Thursday 2nd August. Ashton to Sandford. Main group report from Shirley Hume: Today dawned dry, warm and cloudy [and as I write this it appears to be going to end the same way]. Just 14 of us arrived at Ashton for the split ride to The Railway Inn at Sandford. The main group led by Julian [call me Alaphilipe] Pring was told of a 25 mile ride including Dundry and West Harptree hills, while Don [Fact Finder] Ford was seducing us with promises of a flat ride and history notes. The groups sorted themselves out and 10 of us headed off, via the entrance to the Park and Ride, to cycle along deserted bus routes designated for the Metro bus, should it ever manage to get that far. Along the cycle path by the new South Bristol link road we were soon on the lower slopes of Dundry. Although this is the easiest route up Dundry you still have to get to the top and it was with some concern that we watched Mark shooting up the hill ahead of us to find out what his maximum heart rate is. Luckily Dundry is equipped with a defibrillator and most of us are competent at CPR so we were able to ensure we got him round safely [and his max HR is apparently 183, but that could have just been the reading when the monitor exploded]. Down to Winford where Chris decided to leave us and find his own way to Sandford, while the rest of us turned left for Chew Magna. As we passed Denny’s Lane and eventually turned right into Hollowbrook Lane, several people were commenting that they had only ever done that road in the opposite direction, but there was no time to lose concentration as Julian weaved his way through various less well known lanes to arrive in Bishop Sutton. We nearly managed to split the group in half, but Julian’s cunning plan was foiled by Moira, who spotted that the back of the group was out of sight. Luckily Nick was close enough to the last turn we had taken to yell at them as they whizzed past the junction. A fast ride round the lake took us to West Harptree where we turned left to tackle the hill up past the [now closed] Wellsway pub.

This was the end of the real climbing for the day and pay back came in the descent of Burrington Coombe to reach the A368. Regrouping at the bottom of the hill it was clear that Julian was up for the stage win and we were off along the A368 like a sprinter’s lead out [except the sprinter was at the front], stopping only to get everyone across the traffic lights before carrying on at an even faster pace to reach the Railway Inn at 12.03 on my watch. The moderate group were already there, having been joined by Chris towards the end, plus Brian and George with Sue and her sister Wendy. We had been placed at a large table in the restaurant where they came and took all the orders at once – meaning that the food all arrived at the same time, although it was a bit of a wait. Plenty of ciders on offer to keep the cyclists happy [or beer for those that preferred their traditional Thursday lunchtime tipple]. It was a little unclear how payment for the food was going to be taken, but Mark got a bit of a shock when he went to the bar to pay and was presented with a bill for over £160!! [Mark that was retribution for blagging chips off Nisha and Guido]. The ride home was split the same way as the ride out but we all arrived at Aimee’s Winehouse at about the same time for ice cream, where Ian Deegan suddenly appeared having not been seen all day – we are that predictable! Julian was actually able to get home first for once by peeling off at Chelvey Lane, since all our bikes can make it home from there without direction [I strongly suspect that as soon as our backs were turned he peeled off his BTOTC jersey to reveal the polka dot jersey and added in another 50 miles and at least 3 steep hills… See the route featuring two Hors Catogorie climbs here.

Thursday 2nd August – moderate paced ride report from Steve Hicks: Just fourteen riders at Ashton this morning. Julian’s ‘fast and furious’ group of ten headed off to attack Dundry, leaving a select band of four to set off down the Festival Way to Wild Country Lane and Hobbs Lane. Over the A38 took us towards Winford before turning right into Kingston Lane and then dropping down below Felton to bring us back to the A38 at Lulsgate Bottom.

We then had the joy of descending Brockley Combe with an almost clear road, then down into Brockley and on to Claverham, where we took the Wrington road and continued through to Lower Langford. Pudding Pie Lane kept us off the A38 then a short stretch on the A368 took us into Churchill, where we dived off along Front Street and worked our way around the lanes before a short stretch of main road got us to the Railway Inn bang on 12 o’clock.

