King Alfred's Way - Didcot to Farnham

With August drawing to a close, I thought I should do the same and complete King Alfred's Way before the weather and my diary became too forboding.

So it was on the train at Clapham Junction on a Friday morning to get back to Didcot Parkway. Yet again I was struck by how painful the process of getting a bike onto a GWR train is. Not only were there just 4 bike spaces on the train (which had to be booked) but the spaces themselves are cunningly designed to be almost unusable. Has anybody else experienced this, and what can be done about it?

Let me know.

The route is just shy of 100k, with a couple of steepish hills at the beginning and end. Course to download below. The weather in late August was perfect, sunny and 22 degrees C. I just love being out in late summer - the trails are mostly dry; the weather generally dry and there's a profusion of wildlife. From the butterflies that rise like small jewels as I bike past, the deer and squirrels that dart away as I approach and to the effortlessly soaring kites, hobbies and buzzards that track my path overhead. Glorious.

KAW 5-6 COURSE_302625882.gpx

Download GPX • 614KB

Slightly less glorious was my navigation. Having run over my Garmin (!) on the last leg, I was relying on my iPhone for directions. This proved to be a poor decision. It's battery life is poor and I had no mount to put it on. So, every time I needed to turn, I had to stop, fish the phone out of my pocket and look. Sub-optimal is putting it mildly.

It kind of worked, but I have bought a new GPS. It's new and claims a 120 hour battery life!! https://uk.coros.com/dura. It ships in September allegedly. I'll report back when I have used it a few times - assuming it turns up of course.

Luckily this didn't detract from the ride overall. But I must be honest; I found this leg less fun than the previous 3. I think this is because after the Thames Path sequence the route gets quite 'bitty'. Lots of shorter paths joined up - making for quite a stop/start pace. The sequence through Reading in particular seemed very labyrinthine. And very, very urban,

And that urban vibe carries on. As you head South, you become acutely aware just how populated the Home Counties are. A profusion of big and expensive-looking detached houses. With Range Rover Vogues parked on the gravel drive and PRIVATE PROPERTY - KEEP OUT - CCTV signs bolted to the chain link fence.

My original plan was to find a bivvy spot about 10km or so away from Farnham, but from about 20km out there was nowhere that looked really attractive. A good view, a decent amount of open space and a certain amount of unobtrusiveness are the key ingredients for me. These were all in short supply.

Even the rather appropriately named Poulter's Bridge looked pretty unappealing as a place for the night.

So I decided to grab a train home and leave all the bivvy kit unused. A bit of a wimp out I know. But with the circuit complete I didn't feel like I was cheating.

Here's the obligatory video. If you watch it - tell me what you think. too long? Too short? Informative or too indulgent? Whatever crosses your mind, please let me know.

King Alfred's Way conclusion

Including my detour to check out the deserted village of Imber I clocked up about 415 kms over 4 days with 3 nights bivvying. With a little less weight on the bike I could probably have gone a bit more quickly. But 100k a day was about right. For someone pushing 60. In the summer that is, when the longer days can make all the difference.

But it's great fun.

And the most amazing thing, apart from all the history, nature and scenery that's literally under your feet and tyres is just how remote you can be. Even in this most populated part of Britain.

So give it a go and tell me how you get on.

A few useful links.

https://www.cyclinguk.org/king-alfreds-way This is a great place to start - all the GPX files and plenty of hints and tips

https://www.komoot.com/collection/1025015/history-chalk-grassland-and-forest-king-alfred-s-way Katherine Moore writes really well and again you'll find lots of useful info here.

https://www.adventuring.co.uk/post/the-king-alfred-s-way-cycle-adventure A blog from someone who had a pretty similar approach to me - but did it in 4 consecutive days