Local rides of interest ?

[stormbird]

Hi all

Though I might start a thread and see if anyone else does shortish local rides with some interest/photo opportunities ?

So can I start ?

This one is about 22 miles or there about's , Saturday morning ride out for breakfast left @ 8:00am and started with about 5.5 miles of quite road work through Rainworth an old mining village to reach a disused railway now the Southwell trail.

As you can see at this end now only 5.5 miles to breakfast !

So at 9:15am I rolled in to the village of Southwell .

Southwell is a very posh village with loads of eating places even terrace houses with no parking are upwards of £250k ! they don't keep coal in the bath and residents mostly have their own teeth !

One of the posher cafes the Refectory Cafe does however open at 9:00am has a good menu , it is situated in the grounds of Southwell Minster so another photo shoot ?

Jurys out on the pronunciation ?

Suthell or Southwell ? I was once asked there if I was a Southwellian ? very elitist

Southwell Wikipedia

Toast marmalade and a pot of tea set me up for the run back.

All on the road now as I wanted to get back quickly , although the road route has 2 good hills it is a lot more direct than the railway and no need to keep slowing down for dog walkers/joggers/cyclists etc.

So seen this may times thought it warranted a picture ?

The sign says Saversick Lane ?

Now there are a lot of lanes in Nottinghamshire so I can't decide if they ran out of names and this shows a lack of imagination or a stroke of genius ?

Wife though it could have been a family name ? savers-ick maybe ? however there is nothing on the web about it ?

So off home arrived in time for lunch , it was hot enough to be the first shorts day of the year so very pleasant and training for Holland in to the bargain.

Anyone else have a ride they want to share ?

 

[edspedalcars]

I am soooo envious, of all the places you get to ride.
I do believe, if I had such places, I would be more inclined to build more 'ride-able', projects.

I do enjoy seeing the English country side. My time over there, in/near Lakenheath, Finchingfield, Sculthorpe, etc,
will always bring back found memories.

Even the church, brought back memories of my marriage in Finchingfield.

Look forward to more.

 

[DannyC]

Nice ride Paul, thank you very much for sharing with us.
We have nothing really comparable here, but I will see what bits I can find.

 

[stormbird]

I am soooo envious, of all the places you get to ride.

Good

I do enjoy seeing the English country side. My time over there, in/near Lakenheath, Finchingfield, Sculthorpe, etc,
will always bring back found memories.

For the last 10 years or so I have been to a cycle rally @ Mildenhall so about 5 miles from Lakenheath we then have day rides out to Ely - Bury St Edmonds etc

Even the church, brought back memories of my marriage in Finchingfield.

Yep we have plenty of those

Try and remember my camera then !

 

[stormbird]

Nice ride Paul, thank you very much for sharing with us.

No problems and glad I remember the camera

We have nothing really comparable here, but I will see what bits I can find.

You have water and lots of it ?

 

[DannyC]

No problems and glad I remember the camera
You have water and lots of it ?

This is true, I shall take some Pictures on my next cycle round, and also the Wartime monuments to the airmen that perished and the great flood of 1953 and the Viking battle at Boem-Flote (BenFleet).
Will have a try.

 

[SirJoey]

WAY cool! Wish I was out there riding along with ya!
***

 

[stormbird]

Ok got out again today to a Bike Jumble at a garden centre in the same village Southwell DOH

However plenty more to see and report on ?

How's about a ' war memorial theme ' ?

So first off is Farnsfield church :-

Bit odd for the Uk as the memorial is inside the church grounds so after they lay their wreaths it is a march of maybe 30 yards to the church for the service !

Lots of memorials to WW2 bombers crews are also popping up ?

This one at the other end of the same village , apparently there is also a Lancaster crew memorial deeper in the village so something else to find on another ride.

This is Halam church IIRC their memorial is outside the village hall on the main road.

Square tower probably means it is Norman so after 1066 , current clock has 1839 on it so not as old as church.

Seems Halam also has a memorial to a crashed Lancaster , so another one to find !

Lancaster ED823

Again a strange street name ?

Right in the middle of the Southwell is this , no not as you might suspect named after a China-man !!!

Wong is Old English and probably of Norse origin [ Vikings ] and meant garden or field , so the lane probably led to Lowes field.

This is Southwells memorial :-

At the top of the main street I was hear last year for the 100th anniversary of the ending of WW1.

I am not religious , however I am a strong believer in we mustn't forget that all those names are of young men who never go to stand next to me and say thanks.

From a population of about 3,200 in Southwell at least 650 served in the armed forces during the conflict.
Of these almost 110 did not return, with many more wounded and/or traumatised by the war.

Strangely they say all family's were touched by the WW1 , however no one remembers anyone related to our family who did not return.
Although on my fathers side they were from mining stock and that was a reserved occupation.

regards Paul

 

[DannyC]

I like the theme Paul, there's a war memorial in nearly every town and village in the UK.
I know we have one that commemorates both the Great war and WW2.
My uncle on my father's side was lost in WW2 as a "Tail-End-Charlie" in 1944 as a Flight Sergeant for 1658 Squadron heavy bombers conversion unit based out of Ricall Airfield controlled by Marston YORK.
MIA'd after a bombing mission and no body ever found. He was only 20 years old. It makes me feel very sad to think his life was so short and his sacrifice so great.
His memorial is at Runnymede.

