Newbury Velo Quests

Newbury Velo are pleased to announce the launch of Newbury Velo Quest!

This is a way of doing a ride with a mutual purpose, but it’s something that can and should be done alone. It’s open to everyone, not just Newbury Velo members.

This weekend’s Newbury Velo Quest celebrates West Berkshire’s fascinating history in the run up to D Day. We’ll ask you to visit locations linked to the real Band of Brothers, to Membury where the first troops into France departed, and also to Walbury Hill were UK Paras trained for their assault on the Merville gun battery in Normandy. We have created rides for you ranging from 20 to 49 miles to get to these points, but you can make up your own routes if you prefer!

The more selfies posted on this thread the better, and you may even win a prize!

Here’s the 22 mile route that takes in the UK Paratroopers training area with plaque for their early morning assault on the Merville Battery (with with thanks to Rhian Salmon: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32152638

Here’s the medium 39 mile route that takes in the Paratroopers’ D Day departure airfield at Membury as well the the base used by Easy Company/The Band of Brothers: Aldbourne. With thanks to Polly Perkins: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32152638

Welcome back to the Newbury Velo Quest everyone. As before, this is a chance for us to share in the same adventure while obeying the social distancing rules. Share your photos back on the page to be entered for the fabulous prize ( Newbury Velo water bottle ). This time we promise we will actually give the water bottle prizes out!

We have 3 routes for your: 20, 35 and 50miles. You can see these in the comments immediately below this post.

The theme to the Quest this week is Crime and Punishment. We have 3 locations ( just 2 on the 20 mile ride ) that were the sites of crimes that shook West Berkshire. Links will be in the comments if you want more info of the crimes.

First we go to 1676 where George Broomham was being unfaithful to his wife Martha with a woman called Dorothy Newman. This tragically led to him murdering his wife and his son Robert and disposing of the bodies on the Berkshire Downs. The lovers would have got away with it had it not been for Mad Thomas who witnessed their activities. Mad Thomas was able to pass on his knowledge ( pretty good considering he was presumably mad ) and Broomham and Newman were convicted. Their bodies were suspended from Combe Gibbet as a lesson to all others. The Gibbet was erected for these two and has never been used for anyone else.

Next we go to 1830 and the agricultural "Swing Riots" are in full force. Farm labourers had seen their wages reduced to the point of starvation. They blamed this sorry situation on the introduction of automated machinery and up and down the country were involved in protest. Locally men from Kintbury and Hungerford formed a group and went to Hungerford where they damaged some property and machinery. Drink had been part of the equation. Many were sentenced to death but this was generally commuted to lesser punishment ( often transportation to Australia ). Unfortunately for William Winterbourne ( also known as William Smith ), no mercy was shown and he was hung. This was despite the parson at Kintbury pleading for mercy on his behalf. Unusually for a hung man, his grave was given a prominent place of honour in Kintbury church graveyard. This is our 2nd Quest location.

Finally we go to December 1876 and local policemen Inspector Joseph Drewett and Constable Thomas Shorter who are on the look out for poachers just north of Hungerford. They apprehend 4 poachers from the same family and a fight ensues. Tragically Drewitt and Thomas are both murdered by the poachers to the horror of the nation. Two of the poachers are hung for their crime and memorial crosses are erected where Drewett and Shorter were slain. The cross for Drewett is on Denford Lane about 50 yards east of where it crossed the A338. It's on the north side of the road and this is our final location.

20 Mile ride, with thanks to Rhian Salmon: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32617372

35 Mile ride, with thanks to Polly Perkins: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32618478

The ride you can share with club mates here on Facebook and still comply with CV-19 precautions.

This week we look at an institution that people used to bind society together before the advent of Facebook. A thousand years ago, very small communities invested enormous amounts of their resources to produce stunning churches that are still with us today. The church would have been the hub for all activity in a community.

We are going to take you on rides of 20, 33 and 50 miles to see some of the historical and modern churches of our area. We'll point out some interesting things to see, but do ask you to remember that people's loved ones are buried in the church yards, so please take care where you step.

