-
No. And being honest, I wouldn't either. At least not until its dry for long enough to dry the trails out properly. The idea of setting up camp in wet muddy gear would not be my idea of a good time.
We stopped in Marlborough one night and Winchester the next. I'd like the idea of camping in principle but really felt like I needed a shower and dry clothes by the end of the day.
-
Shower, dry clothes, a pressure washer, new brake pads, chain lube and adjust.
-
Yes. It rained hard a couple of nights and drizzled the other but lucky for me, @jaeyukdapbap and @pastry_bot are tarp pros so we stayed basically dry underneath.
Bring chain lube.
-
Or olive oil
-
You're probably made of sterner stuff than I am plus with a few dry days I think the worst of it will bake hard.
-
Hampshire has had a months worth of rain in the last week. It’s going to take a bit of time for the trails to dry out.
-
Oh well in that case don't bother. There's still enough mud on the south downs way to require a pressure washer. Do the three rivers ncn trip up north.
I was a bit surprised by the paucity of decent lunch/dinner spots. I could have done with packing more food. But I wouldn't want to carry more weight. Again maybe if you're an audax machine you'd be fine.
Will do a proper write up later maybe. Tired now. Want to get to Winchester and sleep. Are there any extremely boggy sections on the way there? (It was a shit from a butt fest on the way out)
-
Actually I think I wrote this in a pessimistic mood. The South downs way segment was largely dry with only a few bogs. Run down to Winchester was fine and just some puddles etc so we spiced it up with some punctures.
-
Here's my list of helpful links. There's also apparently a quite active Facebook group that can give good Intel on the route conditions.
https://www.komoot.com/collection/1025015/history-chalk-grassland-and-forest-king-alfred-s-way
https://www.roughrideguide.co.uk/Updated-King-Alfred-Way-accommodation-and-refreshment-list
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1db-u8Gca30Xnp-Mz8rSJFNzUzfoYcp65WzVTSTs_t38/edit?usp=sharing
https://www.cyclinguk.org/route/king-alfreds-way-gpx-route
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K5cllEO2SQdYszcN8g9Jvi9fh9CZA1mw/view?usp=drivesdk
https://m.facebook.com/groups/244929213312364/?ref=share
https://microcosm.app/out/rg8wiWe started from Winchester and In terms of accommodation/food:
First day, I had some left over pizza from the night before so mostly ate that. Managed some resupply in Avebury after stone henge. Slept at https://bradesacre.co.uk/ - nice, not very wild and in fact next to a noisy road, bring ear plugs and fifty pence coins for the showers. Rose and crown pub (weird vibe but acceptable pizza) and petrol station shop were our resupply points.
Next day we ate pizza at the Inn with a well. Quite nice pizza and very friendly staff. It's just off the ridgeway.
We slept at https://www.courthill.org.uk/ We were going to camp but it rained all day and most of the night so we begged to be allowed to sleep inside. No food around when we were there. I didn't really understand why but the cafe was closed. The only other person there was a nice man who was also doing the KAW but said he was packing it in because of the weather. For some reason he was offered dinner and breakfast but we weren't. Maybe because we were meant to be camping? We just ate biscuits. Probably a low point. The person in charge was very nice though.
Next day was the longest I think. We were told the best lunch could be found at Pierreponts cafe in Goring, but it was closed so we got a decent jacket potato at "The village cafe" in the same town. Passed through Reading and got a decent coffee at Workhouse. We got dinner at The Windmill at Ewshot. It was pie night. The chips were undercooked but I would have eaten anything. Stayed at the Farnham premier Inn which was great.
Fourth day we got breakfast and coffee at The Barista Lounge, Farnham which was decent. Also got a bagel to take for mid morning snack. Felt like our luck was turning as this was the first day it didn't rain and we only had to deal with water thrown up from the sodden earth and numerous puddles. Lunch was a fucking debacle at the top of devil's punch bowl, the NT café was sold out of everything by 12.30 and made me queue for about twenty minutes before serving me the cake and flapjack I ordered. Hope they learn how to run a cafe soon. Slept at upper parsonage farm, which was a cute location but didn't have a charging point or a very powerful shower. You can light a camp fire there though so bring your marshmallows.
Final day was the shortest by far but also had the best food. We got breakfast at Wetherdown lodge eco hostel sustainability centre, which was reasonably priced and nice enough. Lunch was at the shoe Inn. Recommend their Buddha bowl, even though it came in a plate. After this we lost the plot (don't ask) and eventually got into Winchester too late for dinner. Most of the path was finally dry though .
I wouldn't call it a holiday to do it again in these conditions, on my bike, whilst carrying camping gear, but obviously it was better than being in the office so I already look back on it with fondness.
That said I think if you have camping gear and are not much of a beast in the saddle, I would consider doing it over 6 days for maximum chill vibes and the possibility of checking out some diversions. Leaving at eight most days we felt pretty pushed for time trying to arrive at campsites before eight at night, which was about the timing needed to set up, shower, clean clothes and then try and get eight hours of sleep. Hard to tell if this was just the trail conditions, my lack of fitness or inexperience with packing and unpacking kit.
-
Anyway here are pics. I know that's what you sickos want.
5 Attachments
-
-
Matt page just did the whole lot in 17hrs 20.
andyp
hippy
moocher
yetidamo
Belagerent
leggy_blonde
deleted
HousecatHST
Ifonlyiwerebelgian
oheyitsd-
Post a reply
About
King Alfred Way
Posted by
@Thrasher
Out.
Is this stupid country ever likely to dry out?