 

[stormbird]

My uncle on my father's side was lost in WW2 as a "Tail-End-Charlie" in 1944 as a Flight Sergeant for 1658 Squadron heavy bombers conversion unit based out of Ricall Airfield controlled by Marston YORK.

If you went to York cycle show and camped on the race course you can ride to Riccall ?

However nothing much left of it :- Riccall

I think you are in Holland for the dates this year

MIA'd after a bombing mission and no body ever found. He was only 20 years old. It makes me feel very sad to think his life was so short and his sacrifice so great.
His memorial is at Runnymede.

Yes no life at all...

 

[DannyC]

Here are some pictures taken on my ride across to the island and back today.
These three images are taken at "The Point" on Canvey Island. They commemorate a wartime air accident and the lives so sadly lost.
The snoozing bikerider is just some random guy/derelict asleep in the warm sunshine.


The rest of the images are mural painting on the sea wall painted by local artists groups commemorating places, events and local things.
We have the Dutch Cottage (now a museum), various well-known groups/artists with a local "Canvey-Connection".





These last three images are taken in my home town of Benfleet. The War Memorial, the Norman Church (St. Mary's) and a plaque providing information about the great "Battle Of Benfleet" where the Vikings were defeated.

 

[stormbird]

Dan

Very interesting stuff and a nice looking area.

regards Paul

 

[stormbird]

Ok so Easter Sunday and glorious weather so off for a ride ? 25 mile loop.

First stop a war memorial to a bomber crew hidden behind some bushes near a traffic junction :-

Spooky these young people [ 19 yrs to 28 yrs ] died exactly 10 years to the day before I was born and I first found this on Jan 14 on one of my birthdays !

So once away from civilisation I found a Bridleway towards my breakfast , laws being as they are in the UK it had to have it's own bridge across the M1 motorway ! the UK's main north/south road [ so busy it is 4 lanes where the bridge is !

just a dusty lane for me :-

.. and my destination ?

The ruin is Beavale Priory I only found this last year and was flabbergasted when I found out how important it was in UK history ?

Beauvale Priory

Following England’s break from Rome, the Carthusians refused to accept King Henry VIII's supremacy over the church.
Prior Lawrence became one of a group known as the Carthusian Martyrs.
He and his fellow prisoners were sentenced to death (to be hanged, drawn and quartered) and returned to the Tower until 4 May when they were taken to Tyburn for execution.
The execution was made deliberately more "ghastly and revolting" to show the King's power and deter others.
Prior Lawrence was executed wearing his monk's habit.
The rope used to hang him was larger than usual to avoid fatally strangling him; thus ensuring he was still alive when he was butchered and mutilated, before finally being "quartered" (chopped into 4 pieces).

These were the first 2 to be hanged by Henry VIII in his purge.

The Bishop of Nottingham does a walk on the Sunday nearest the 4th May to this place to honour the above Martyrs.

Pond used by the monks to keep fish for their consumption.

Recumbent awaiting breakfast

Passed this on the way ?

So normally lanes are old and named after :-
locals who in turned could be named after their job ? Cooper/Smith etc ?
or to where they take you to ?
or after their use Brick kiln/Field etc ?
or Old English/Norse ?

So whats this one named after ....

Answers on a postcard please ...

 

[Petone_NZ]

We live about 15 km from town. Instead of the direct highway route, we also have quiet a cycle trail through a local forest. This morning Princess Bee (now 10) and I rode the trail into town.

Typical trail section:




Part of the trail follows the old Rimutaka railway (railroad for you North American types) line. Here's a new bridge built on the remains of an earlier structure:




Possibly interesting for any train enthusiasts: the Rimutaka incline railway was replaced by a tunnel in 1955, so parts of the old route are now a recreational trail. Google will find plenty of information on the old Rimutaka incline - quite an engineering feat in its day. (In the last couple of years the spelling has changed to "Remutaka".)

 

[DannyC]

We live about 15 km from town. Instead of the direct highway route, we also have quiet a cycle trail through a local forest. This morning Princess Bee (now 10) and I rode the trail into town.
incline - quite an engineering feat in its day. (In the last couple of years the spelling has changed to "Remutaka".)

Lovely trail, thanks for sharing. Interesting railway history too!

 

[stormbird]

Very envious my locality is much to urban , lots traffic & houses.

Is there any wild life to be seen ?

regards Paul

 

[Petone_NZ]

Is there any wild life to be seen ?

regards Paul

No wildlife on the trail during the day. There will be native bird-life amongst the trees if I were to stop and listen quietly.

I ride home this way after dark sometimes and can hear moreporks. I have a very good LED headlight and hub dynamo, and typically freak out the rabbits that come onto the trail after dark. They don't hear me coming but suddenly there's a bright light that moves faster than they do...