The Crown in Little Walden is a phenomenally popular destination for drinkers and diners alike, with its charming interior, fine gravity fed cask ales and good hearty food. With this in mind, Ken had booked us in months in advance for his Birthday ride and beers (and, incidentally, making it a hat trick of rides from Butchers Hill residents in the past 3 weeks !).
Hadstock common, a relatively elevated area of land to the North of Saffron Walden is, today, a quiet area of woodland and farmland. It is home to a model plane flying field and a pleasant science research park which has grown up around the 1840 mansion house. It must have been very different when it was home to the USAF Eigth Airforce and 3,000 personnel during WW2 !
From a road cyclist’s perspective, the common is a bit of a route planning problem, with circular rides often having to traverse the busy Saffron Walden town centre. Not this week, though ! Ken had negotiated passage through the private grounds of the research park, past the old mansion house with its fantastic views out to rolling countryside to the West.
And so it was 13 lucky riders set off up the quiet road to the back of the research park, where the barriers were duly raised, and sailed on through down to Little Chesterford. Here we had to negotiate our first set of road closures before splitting into more manageable sized groups before a short stretch on the old London Road.
A feature of this ride was a tour of some of the sharper hills in the local area, the one from Littlebury to Littlebury Green being the first on and the one up to Duddenhoe End being another. Then the one out of Newport before finally a well earned coffee stop at Blossom’s Tea Rooms.
More closed roads to negotiate before finally the last climb out of Hadstock (home of St Botolph’s and reputedly the oldest working wooden door in England) up to the common and down to the Crown for lunch.
Fine food and beer and a somewhat muted rendition of “Happy Birthday” on a crowded pub patio. Thanks Ken and thanks for a great, if spiky, route.
Possibly due to the absence of Charles and despite a request to “stop and admire the scenery and buildings”, after one group went from 3 to 1 last week – there appears to be only one photo for the blog from the peloton today ! sorry
Rod, Andrew, Paul, Victor, Geoff, Howard, Alan, Ric, Robert, Deborah, Graham, Simon and Ken. Maurice for lunch.
The Windmill Cycle Club 