Basingstoke Loop

Saturday, 27 April 2013 - 9:00am - 6:00pm

New territory for Wheelers....don't be put off by "Basingstoke" in the title. If all you've seen is the railway station or the main roads, then you have a treat in store. Colin will lead you through delightful and gently undulating countryside, passing pretty hamlets and some important Tudor mansions and interesting old churches.  Never far from Basingstoke if you need to drop out.  Pub lunch. 

Meet at 9am outside the National Rail ticket office at Waterloo station for a 9.15am train. Tickets £21.30 return (£10.65 with a groupsave)

Ride Leader: Colin [colinhp@btinternet.com]

Ride difficulty: 
Moderate
Ride distance: 
45 miles
Number of riders: 
10
Ride report: 

Ten of us in total rode 45 miles in sunshine (mainly) but some brief showers (of rain, hail and snow!!).  A few history stops along the way -- Basing House, now a ruin but once a 360-room Royalist garrison besieged by Parliamentary Forces for two years until the walls were finally breached in October 1645 by the heavy cannon brought in by Oliver Cromwell.  This English Civil Wall ultimately led to the beheading of Charles 1 in January 1649; an interesting old church with a Jacobean pulpit, 13/14th century timbers, and bells that have summoned parishioners to worship for over 500 years.  The church contains the tomb of John Keate who for 24 years was the 'flogging' Headmaster of Eton College and for the following 24 years was Rector of the Parish; Stratfield Saye House, built in 1630 by Sir William Pitt, Comptroller of the Household to James 1 and gifted by a grateful nation to the Duke of Wellington following the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, and still occupied by the Wellington family; The Vine, a Tudor mansion built in the 16th century for Henry V111's Lord Chamberlain and visited by Henry a number of times including in 1535 with Anne Boleyn (later executed on 19 May 1536 on (probably false) charges of incest and witchcraft.  Newly superbly renovated thatched pub for lunch where the food was good and reasonably priced but service was slow even though the food order had been telephoned through at 10.30am and they had been kept updated with the time of our arrival.  A generally fairly flat ride through lovely countryside and some pretty hamlets, all on quiet roads.  Arriving back at Basingstoke Station just before 6pm the Waterloo train pulled in as we were carrying our bikes up the stairs (it is a frequent and fast service) and 52 minutes later we were back in London.

Colin

back to Ride reports

Tower Hamlets Wheelers

  • Home
  • About
  • News
  • Campaigns
  • Events & Rides
  • Workshop
  • Local Info
  • Contact

Upcoming rides & events

Saturday, 9 July
16th Annual Glamour Ride

Rides information

Our rides are highlighted by "RIDE". You don't have to be a member to join in and we're also always looking for new ride ideas. Contact our Rides Co-ordinator for further information.

There is no need to register beforehand for a ride unless this is specifically stated, most rides are "turn up and go".

If you haven't ridden with us before please read our Ride Guidance Notes.

Please note that for train assisted rides we often cannot publish times until about 2 weeks beforehand because of the need to check engineering works. Also sometimes our ride leaders do have to change dates/times/routes at reasonably short notice. Generally this website will be up to date and also details will be sent out to our email groups, but if in doubt contact the ride leader or our rides co-ordinator to check arrangements.

Social media & email groups

Keep in touch with local cycling issues and events by joining one of our email groups.

Follow @thwheelers
Join us on Facebook
Watch us on YouTube

Copyright © 2022 Tower Hamlets Wheelers
Borough group of the London Cycling Campaign Registered Charity No: 1115789