This was my first visit to the Railway Inn, certainly an impressive modernisation which seems very popular judging by number of customers. The insistence on taking all of our orders together certainly caused some delay for us early arrivals, but the food was good and we were soon replete and ready to set off. The groups formed up pretty much as the outward ride so we four headed for the Strawberry Line, where we picked up Ian Deagan, and then back through Yatton and Claverham. We caught up with the main group at Brockley and made our way to Aimee’s Wine House for ice creams before going our separate ways – a grand day out. See the single hump moderate route here Thursday 9th August 2018. Amcor to Shipton Moyne. Fast group report from Bill Balchin. This day got off to a shaky start when my usual route to the start along the Old Gloucester Road was blocked by roadworks on the narrow section past the wind turbines. Luckily I just had time to do a big loop back to the A38 and Hortham Lane to join a huge crowd waiting for Shirley and Don to lead the way to the Cat and Custard Pot at Shipton Moyne. Shirley usually brings her own back marker but today husband Chris was riding with the moderates so Geoff Gaunt stepped in. With a marked drop in temperature from recent weeks, but still pleasant enough, we set off past Winterbourne’s Medieval Barn, along the high street then wriggled our way into Frampton Cotterell. Unusually we ignored Frampton End Road and made our way to Beesmore Road and across the Badminton Road at the traffic lights. Shirley told me that she prefers the route via Winterboune Down but crossing the Badminton Road at that junction with our large group was a risk too far.

Along Henfield Road with a detour around Ram Hill we turned left at the Westerleigh Road and then took the Westerleigh turning. But not on the road. The new cycle path is now open from the Westerleigh junction up to Broad Lane where you can join the gravel path over the railway crossing - and a fine job it is. As we rode along the gravel path into Westerleigh a bloke walking his dog hurrumped “oh, this is a cycle track now”. “No mate, it’s a dog toilet” I was tempted to reply but just let it pass. We did the usual climb at Wapley then descent towards Chipping Sodbury where we almost lost Mike Sennett at the turning for Dodington when he went to follow Dawn’s Easy Rider group instead of keeping straight. Luckily Peter Toft had waited on the junction to prevent such a mishap. Through Chipping Sodbury and onto the common we were now looking at thirty miles of picturesque Cotswold lanes with a pub lunch in the middle of it - perfect.

First the small matter of gaining four hundred feet or so of elevation as we passed through Old Sodbury to get to Highfields Lane, Sandpits Lane and into Hawkesbury Upton. Starveal is always a pleasure as we reached Didmarton and put in a small loop through Oldbury on the Hill. Not much sign of the hill, or a lecture on the historic church of St Arilds (you are with the fast group now) but it did cut out a chunk of main road before we crossed over into Sopworth.

Passing through Sherston we put in a loop to the south which brought us through the charming village of Easton Grey which would have been worthy of a photo if I had my wits about me. Then over the Malmsbury Road and into Shipton Moyne to find Don’s group sitting in the front garden with Keith Shepherd and Roger Solomon who became detached from the fast group at Winterbourne when Roger’s front light fell off and had to be retrieved. Sorry chaps, didn’t realise you were missing. The Cat and Custard Pot did a fine job with the meals, although Peter Metelerkamp almost had to issue a time penalty when his pot of tea exceeded the limit. Despite a ride of nearly thirty miles and requiring the pub to deliver two dozen or more meals we were still ready to leave by one fifteen. Don led his group back via the reverse of a similar route to the fast group and Shirley did the same. There must be some rich folk living in Westonbirt judging by the houses, or maybe mansions is a more appropriate word. But they would not have been more satisfied with their lives than our peloton as we continued on the lanes to the tricky junctions at Leighterton and up to the A46 where we rode to the Kilcott turning for a descent through the pretty valley. I was near the back and could not keep up with Roger on the descent of the first section. Then round a corner found him picking his bike up with several scrapes to his arm and face. Peter Toft who was nearby reckoned it was a somersault over the handlebars. Luckily Roger and bike were ok and glad he was wearing a helmet. So after Hillesley we all took it easy - for five minutes at least.

