Monday’s bank holiday is the last before Christmas, a good four months away. So I better actually do something on this three-day weekend – seeing as the orienteering season, which will take up at least one day a weekend for most of the rest of the year, doesn’t kick off in England until next weekend.
Current ideas:
1. Cross England By Bike (Part 1) This is largely using National Cycle Route 4, which goes from Bristol to London, via the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Thames. I’ll be doing it in stages, over the course of several weekends. I will be doing the Reading to Windsor section for sure, on Monday, with some friends. One plan would be to start at Devizes early on Sunday morning, visit the Caen Hill Flight there and then head east, via Hungerford and Newbury, to Reading. (Possibly stopping short of Reading depending on the Reading start time on the Monday.) This would be a 62 mile route – possibly a little optimstic for me as I only just managed Oxford to Reading previously which is around 40 miles. An excellent description of the route is on Waterscape (parts 2 and 3 would be the sections I would do.) This would leave the Bristol to Devizes section (40 miles + any distance west of Bristol) for another day, although I would like to visit Bath so might spend longer doing that section. Also the Windsor (or Staines) to the Thames Barrier section – going basically right through London – would also be for another day.
2. A Due North walk – to complement my Due South walk (pictures.) However, as going north from where I am gets pretty boring after Arsenal’s stadium at Highbury, and because I would like to slice across central London again, I would probably start my walk from where I used to live, on Swan Street in Borough, south London, and walk north over London Bridge and through the City – and beyond, to a not-yet-determined end point. The weather is looking cooler and more pleasant than last time I did my walk (33 degrees) although next week is supposed to get much hotter.
3. The Wandle Trail. Well way-marked (PDF map) and short, although it does land me up in Croydon…
At the moment I’m leaning towards option 2, as I was pretty wrecked after Oxford-Reading, but both will definitely be done soon.