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Two of us (Greg and Hatchy) turned up at Ken’s at 0830 as instructed, and after cups of tea in West Hill Mugs we set out with Ken for an action-packed Bish Bosh Mystery Tour Weekend of cycling and Youth Hostelling.
Pedalling briskly along the delights of
Dartford roadways and old canal towpaths, with their modern art
collections of dead settees and old fridges, the three of us soon
arrived at the Dartford Tunnel. The cycles were loaded onto a
cycle carrier on the Land Rover, and driven through to the North
side. At Aveley, we met Alan W, distributed the Boules amongst
the four of us to share out the weight, and forsaking bacon
sarnies at the nearby Greasy Spoon Caff, we headed off into to
Deepest Essex.
A motley crew we made, with Ken's squeaky bike, his saddle awry and Alan's back tyre very wobbly. At the Belhus Wood country park, we adjusted Ken's saddle, yielding a miniscule improvement in comfort, and an hour or so later we arrived at Horndon on the Hill.
Our unsuccessful search for a cuppa brought us to the local picturesque Church. In the churchyard, Ken found a War Grave, with recently replace tombstone, commemorating an injured soldier who had been shipped back to Essex, but who had subsequently died. Inside the church, a massive, original, oak timber frame supported the belfry. After a chat with the ladies arranging the flowers, and a slice of Greg's homemade fruitcake, we set off southwards.
However, shortly after crossing the A13,
my rear tyre suffered a puncture, due to rather vicious thorns
picked up along a lane where the hedge had been recently trimmed
... After a few hundred yards on, and another puncture appeared
in the same wheel .... now I know why the trip was subtitled as
Hatchy's Cycle Maintenance and Puncture Repair Course ....
Punctures fixed, we meandered along
Essex lanes, and signs to Tilbury became apparrent. Cycling past
the fort, we arrived at the passenger ferry just in time to make
the crossing to Gravesend ... and for Greg to have yet another
puncture.
At Gravesend, we sought a pub, and Greg
proceeded with repairs. Lunch arrived, and was consumed. Alan W
discovered that a hairdressers shop he used to go to as a
teenager (due to its racy magazines and weekend supplies) had its
decor was unchanged from the 1960s, with the original owner still
doing short back and sides ....
But as we made ready to go, the tyre was flat again. This time, I took the rear wheel off, carefully inspected tyre (nothing wrong), and installed the spare tube that I'd carried unused for hundereds of miles. Puncture thus eliminated rather than fixed, we set off eastwards, along UK Cycle Route No.1, adjacent to the Thames and Medway Canal. Arriving at Lower Higham, with the Railway Pub, frequented by Frog Island Morris, we then turned south and began the long climb up the North Downs.
Over the A2 to Cobham (Kent, not Surrey), then Lower Luddesdown. Pleasant countryside, harvest in, Autumn just beginning, good cycling weather, no rain, light wind, occasional sun. This is what it's all about.
A left fork along Wrangling Lane took us
up a climb to Dode Church, below which a fete seemed to be in
full swing, with music supplied by a vastly amplified Mad Pianist.
The road fizzled out into a cart track, then a steeply ascended
along a rough track stewn with lumps of chalk and flints,
eventually joining White Horse Road.
Then, the descent. All that hard work
dissipated in a few short minutes. Through Birling, Westwards to
Ryarsh, up the hill and over the M20 to Addington (another Surrey
village name in Kent), where Ken had arranged for us to see the
reamins of a neolithic tomb in someone's garden. We had a good
look around at the impressive stones, then tried dowsing for
energy fields. Alan got very consistent readings, but I coudn't
detect anything.
So, on to Wrotham, up a section of the A20, Ken and Alan stoically pressing on. Time had ticked by, and as the shops in Kemsing would be shut when we got there, we shopped for breakfast at a mini supermarket in Wrotham. Then, we followed reasonably level lanes, and arrived in Kemsing as dusk was falling.
The Youth Hostel -- situated up a hill
of course -- was most welcome, and we checked in and quickly made
steaming mugs of tea. We had covered 56 miles that day, enough
for most, and a truly sterling performance from the out of
practice cyclists.
After excellent steak and kidney pie at
the Pub, we were joined by Ted, Jan, Furley, who thrashed us at
Darts.
A pleasant end to a most excellent day, marred only by intrusive pub music.
Breakfast was a team effort, resulting
in Bacon and Scambled Egg, but the Toast Mountain became the
Burger Bun Mountain, as there was no ordinary bread in the shop
yesterday. Then tea and packing up - and fix of Greg's leaky
inner tube from Saturday - due to dud patch !!
The suggestion of lubricating Ken's chain with spare Utterly Butterly was negatived, and off we set.
First stop was Otford, where we admired the Grade II Listed Pond, with ducks and fish both large and small. We visited the War Memorial, then set off through the village towards Knockholt. A steady climb, then over the M25 to the delights of Star Hill. Crikey, what an ascent. Greg was first up to the top (he very nearly had to walk up), and played us in on his concertina.
Through Knockholt, then to Cudham, and another mega climb up Church Hill to Jail Lane. Past the Old Jail Pub - no tea before 11.30am despite willing customers - and we arrived at Biggin Hill.
In the airport entrance is St Georges
Chapel, commemorating aircrew and support services during WW II.
The interior has the atmosphere of an aircraft hanger, and the
stained glass windows have unusual modern motifs depicting the
Air Force and support services. (Note to the image copyright
owners, we will gladly remove the image if you object to it being
shown here).
Next, on to the Roman Villa and Cemetary
at Keston - open that day only. Aha - a long awaited supply of
Tea and Cakes was available, so in we went and refreshed
ourselves. (Details - Bromley and W Kent Arch. Group, 5, Harvest
Bank Road, W Wickham, BR4 9DL).
Continuing on to Keston, we looked in at
the Windmill, but decided not to join the long queue of visitors,
and contented ourselves with photos.
Lunch beckoned at the Greyhound at Keston, and afterwards we just managed to get in a game or two of Boules on the green by the pub before the first rain of the weekend arrived. Greg split off home with the Boules - total 27 miles on Sunday, and the others returned to Dartford.
On the way back we called in at a is an
brick and flint Edwardian Bath House, located at in the garden of
a private house in the North Cray Road. This is filled from the
River Cray - unheated water - and Ken decided to give it a go.
Freezing cold !!
Our intrepid cyclists arrived back home, weary but elated, having cycled a total of 83 miles. Every congratulation to the less fit cyclists for making it through the weekend, determinedly pushing up the hills as the miles rolled by!
And here endeth the Bish Bosh Cycling Tour 2002 report!
Greg - 15 Oct 2002
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