The fast route is here.

Thursday 9th August 2018. Amcor to Shipton Moyne. Report for Moderately paced ride from Don Ford: There were just 4 of us for the slower ride today. Arnold arrived late after needing a bike repair and made his own way. Phil, another regular, rode with Roger. We took the usual route to Iron Acton and rode via Chaingate Lane to speed our progress to Hillesley. Kilcott Road, which is the lane after turning right at The Fleece, is always a pleasure to cycle along but we were grateful for the cooler weather as we climbed up White Well to the A46. Andy Short was waiting for us at the lay-by before the turn to Leighterton. He had cycled up from Tresham and hopefully this is a sign he is getting over his injury.

Today’s stop at a point of interest was the cemetery just outside Leighterton. The village was the base for the Australian Flying Corps in 1918. They were training pilots as there was a severe shortage. Training was far more hazardous than combat. 14,000 pilots were killed in WWI, 8,000 of them in training. Evidence of this was the 23 burials of AFC pilots in the cemetery – 9 of them in August 1918. We carried on grateful for having the good fortune to be born at the right time and soon turned right down Bowldown Road which was a delight to cycle down today. It is long, straight and slightly downhill. With the wind behind us we made rapid progress and managed to arrive at The Cat and Custard Pot at 1210 just seconds before the main group. After an enjoyable lunch stop, 5 of us set off back with Guido and Arnold replacing Chris and Andy. It was a very easy return to Amcor spoilt only by a large load of hay slowing our normal speedy descent to Horton. We arrived at Amcor just as the main group was departing and were able to join up

Thursday 16th August. Bitton to Hinton Charterhouse. Main group report from Bill Balchin: The day that I have been wondering about finally arrived today. No not the first Thursday rain after weeks of dry sunshine – that was only a matter of time. I mean the spread of electric bikes among BTOTC regulars which has doubled since February. Although to put that statistic in context we have gone from one e-bike to two. Alf arrived at the Bitton start on a gleaming new Giant, splendid in white and orange livery. The bike was a bit more splendid than Alf who had turned out of a junction shortly after leaving home with a bit more boost than he expected, took a tumble and banged his ribs which would nag him for the rest of the day.

Although the overnight rain had been pretty heavy until early morning it had actually stopped a bit before ten at Bitton as both Pete and Don outlined their routes to the Rose and Crown at Hinton Charterhouse. Whether Pete's description of plenty of ups and downs put people off I don't know but we set of down the railway path towards Saltford with just ten of us and Keith Shepherd on back marker duty – soon reduced to nine as Chris Ludlum punctured before we left the path. A quick phone call to check and he arranged to catch us up. We may to rethink the “fast group, slow group” names as Don's lot overtook us before Saltford. Climbing out of Saltford towards Stanton Prior on silky smooth new tarmac the e-bikes were in their element. Then over the top and despite the grey day we had a picturesque view of the village where we took a left turn for Wilmington. Seen it many times – never been along there. We reached our highest point of the day with Martyn the first of the non-electric riders.

The lanes around there are in fairly poor condition with potholes and loose gravel making descending dangerous but we all kept it right side up as we found some more familiar lanes into Farmborough and Timsbury. Then a left turn into Priors Lane took me at least back to unknown lanes as we dropped into Timsbury Bottom and arrived in Paulton. The weather was improving all the time and roads becoming dryer as we turned off the road onto a cycle track called the Norton Radstock Greenway. What a peach! Obviously a former railway line, nice and flat it took us on a traffic-free ride through a corridor of trees right into the centre of Radstock where we posed for a photo outside the town's mining museum which refuses to load the correct way round.

