Rivers and Parks
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April 2010

18 cyclists met at Ealing Town hall on what had been quite a rainy Easter Sunday morning. I crossed my fingers that Andy’s mantra of  “rain before seven dry before 11” held true and indeed it did, the rain held off all day.

The ride departed just after 10am and headed down through South Ealing, Brentford and over Kew bridge after which we turned left to meet up with the towpath on the south side of the river.

Turning off the path at Ship Lane (Arrrr! Ship Lane) we headed across the train tracks at Sheen and up into Richmond Park, entering via Sheen Gate. A short climb through Duchess Wood and we were up onto the path that heads south across the middle of the park offering rolling views down onto Pen Ponds.
 
We absolutely failed to cycle straight past the Pen Ponds’ Refreshment point, and decamped there for 20 minutes. A side expedition was undertaken to the Robin Hood Gate toilets which were a pleasure to freewheel down to, and not too onerous to climb back up from.

Then heading west across the park we exited via Ham Gate, trying (mostly failing) to stick to the park’s 20mph limit as we descended the drop off just past the Cyclists Touring Club sign. Then the ride wound through Ham village and rejoined the River Thames tow path heading south at Teddington Lock. 

Kingston was a short riverside pedal away; we arrived there at 11.30am. A quick pause to see if anybody was cheeky enough to use the toilet in the pubs on the riverside there, then up and over Kingston bridge and onto Barge Walk (the tow path that runs down between the Thames and Home Park to Hampton Court Palace).

Upon reaching the palace a short pause to admire the privy garden and the Christopher Wren façade of the south front before we entered the grounds. We have to thank Andy for suggesting we walk through the grounds, as the sight of a carpet of daffodils that greeted us as we entered “The Wilderness” garden, just as the sun broke through the clouds, was quite a spectacle.

A short break to admire the flowers and avail ourselves of the facilities, and we walked on through, exiting via Lion Gate and crossing the road into the “well hidden if you didn’t know it was there” Bushy Park.

We bade goodbye to the Pheasantry Welcome Centre at about 2.15pm and headed north through the park to exit at Hampton Hill Gate (two at a time) having paused briefly to take in the sights of the cascades at the Upper Lodge Water Gardens. 

Down through Hampton Hill and into a traffic devoid Twickenham we turned down to meet the river again at Eel Pie island. Another pleasant diversion suggested by Andy took us into York House Gardens for a group photo beneath the Oceanid statues.

Then onto the river path again, through to St Margrets on the South side of Richmond Bridge, down Duck Lane and up into Old Isleworth.

A final rise through Isleworth into Osterley Park led us to a pause for a quick tea break with supplies from the Stables Café just by Osterley Manor. Then across the M4, through Norwood Green and onto Hanwell Top Lock where we made sure we headed down the Hanwell flight of locks into Hanwell and home (and not out to Birmingham).

Thanks for all the backstopping, and thanks to all who turned up and made this a great Easter Sunday Ride!

Total time: 6.5 hours (10am to 4.30pm)
Cycling time: 3 hours 44 minutes
Distance cycled: 31 miles
Distance walked: a little bit
Moving average Speed: 8.4mph
Toilet Breaks (official): Five
Food stops: Three
Mystical White Hearts seen: Three or four
Daffodils seen: A host.