Its a Thursday and we have a day off so we can go cycling, how I love flexi time!!
Today we meet at Hurn stores and it initially looks like a huge group until we realise that the 'Dawdlers' are also meeting here. Our run is taking us north of Ringwood to the tearooms at Hyde and we set off up Matchams Lane which since its resurfacing is a joy to ride. After passing through Ringwood we join roads that Kathy and I used to regularly ride pre CTC when we used to do our solo rides starting from Ringwood. The route takes us past the Alice Lisle pub at Rockford on through Mockbeggar, South Gorley and Hungerford before doing battle not only the stiff little climb before coffee but also 'white van man' who didn't seem to think we should be on the road!
The tea rooms at Hyde are a lovely place to stop and we meet up with
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| Tea rooms at Hyde |
Alan and Ann who have come out to join us for coffee. After the usual chat we leave Alan and Ann who are heading home and set off for our lunch stop at Fritham a place kathy and I have often cycled past but never stopped at.
The route to lunch takes us out through Frogham Frogham is the location of the annual Frogham Fair – a traditional village fete which takes place on the afternoon of the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday weekend in the fields near Frogham crossroads. A highlight of the fair is the wheelbarrow race up the exceptionally steep Blissford Hill; a hill that today we 'blissfully' miss (perhaps another day).From here through Allisford and on to the Roger Penny Way that rolls its way along the ridge line on the top of the heath.
We turn right at the Forest Road crossroads and head down into Fritham to have our sandwiches on the green before seeking refreshment at the Royal Oak.
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| Green at Fritham |
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| Royal Oak |
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| Light refreshment |
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| Asleep on the green |
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| First outing for Kevin's new bike |
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| Good to know the 'Royals' are welcome ............ |
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| ....... OK so the whole story! |
Some interesting facts about Fritham:
From the 1860s until the 1920s Fritham was home to the Schultze gunpowder factory.The factory specialised in smokeless powder for sporting guns and was established in 1865, it was at one time the largest nitro-compound gunpowder factory in the world, with sixty separate buildings and a staff of a hundred. It supplied three-quarters of the world's annual consumption of gunpowder for sporting purposes and often sent 100-ton consignments to the Americas. Little now remains of the factory except for the superintendent's and gatekeeper's houses. Eyeworth Pond, near Fritham, was specially created by the factory as a reservoir to hold water needed during the manufacturing process.
Four young men from Fritham went down with the Titanic in 1912; Leonard Mark Hickman, Leonard Hickman, Stanley George Hickman, Ambrose Hood they were all second class passengers seeking a new life in North America.
From Fritham we ride through Forest along the road that was once the air field runway north of Stony Cross and past Red Shoot Wood and back to Ringwood. Some of the group decide to stay at Ringwood for tea but Bob, Derek, Kathy and I decide to head on for home and choose to take the route to Hurn via Bisterne where we discover the annual Scarecrow Festival is taking place.
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| Tempted but we didn't stop ...... |
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| let the train take the strain ... |
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| ... anyone we know? |
After enjoying the scarecrows on the main road Kathy and I decide to come back on Saturday for a proper look at them all. So it's on to home via Hurn Stores and a farewell to Derek and Bob as they load bikes back onto cars.
Another great ride, new roads discovered and as always in great company we can heartily recommend club and group cycling to everyone.
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