All rides start at St John's church in Newbury. In 1943 a German bomb destroyed the original church, so the current neo-Romanesque one was re-built in the 1950's. It is constructed from 750,000 hand made red Berkshire bricks and is world famous as a fine example of what can be achieved with brickwork.

At St Andrew's church in Boxford you can walk around to the north wall where you will see a narrow arched wooden window. This is saxon and 1,000 years old. It is the oldest working wooden window in the UK! If you look at the tower, note that in 1657 it fell down and took 30 years to be re-built. The stones fell into a neighbours garden ( a Quaker ), who claimed that they must be a gift from God and therefore refused to give then back.

St Gregory's church in Welford is worth noting for its striking 13th century round tower and octagonal spire. The round tower is one of only two in Berkshire ( the other is in Great Shefford ). Incidentally, we are lucky to have these magnificent ancient churches on our doorstep due to us being on the old roman road, Ermin Way. A link to last weeks Quest.

St Mary's in Aldworth is a 13th century church which has a 1,000 yew tree in the graveyard. It has been struck by lightning and blown over by gales, but still lives on.

St Mark's in Englefield is set in the beautiful estate deer park. This is where Pippa Middleton got married as well as being the estate church for the influential Englefield, Paulet and Benyon families for the last 1,200 years.

St Mary's church in Shaw is a more modern Victorian church in the Norman Revival style with some Italian influences in it's tower. As you look at the church, try to imagine the ancient Saxon church tower that used to stand there. Then try to imagine what it was like when the Victorian's blew it up with gun powder to make room for the current church.

I hope you enjoy this week Quest and would love to see your photos back on this page. All members posting photos will be entered into the free Newbury Velo water bottle prize. Anyone doing the Quest on a vicars dog collar or nuns habit will automatically win a bottle. Anyone doing it in a Full Bishops regalia will win an amazing mystery prize!

19 mile with thanks to Andy Hockedy:

https://www.strava.com/routes/2761244368299125224

33 mile:

https://www.strava.com/routes/2762017593748923348

52 mile with thanks to Rachael Elliot: https://www.strava.com/routes/2761003983384266504

This is the ride we can do in a Covid-safe manner but then share with all our club mates back on the Facebook page ( for a chance to win the much coveted Newbury Velo water bottle… ).

Thanks to our route planners Rhian Salmon and Rachael Elliott we have a 22 mile Dirty Chai as well as 22, 35, 53 and 60 mile road options. The Strava routes will appear at the bottom of this intro.

The theme to this weeks Quest is "West Berkshire: Cradle of Civilisation!"

We will be looking at the pre-Roman period and how even in those sparsely populated times, West Berkshire was an important centre for the people that lived here.

Our quests begin at Thatcham sewerage works on Lower Way. Thanks to archaeological digs here in the 1960s and 1989 this has been established as an important base for West Berkshire residents as long ago as 9500 BC ( the Mesolithic / Middle Stone Age ). The 11,500 year old occupation of this area gives Thatcham a strong claim to be oldest inhabited settlement in the UK! The dig showed that these early Thatcham residents enjoyed cooking pine nuts and hazelnuts and possibly cleared land to encourage greater growth of edible plants. They also used the nearby Kennet to sift flint stones before working them into tools. Although you may be tempted to linger, take a sewerage works selfie and head on to our other locations.

Combe Gibbet ( we love riding up to Combe ) is actually placed on top of a Long Barrow. These are ancient burial chambers from the 3900 BC to 1700 BC ( Neolithic = "new stone age" ). Long Barrows are generally older and rarer than the more common round barrows. It's likely that Combe Gibbet Long Barrow pre-dates the Egyptian Pyramids. So while the Egyptians were thinking about pyramids ( basically Lego on a big scale ) the folk of West Berkshire were making these magnificent piles of earth in honour of their leaders.

Walbury Camp is situated just to the south east of the Combe Gibbet car park and is the largest Iron Age earth work hill fort in Berkshire. It dates from between 800BC & 100BC. The Wayfarers Way cuts straight through the middle of it. You can see the wall about 30 meters to the east of the car park.