Pete led us along a few roads before we got back onto more cycle track (possibly the Colliers Way this time) which brought us into Shoscombe and onto one of my favourite lanes – Littleton Lane - that winds its way along the line of Wellow Brook. Although things were drying nicely by now there were several slimy mud sections that threatened to have you off your bike unless you paid attention. Hello, who is that cyclist behind us? Chris had only managed to catch up. There was no way he could have followed our route but he found us well done. Into Wellow now and instead of the monster hill that goes directly to Hinton Charterhouse Pete took us right, over the ford (where the water was running under rather than over the road) and gained the height required on lanes free of cars into Norton St Philip. Then only a short run to the Rose and Crown.

The main group were still queuing at the bar when the moderate group arrived at about twenty past twelve, they have to sacrifice a bit of riding time for knowledge time at selected places of interest – including Great Chalfield Manor today. The weather had completely turned around by now and the majority ate outside in the sunshine.

There is only one logical route back from here – straight down into Midford and the two tunnels – which is what we did. The first few turned left off the main road to get onto the cycle track rather than risk the blind, uphill right turn to the Hope and Anchor. We did not see the remainder of the group after Midford so I hope everybody got home safely. So what did we have today? A fifty plus mile ride on a mixture of old and new lanes, some hills and some flat, and a fine pub lunch – that's my idea of a good day out. Touch here for today's filthy lanes as seen by the "faster" group. Thursday 16th August. Bitton to Hinton Charterhouse. Moderate group report from Don Ford:I feared I would be the only person on the alternative ride today when I woke to the heavy rain but as it turned out there were 8 of us. Catherine and Mike joined us as they were recovering from their cycling week in France. It was a scenic route to Hinton Charterhouse passing several notable manor houses. We took the Railway Path to Bath and then through the centre crossing Pulteney Bridge and along the very grand Great Pulteney Street before joining the Kennet and Avon Canal. The damp morning seemed to have discouraged pedestrians on the tow path and our progress was slowed only by the occasional dog walker and jogger. The barges were decked with flowers and several sported EU flags. We emerged on the road at Bathampton for the long climb up to Bathford and Kingsdown. Turning right at the Golf Course we were rewarded with a long descent to South Wraxall and on for a stop to admire the magnificent Great Chalfield Manor. This 14th century moated manor house is often used by the BBC, most recently for the filming of Wolf Hall and Poldark.

The lanes here are flat and attractive and we soon reached the B3109 for our descent to Bradford on Avon. The town is a bit of a bottleneck but we got through without much difficulty before turning right to join the Westwood Road and a brief pause at the entrance to Milford Manor. There is usually a fine view of the Cherwell White Horse from here but although the sky was clear behind us it was still hidden by cloud. Milford Manor is notable as the birthplace of Henry Shrapnel. As a young infantry officer he invented an exploding shell in 1784. This was extremely successful and his name became a word in the English language.

From here we passed through Westwood Village and down the extremely steep and treacherous Iford Hill for a stop outside Iford Manor. It is in an idyllic spot on the River Frome. The house is now famous for the Peto Garden and the musical performances that take place during the summer. Harold Peto created a magnificent Italian Garden here at the beginning of the 20th century and it is worth a visit. What goes steeply down must go steeply up and the climb from Iford Manor to Hinton Charterhouse is no exception. As we climbed up the steepest section of this narrow lane I was not displeased to see a vehicle approaching. It had to stop and the narrow gap it left gave us all the excuse to get off and walk. After that we were soon at the pub where the service seemed quite slick. I apologise for having to leave early for an appointment in Bath. Thanks to all who came today and to Steve for his back marking. Follow the route past the manor houses here.

