A Hard Day in January

My thanks go to Jochta for his very much better route through Dorchester -I have incorporated it here. His other suggestions may be improvements, but since I haven't time to go and look I will leave it to others to make up their own minds.

I have also corrected some of the road numbers which I had foolishly taken from an out of date map (typical of Clubman, you may say, but at least it was a 1:50,000 map, not a one inch to the mile)

Berinsfield Route.
**Start from 9 a.m. **
This is no more than a suggested route – riders may use any roads they wish, and the best (and safest) will depend on the road conditions on the day. If the organisers feel the weather is obviously too bad to run the event on the 19th January they will postpone and possibly abandon it. However this decision will have to be made in accordance with the information and knowledge that the organisers have at the time. It may be that riders will find conditions on the route too bad to continue and in this case they should use their own discretion and give up the attempt if necessary. No one can be criticised for not wishing to ride in icy or otherwise dangerous conditions.
**Please read the notes at the end of this route guide. **
** Start: **Staines Sailing Club, 105 Chertsey Lane, Staines. TW18 3LQ.
Note: The club house is at the end of a drive way. At the entrance there are two white painted pillars marked ‘SSC’ and ‘105’. There is some car parking space, but if this fills up there should be no difficulty in parking on the roads nearby. There are toilets in the clubroom and tea should be available in the afternoon.
Outward route:
Turn right out of the gate, cross Staines bridge and turn left on the B376 through Wraysbury to Datchet where turn left over level crossing and turn right onto the B470 into Windsor. Continue straight on at Eton Bridge traffic lights and bear right keeping close to the river. Continue onto cycle path (marked on OS map sheet 176) past leisure centre, under the main road and turn left in Clewer Village to A308, where turn right towards Maidenhead.
After about 1.5 miles turn left (B3383) which becomes B3024. Follow this past Fifield to A330 where turn left. After about half a mile turn right, again onto the B3024 to Paley Street. (Note: you are making this turn on an A road, be careful!)
Continue on B3024 to Twyford (You have done just over 18 miles at this point) Continue straight on through the Twyford traffic lights to the Charvil rab. on the main A4 Bath road (care) Cross the A4 onto the B478 through Sonning to Playhatch rab. with A 4155. Go straight across the rab. And climb to Dunsden Green where bear left (first junction) onto unclassified road towards Sonning Common.
Join the B481 and turn right into Sonning Common village and take the left fork (top of the hill) on unclass. road to Stoke Row. (about 1 mile on B481)
At T junction in Stoke Row turn left (still unclass.) towards Nuffield. At Nuffield turn left (Brixton Hill/Nuffield Hill) passing Nuffield Church on your left.
This is a minor road which goes down the steep side of the Chilterns – treat it with respect, especially if riding fixed. It is possible to ignore this turning and continue about half a mile to the junction with the A 4130 and go down the main road. The choice is yours.
Brixton Hill joins the A4130 at Crowmarsh Hill. Continue westwards through Crowmarsh Gifford and over Wallingford bridge. About a quarter of a mile after the bridge there is a cross roads (with traffic lights) which is at the centre of the town. Turn right.
This junction is not well sign posted, and it’s easy to go wrong. If you find yourself on the A4130 going towards Didcot, you’ve gone the wrong way! An additional difficulty here is that Wallingford is on the edge of sheets 164 and 175 of the O.S. maps.
Follow Castle Street which becomes Shillingford Rd (was A 329, but now unclassified) crossing the Thames to join the A 4074 at Shillingford where turn left towards Oxford.
After just over a mile on the main road bear left (Henley Road) into Dorchester. Continue along High Street, ignoring left fork (Abingdon Rd) and continue on Oxford Road which becomes a cycle path leading to The Big H Café.
Return:
Riders may return by retracing the outward route.
OR: You may decide to face the risks of a more ‘main road’ route.
It is possible to take the A 4074 after Dorchester and follow it to the Crowmarsh Gifford rab. Then turn left onto the A4130 to Henley. Go over Henley bridge and turn right (A321) through Wargrave to Twyford. This road is narrow – ride in single file.
From Twyford retrace the outward retrace the outward route through Windsor back to Staines.
Notes:
Riders may use any route they see fit. In order to qualify it is only necessary to reach the turnpoint check. The suggested route has been ridden in the past without problems, but in the case of bad weather it may not be the best way to go.
Remember that if the weather is cold at Staines it will be colder further out from London, and so even though the roads are ice free at the start there may be ice before you reach your destination: in this case it may be preferable to use the main road. Rear LED lights are recommended.
For those who like to use maps, sheets 175, 176 and 164 of the 1:50,000 Ordinance Survey cover the whole route. Anyone requiring a route sheet with distances stated in miles and *furlongs *should apply to the organisers.