Wash Common Round Barrow cemetery is best accessed via Battle Road. Carry on to the car park and continue straight on for another 30 yards. On your left across the cut grass of the park you'll see two round "bowl" barrow burial mounds. These were mistakenly thought to be graves of those fallen in the Battle of Newbury by locals ( in fact one has a plaque to that effect from the town mayor dated 1897 ). Now we know these to be part of a Neolithic burial complex. From the same spot, now look to your right and you will see a path going through some trees to get to another open grass field / play area. To the right of that path you'll see some low earth works that make an embankment forming a circle. These could be mistaken for the embankments ( berms ) you get at mountain bike tracks. They actually form a "Disk Barrow", a much rarer type of barrow with a low raised outer circular wall and then another raised area in the centre. No one knows the significance of disk barrows, though one theory is that they might have been to honour important female members of the society.

Finally, the 53 and 60 mile riders get to enjoy the 3,000 year old Uffington White Horse ( I don't have a tattoo, but if I did this is what I'd get ) and Uffington Castle Iron Age Hill Fort. Beware of a damaged cattle grate on the descent from the White Horse. It should be remembered that Uffington White Horse was always part of West Berkshire until the 1970's when it was STOLEN by Oxfordshire.

I hope you all enjoy the rides, here are the routes:

Dirty Chai https://www.strava.com/routes/2801900124960490848

22 mile road https://www.strava.com/routes/2802957961258992304

35 mile road https://www.strava.com/routes/2802957014584304516

53 mile road https://www.strava.com/routes/2802909714051512934

60 mile road https://www.strava.com/routes/2802954609159401136

The theme for this week's Quest is "Nuclear Newbury". We look back to a simple time before global warming and pandemics, a time when all we had worry about was global nuclear annihilation.

In 1946 the British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin ( tough ex Bristol docker and union leader ) said this about the nuclear bomb, having realised we had lost international influence without it:

"We've got to have this thing whatever it costs, we've got to have a bloody Union Jack on top of it!"

And so it was decided that West Berkshire would be at the centre of the United Kingdom's efforts to gain the nuclear bomb. The project was imaginatively named "High Explosive Research". This was the start of the impressive complex we have now = Aldermaston where the research and development takes place, and Burghfield where the bombs are assembled. The project was a success with the UK's first bomb detonated in 1952.

Fast forward 30 years, and once again West Berkshire is at the centre of world events. In 1975 The Soviets deployed the SS20 medium range missile in Eastern Europe. NATO forces thought this would give the Soviets an advantage and looked to deploy nuclear armed Cruise missiles to counter the threat. On 13th November 1983 these missiles arrived at Greenham, while the nuclear warheads themselves were being stored at nearby RAF Welford.

With the US President describing the Soviets as the "evil empire" and the Russians themselves seemingly locked in the battle for supremacy, this was a time when ordinary people genuinely thought we were on the brink of nuclear war and complete destruction. Government information films were released advising on what action to take in the event of a nuclear attack. Obviously, it did also inspire some great pop such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Two Tribes.

It was with this background that the women's peace camp was set up around Greenham Common in 1981. The peace women gained widespread publicity, not just in the UK but around the world. The threat of nuclear war became a mainstream political issue as much as education or health are in normal times.

And so, President Reagan and President Gorbachev saw the need to change the course they were on and signed the historic Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1987. This removed the SS20 and Cruise missiles from Europe, de-escalating the situation and making the world a safer place. The final Cruise missile left Greenham in 1991. in 1997 The Greenham Trust was established to purchase the airbase and re-direct profits made from the land to benefit charitable causes.

As ever, all riders who post a picture will get entered into the prize draw for the coveted Newbury Velo bottle. Anyone in cold war themed fancy dress gets two entries. Two entries also to anyone doing the ride with President Gorbachev pink lipstick birthmark on their forehead.

19 mile road route with a bit of Greenham and Welford (and Valley Rd which was built for Aldermaston workers by the same contractor that built Aldermaston).

https://www.strava.com/routes/2781630655866872302

25 mile road route as above

https://www.strava.com/routes/2781624839341784166

43 Mile road route with thanks to Shaun Ward:

https://www.strava.com/routes/2766304357590017074

55 mile route with thanks to Andy Hockedy:

https://www.strava.com/routes/2766966258014767634

Greenham based gravel dirty chai with thanks to Beckie Hamilton Unwin taking in bunkers, the peace garden, aircraft fire training area and old bomb store down Crookham Common Road:

https://www.strava.com/routes/2782336183642953954

Filthy Chai for hard core mud pluggers ( that'll be the girls then ):

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/48365336...

