What have Café 19 in Duxford and Wimpole Hall have in common? Cafés of course but what a contrast there is between them. Café 19 is so efficient in all respects from the moment of arrival to the time of departure, but the National Trust team at Wimpole of a similar size seems to always struggle with probably a similar number of customers. There’s a job here for a time and motion expert but retired management consultant Jeremy, leader of this ride and also birthday boy, seemed unwilling to take up the challenge when asked. But despite another long queue for coffee and cake at Wimpole, the ride there is always a pleasure and the views from the ridge behind Wimpole Hall take some beating.
So 14 Windmillers gathered at Café 19 on a very mild day to cycle in two groups to Wimpole and back. The first group initially comprised Chris, Paul, Rod, Gareth and Ken but was quickly joined by navigator Brian when half of them were seen heading immediately in the wrong direction.
Riding anti-clockwise via Whittlesford, Newton, Harston, Haslingfield, Barrington and Orwell, it was an event free ride to Wimpole followed by a steep climb up to the ridge on a combined pedestrian and cycle path, which requires understanding from both sets of users. The views from the top towards Royston in the West and Elmdon in the East are spectacular on a clear day.
The return leg took us back through Orwell and then Shepreth and Fowlmere before crossing the A505 and heading back to Duxford. Despite the huge amount of rain in recent days and flooded fields the roads were remarkably free of large puddles.
Back at Café 19, some had to skip lunch but it was good to be joined by Geoff who had been suffering from sciatica, which hopefully has cleared up. Jeremy very kindly bought a round of drinks in his capacity of birthday boy and received a hearty rendering of ‘happy birthday’ in return.
Thanks go to Jeremy for organising the ride and to photographers including Brian and Gareth.
This is where we went:
Martin W
The Windmill Cycle Club 