviously amused. The guard/ticket checker was resigned to the fact that we were on the train, told us we shouldn’t be but let us stay on.

Stats.
8 riders
38.1 miles
5 hours
2008 feet of climbing – a rolling ride.
Fatalities - 1 dead pheasant and 1 dead deer (Ahhh. . . )
1 puncture

Thanks everyone for another good day out.

Ian Pendleton
Lewisham Cyclists