The theme for this weeks Quest is The Kennet and Avon Canal. This 87 mile long jewel in West Berkshire's crown runs from Reading to Bristol & has a history that stretches 300 years. At either end of those 300 years are two West Berkshire residents who were vital to the success of the canal.

The route planners have excelled themselves this week and we've produced 21, 30, 45 and 61 mile road routes, as well as a great 34 mile dirty chai off road option (it's even tempted me to get my 20 year old mountain bike out of the shed).

The canal had two main construction phases, in the 1720's the Kennet river between Reading and Newbury was improved so that boats carrying freight could travel along it. After this, the Avon between Bristol and Bath was also improved for the same purpose. The same engineer was responsible for both projects: Newbury resident John Hore. This improvement was not popular with everyone, the residents of Reading were afraid that Newbury would become a transport hub and take business away from them. The Mayor of Reading therefore raised a mob and attached the workers constructing Aldermaston lock and did considerable damage. Mayors were much more "hands-on" in the old days.

Next stage was the linking of Newbury and Bath with a new canal. This started in the early 1800's and was completed by the great engineer John Rennie in 1811. Unfortunately for the shareholders of the canal, only 30 years later the villain of our story entered the in the guise of The Great Western Railway. By 1841 GWR linked Reading to London and in the 1850's linked Reading with Newbury and then spread further west.

By 1852 the canal faced bankruptcy and GWR took over the running of it. As the canal competed for freight business with the railways, GWR were not motivated to maintain it. This led to a long and sad period of decline for the canal. In 1926 GWR tried to get permission from the government to close the canal altogether, but this backfired and they were charged with creating a commission to maintain it. Little changed however and the decline continued until the 1950's when we meet our 2nd local hero:

John Gould had been a Newbury grammar school pupil and during WW2 was an engineer and artillery officer. With this experience he was unlikely to be daunted by taking on a railway company. In the 1950's his business was based on the canal and used it for moving goods. Such was the state of the canal that it was badly affecting his income. In 1955 he won damages for the loss of business due to the commissions failure to maintain the canal. In 1956 the commission tried to close the canal again, but this time there was a groundswell of opposition led by John Gould and others that led to the decision in 1960 to regenerate it. After 30 years of hard work often by volunteers and those on work experience, the canal was formally re-opened by the Queen in 1990.

Our routes will take to various placed along the canal: Hungerford March Lock with its unique pedestrian swing bridge in the centre that boaters must open before using the lock.

Monkey Marsh Lock (1723) just west of the railway crossing at Thatcham station. This is one of only two grass sided locks on the canal.

The beautiful stretch around Little and Great Bedwyn.

The 459 metre long Bruce tunnel near Great Bedwyn, built because the local landowner didn't want to have to look at a canal..

And finally, Crofton Beam engine which is used to pump water to the canal. This 1812 steam engine still works today and is a great place too visit properly once things get back to normal.

As ever, please post your photos back here. All will be entered into the fabulous Newbury Velo Bottle prize (good chance you'll win!). Anyone dressing as a 1800's civil engineer will win a special mystery prize.

21 mile route with thanks to Rhian Salmon https://www.strava.com/routes/2764447690564185368

30 mile route with thanks to Rhian Salmon https://www.strava.com/routes/2764445573814128188

45 mile route with thanks to Andy Hockedy https://www.strava.com/routes/2764492124084534566

61 mile route with thanks to Rachael Elliott https://www.strava.com/routes/2764091101311683274

34 mile dirty chai with thanks to Beckie Hamilton Unwin https://www.strava.com/routes/2764874630088762502

Wearing Roman dress guarantees a water bottle. The theme this weekend is "What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?"

We have rides of 25, 32 and 59 mile lengths.

We'll be looking at the earliest written mention of West Berkshire where Speen (Spenae) gets a mention in 150AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Antoninus. This jewel in West Berkshires crown was noted as being a small settlement and crossing point for the River Lambourn. Speen (Spinis/Spenae) is derived from the Latin meaning "thorney place". The route will go near the crossing of the River Lambourn on the Oxford road.

