Meeting Points

Meeting Place : 09:30 Bromley South Station Forecourt

The Ride

We will leave suburbia fairly rapidly ...around 4 miles from the start we get to Keston...where leafy lanes take over .. then drop down into the old hamlet of Nash ...after which we press on to Keston Church ...after this the ride proceeds to the village of Downe - and ascends uphill till we pass by Charles Darwin's house .
On we will press to Knockholt and thence to Halstead..before crossing the M25 and to Eynsford via Shoreham . At Eynsford anyone who has run out of steam can get the train back to Bromley .

For those stawarts with with energy left we will first refuel at the congenial pub called the Fighting Coaks in Horton Kirby : http://www.spiderdesign.tv/fightingcocks/
then we press on up to Fawkham Green and thence to Knock Mill ...before plunging down the beautiful Knatts Valley ,then passing through the  remarkably unspoiled Farningham village ...and up over Crockenhill ...before dropping down into Chelsfield . The last 3 miles or so are prospectively going to be along the A21 - which provides a swift route into Bromley ...or we could try and find a quieter route through the back doubles if ayone feels strongly enough about it .

So ...mostly lanes ..some main roads ...a chance to see some very pleasing places ...but there are quite a few hills ...albeit the last few miles are mostly downhill

Report

photos

6 of us at Bromley South – Captain Andrew, Ian, Jo, Katie, Michael and William met bright and early for a non-train foray into the Kent countryside. After only a few miles of the A-roads of Bromley and Keston we were soon trundling into more rural parts. We passed through the wonderfully quiet villages of Downe (with Darwin's House), Luxted and Knockholt. Hills abounded, and Michael on his Marin was doing the business on the ascends.

It was around this point that we began to marvel at the astonishing amount of cyclists, at first two or three, but then suddenly groups and groups of lycra clad racers with club shirts proceeded to gather and pass our gallant group of riders. 'Maybe we should be getting our own shirts' I mused, to which one old boy on his Roberts bike said 'You should, you know!'  Later on, we all wondered why these groups choose to do the same 30 miles every week-end, it just seems a waste of the countryside and a lack of exploration. I guess we are just a non-structural and motley crew!

Moving on through Halstead, we quickly skirted over the M25, down towards Shoreham, and then past Lullingstone House, the Roman villa (recommended) up and down some undulation passing the Bailey bridge (according to William's knowledge), Eynsford Castle. After Eynsford and Farningham it was only a few miles more to our rest-stop.

Lunch was at the Fighting Cocks pub in Horton Kirby, still a work in progress but the food menu was pretty darn good. My risotto was lovely, and followed by a calorific bannoffee pie the carb  levels were topped up. It was needed too as there was more climbing.

Once Ian's puncture had been fixed, straight after the pub there was a 5 mile gradual uphill. Spin not grind advises Ian of Orpington. We then had some cracking up and downhills, with the surrounding sound of Brands Hatch whining away. After a windy climb over the M25, we felt as if we had nearly left the tranquil space and onto the edge of the city – aided by the fantastic views of London and the amount of cars we were now sharing  the lanes with! The hills however continued on and on until we reached the reaches of Orpington and Bromley.

What a fantastic ride this was, challenging, but in a very good way indeed. Many thanks to Andrew for a fantastic route and to Ian for his great pictures!

Katie Collis