Bit nippy out

The three of us, my brother Peter and a friend Tony regularly ride around Petersfield in Hampshire on Sunday mornings. On this occasion we chose a route produced by the enlightened Hampshire County Council and rated “moderate”. An early 7am start paid off – bright, sunny but cold with a frost to harden the trails.

A couple of miles on the road from Petersfield to Buriton warmed us up before heading for Buriton pond. From here a track took us up on to the South Downs Way.

Easy rolling

This climb soon finsihed off the warming up and any thoughts of warm beds and hangovers soon left us. We continued on the South Downs Way heading east for about a mile. This section of the SDW is gravel and in good condition with short climbs to get the heart rate going and some quick descents.

Scarier than it looks

Reaching Coulters Dean Farm we turned right off the South Downs Way and on to a bridleway which climbs
through the woods before dropping down onto a tarmac road
leading to Ditcham Park School. From here we picked up another bridleway again which leads to one of the highlights of the ride – a very steep narrow descent with loose flints a barbed wire fence on one side and woods on the other. It’s a trail that deserves a name, and we’ve called this one the Widowmaker. The
picture doesn’t do the incline justice…

Attacking out of the sun

After that something a little more mellow is in order. Thankfully the route takes us through some easy forestry land allowing us to regain our composure. Eventually it pops out on to Tarmac again through Chalton. There’s a good pub here if you’re in need of refreshment, but today we pressed on.

See? Hills…

About a mile after Chalton we turn right (opposite the Iron Age Farm) onto a
bridleway leading to the edge of Queen Elizabeth Country Park. If you have the time, dwell here a while – there’s a cafe at the visitor centre and purpose-built trails in the woods.

Finally, we headed for home through QECP and back to Buriton pond. The route has a bit of everything and stunning scenery, certainly a good bit of work from Hants council. It’s definitely worth doing earlier in the day when no one is around. It took us about two hours to complete with loads of stops for photos and came in at about eighteen miles in total.

This and other routes are available from http://www.hants.gov.uk/cycling/routes.html.