Thursday 23rd August. Ashton to The White Hart at Congresbury led by Mike Finch. Main group report from Chris Ludlam. (Bill’s on holiday, have a great week.) A glorious late summer morning with wall to wall sunshine and a gentle South Westerly breeze at the start at Ashton. About 25 souls gathered for the Thursday ride. Following the team briefing given by Mike and Steve the group split in two and despite heading for the same destination headed in complete different directions. The ‘main’ group via Festival Way and the ‘moderate’ group along the Portway (see adjacent report). It seems that we use the Festival way frequently and certainly to leave Bristol to the South there are not many other possibilities for cyclists. There was an early ‘mechanical' before we had even exited Long Ashton when Keith derailed his chain from the front chain ring. Martyn flew through the peloton to inform the Patron but all was well with no impediment to our progress with the chain rapidly relocated with admiring comments on how clean it was! From Long Ashton we headed via Wild Country lane across the A38 to Winford and then Winford Manor. I was surprised how dry the roads were especially on the lanes overhung with trees given how much it rained in places overnight, lucky us. The great conditions were added to by close calls with the local wildlife with deer seen in the road. Then we descended to Chew Stoke via Featherbed Lane and the enigmatically named Pagan Hill, I wonder what the history of that is? We then headed South West via Beach Hill Common, I have always thought this would be a good place for a picnic with panoramic views of Chew Valley Lake to the South East. Then to the infamous Butcombe Triangle which, to the best of my knowledge we navigated without losing anyone. Now along Aldwick Lane where you can imagine being in continental Europe as we passed the Aldwick Estate and its vineyards. There was some speculation over how many bottles of wine you might get from such a vineyard, anyone know? The skies were beginning to cloud over a little by 11:00, as predicted by the Met Office, but no threat of rain. We headed North and crossed the A38 again without having to wait for traffic to pass, that’s a first for me. Thence via Wrington to The White Hart at Congresbury. Martyn and Phil were already there and looked like they had been there a week, what route did they take? It’s still warm enough to eat and drink outside which most of us duly did. The food took a while to arrive but when it did it was good and seemed to be enjoyed by all. The Badger bitter ran out soon after we arrived, no hardship for beer drinkers as there was also fine pint of TangleFoot to be had. Now I know some of us cycled from Yate and back today but is that that really a reason to have two lunches Mike S? You certainly looked as if you enjoyed them. We were met at the pub by George, Brian and others who had done their own rides. For the ride back to Ashton the two groups largely amalgamated. After the leisurely pub lunch we set of towards Congresbury proper with a stiff South Westerly head wind. Once at Yatton we headed North through Claverham, the wind now behind us and a great road surface, hardly needing to peddle as we sped along Then along the time honoured route to Backwell and Aimees shop/off license/ice cream parlour, the with traditional stop for a Marshfield ice cream. Andy was so overwhelmed with the experience that he needed a lie down in the shop car park.

A photo in need of caption competition I think. Thanks Mike for a great ride.

Touch here to see Mike's route to the White Hart. Opens in Strava Thursday 23rd August. Ashton to Congresbury. Moderate-paced ride report from Steve Hicks: A large turnout at Ashton this morning, with twelve opting for the moderate- paced ride to The White Hart which lies between Congresbury and Wrington. Our group today included Stuart and Jackie on the team tandem, former ‘Easy-Rider’ David, who we have not seen for some time, and Chris Hume who will only have one bike to clean this weekend with Shirley away ‘monstering’ the End to End. I had promised a route out of Bristol that we had not used for some time so we set off under the Cumberland basin complex, across the old railway bridge which is now an actual ‘guided’ part of the Metrobus route M2, around the Create Centre and eventually out on to the Portway. I had forgotten what a pleasant experience it is to ride the Portway cycle path with the morning sun on your back and just the slightest hint of a headwind; you hardly even notice the traffic! Once we got to Shirehampton, we turned left towards the river, passed the fully refurbished Lamplighters pub and took the path into the nature reserve. This was my cue to present today’s ‘place of historical interest.’ Don has introduced these cultural interludes into his recent rides so I thought I had better try to emulate his good work. The nature reserve alongside the River Avon does not immediately leap out as a place of historical interest, in fact it would be difficult to find any clues here today regarding its previous use. 100 years ago World War 1 was drawing to a conclusion and the area where we stood was the site of the Shirehampton Remount Depot. The Remount Depot, one of four in England, was a mustering point for horses and mules that had arrived by ship from the United States, Canada, Argentina and Spain. The animals stayed for 2 to 3 weeks for quarantine purposes and to check their suitability to take saddle or harness before they were shipped to the various battle fields in Europe and beyond. The site covered an area from Shirehampton to Avonmouth and included 35 paddocks, numerous stables, a barrack block, cookhouse, offices, fodder stores, a farriers shed and a veterinarian hospital. It has been estimated that 347,000 horses and mules passed through the depot between 1914 and 1919, each of them walked up through the streets from Avonmouth Dock. The Depot was manned initially by members of the Legion of Frontiersmen, a government sponsored militia spread throughout the world to protect the interests of the British Empire from hostile forces. These guys were a strange assortment of individuals who were used to living and surviving in hostile places where there was no rule of law, though they had one thing in common -their skill with animals. They wore a uniform of blue tunic shirts, riding breeches, riding boots and wide brimmed Stetson hats which caused some of the locals to think they were Canadian Mounties. The Depot became so big that the RASC were brought in to help and eventually that huge untapped equestrian community of women from rural communities were also brought in as volunteers. As you can imagine there is far more to this fascinating story available on-line. From the nature reserve, we worked our way to the Avon Bridge ramp and crossed to Pill. A meander around the car parks to Sheepway, across the footbridge to Portbury and off down Caswell Lane to Clevedon. The regular route past the Clevedon Craft Centre and across Kenn Moor brought us into Yatton, where we joined the Strawberry line for a short stretch to get us to Mendip Road, thus avoiding Yatton town centre. From here you would think it was just a matter of negotiating Wood Hill and crossing the A370 to get to the White Hart but things never go to plan and three of our group missed the turn and headed into Congresbury; however they were soon gathered up and we arrived to find no queue at the bar as the Fast and Furious had already vacated and had commandeered the outside seating. Lunch was excellent and the Tanglefoot went down very well before we all headed back to Bristol in one large group. My thanks to the eleven who joined me today, put up with my World War 1 ramblings with good humour and made it a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Special thanks to Peter Ralph for his back-marking duties and his generous support. Touch here to see Steve's route.

Thursday 30th August. Amcor to Lacock. Main group report from Bill Balchin: Ah Lacock. Famous as the village featuring in several BBC costume dramas, the Abbey in Harry Potter and also the home of William Henry Fox-Talbot generally regarded as the father of photography. And now another item to add to it's impressive palmares – a first time visit by the BTOTC to the George pub in the high street.

We had an almost perfect day for it – dry roads, bright skies and hardly a breath of wind to spin the local wind turbines sitting stationary. Not so good for the National Grid but ideal for cycling. The main topic of conversation at the Amcor start was the temperature which was boderline suitable for short sleeves. With it predicted to warm up during the day arm warmers were a popular choice among the nineteen riders, including Stuart and Jackie on the tandem, ready for Keith Shepherd to lead the way. My initial thought was that Lacock is a long way to go being as far as Chippenham, but let's wait and see how it goes.

Keith took us along the Old Gloucester Road and Perrinpit Road to avoid roadworks in Winterbourne to get us onto Frampton End Road. An impatient pick-up truck driver got a bit too close as he squeezed between our group and a central bollard going past the Globe pub but that was about the extent of unfriendly driving we experienced today. Mays Hill and Nibley Lane took us to Wapley where Roger Solomon joined us to make the number a nice round twenty. Riding as back marker I could not do my usual steaming past the group under electric power on the climb of Doddington Ash where we crossed into Tormarton and then followed mostly empty single track lanes going generally downhill past the back way into Castle Combe, Ford and Biddestone. It was a delight to be pedalling your bike under the bright sky, past fields of grazing sheep watching a long line of your pals doing the same in front of you. And then at about ten past twelve we were at our destination with about twenty eight miles covered. As it turned out it was no hardship covering that distance using Keith's route, there must be something special about lanes. We could call today WWW, that's Wonderful Wiltshire Wander.

Don's group were already seated when the main group arrived to boost the numbers up to thirty after Roger had turned back at Ford with his knee still sore from his spill a couple of weeks ago. All pubs have their preferred way of doing things and the George got us to buy drinks at the bar then sit in the restaurant where they came round and took food orders. The plan was that they would produce one bill and everybody would pay individually until the bill was clear – risky but it worked, with Pete checking that nobody absent mindedly wandered off without paying. But who told them to bring my meal out last? Yes, yet again slow-eating Bill was the last one served. But the steak and ale pie was worth waiting for especially with excellent chunky chips. Pie expert Mark would have enjoyed it but objected to paying thirteen pounds fifty which I admit is on the high side. Thanks to everybody for hanging on at the end for our customary new-pub photo.

There were several photos taken as a crowd of passing Japanese tourists took plenty of shots of us as well. Don's group turned right as Keith's turned left for the homeward leg of the journey through Corsham, Yatton Keynell and Littleton Drew where I peeled off. What a great day out. See the fast group Wiltshire Wonderful Wander here

Thursday 30th August. Bitton to Lacock. Moderate group report from Don Ford: When I saw that Keith had planned to ride to Lacock from Amcor, I thought that the only way the moderate pacers had a sporting chance of getting to the pub by 12 was by setting off further east. So it was that the message got through and 13 of us assembled at Bitton. It was the familiar start along the Railway Path to Bath and the railway setting was appropriate in view of what was to come, especially when a tank engine came down the line. It was then on along the canal towpath to Bathampton. The climb up Bannerdown Road is always arduous but the reward is a mostly downhill and scenic ride down Shockerwick Lane to Ditteridge. We were pleased to see ‘Decobike’ in the lane. An energetic and enterprising bespoke decorator transports all his equipment, including ladders, on a very smart cargo bike. He must have climbed some big hills today to get to his customer. From Ditteridge it is a rapid descent to Box and a short stop at a point of interest. There is a blue plaque on the wall of Lorne House in Box which celebrates the fact that the Reverend Wilbert Awdry lived there from 1920 to 1928. He was a vicar and railway obsessive who created of books for children with the characters of and his friends. The inspiration for this first came to him when the heavy night freight had to climb the steep gradient at Box with the help of a tank engine. All the huffing and puffing seemed like conversations between the locomotives. It was fortunate he lived almost opposite the Box Tunnel and the steep gradient or else Thomas might never have been created. The tunnel was Brunel’s greatest engineering challenge. It was almost 2 miles long, took 5 years to build and cost the lives of over 100 workers.

The need for the tunnel was soon obvious to us as we began to ascend Quarry Hill which is a bit of a challenge before it eases off slightly. Alex noticed he had a puncture at the top and we were all secretly delighted as it gave us extra time to recover from the climb. Fortunately, it was a slow puncture and Alex was able to pump up the tyre and get to the pub. For most of the next 2 miles we were following the line of the tunnel before we reached the outskirts of Corsham. From here we took a southerly route passing the new MOD buildings and passing a new and very large housing estate eventually reaching the attractive Almshouses and the delightful Lacock Road which took us speedily downhill. It was pleasing to get over 15 miles an hour as Alf’s motor cut out and he had to pedal like the rest of us. We crossed the A350 and arrived just a few minutes after 12. It was just a pity that the staff wouldn’t take our food orders until everyone had arrived which resulted in a long wait. However it was a nice pub and the time passed quickly. There were just 10 of us for the return ride via Gastard and Neston to Kingsdown. From here there is a magnificent descent into Bath and a direct route through the city to the Railway Path. We arrived at Bitton at 1515 after an excellent day. Many thanks to all who came and to Steve and Peter for their back marking. See the moderate pace route here