We'll also visit ancient Ladywell off Speen Lane and a short walk down the grass footpath towards Speen church. This ancient healing well is believed to date back to Roman times. Perhaps you could try splashing a bit of water onto that creaking bottom bracket?

We'll then follow some lanes and sections of the A4 and B4000 (Bath Road and Ermin Way: yes, the Roman also gave us our H10/3 and H103a time trial courses), and head out to admire the spectacular mosaic at Littlecote Roman Villa near Chilton Foliat.

Finally, the 59 mile ride will also take in the remains of the Roman town of Silchester. This has the rare privilege of being a Roman town that failed to thrive after the Romans left. Note: all towns who's names end in "chester" were old roman towns

Have a great ride and we look forward to seeing your photos.

25 Mile with thanks to Rhian Salmon: https://www.strava.com/routes/2758068710039893956

32 mile with thanks to Rhian Salmon: https://www.strava.com/routes/2758048510249066256

59 mile with thanks to Rachael Elliott: https://www.strava.com/routes/2758080541610316946

Two routes to get the children out in the fresh air and exploring the great outdoors over the summer holidays.

The first route is based around Cold Ash and Bucklebury woods. A fun day out with 23km of woods, country lanes and tracks with some some fun surprises along the way. This is a longer route but has some additional fun like pump trucks, lumps and bumps in the woods and even a ford you can paddle in along the way.

The second route has been named The Combe Gibbet Horseshoe. A ride with friends or with the family exploring the wilderness of the North Wessex Downs. A shorter route of 12km with the small challenge of Sheepless Hill along the way but definitely one to take a picnic and enjoy the stunning views.

As with our other family routes, we have a detailed map downloadable from our website. Take plenty of food and water, a first-aid kit and a bike with tyres suitable for tracks and trails. (suspension not necessary).

Enjoy the fresh air and adventure!

The Combe Horse Shoe route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/37647668

Bucklebury route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/37911162

The Combe Horse Shoe Velo Quest (click to download)

Bucklebury Velo Quest (click to download)

This week's Newbury Velo Quest is to explore the chalk white horses of the surrounding area.

Our shorter route is a gentle 31miles through quiet lanes and goes via the Inkpen or Ham Hill White Horse (late 1860s). This has sadly been lost over time but you can clearly see the escarpment where it was once visible.

The middle distance is 45miles and will take you along the Lambourn Valley, up over the Lambourn gallops and on to the well-known, Bronze aged, Uffington White Horse. Uffington is considered one of the earliest chalk horses in Britain and as a result, is very different in its design to the others.

For those who fancy an epic and wish to take full advantage of the good weather and light summer evenings, we have an 86mile 'lumpy' route. This visits six of the chalk white horses which are later and more lifelike than that of Uffington, all of which date between 1780 and c1864. Ham Hill, Alton Priors, Cherhill, Broad Town, Hackpen and Marlborough.

As ever with the Newbury Velo Quest, we would love to see your photos of the white horses (perhaps even real white horses?) The more imaginative the better! You will then be put into a draw to win a Newbury Velo water bottle

Routes posted below.

31mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/37137707

Notes: Best viewing point to see where Ham Hill white horse once stood is by the metal double farm gates flagged.

45mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/37144121

Notes: You will struggle to see the Uffington White Horse from the road that goes immediately under it. You may need to be imaginative, walk up to the top or you may get a glimpse once down on the B4507.

86mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/35158564

Notes: Most chalk figures are obvious and flagged on the GPX file. However, Ham Hill is best seen from the flagged double gates. Cherwell can be seen in a field gateway opposite Oxley Clocks. Broad Town is best seen once in the small churchyard (flagged). Marlborough is very hard to see but you can get a glimpse, behind some trees, from the A4 next to the school sports grounds. (Unless those in the know use the track/bridlepath beside the river towards Manton for a clear view. Possibly not one for your best bike.)

It's time to get out and enjoy our beautiful countryside whilst still conforming to social distancing (please remember that the 2m rule is still in place until 4th July).

Although you may have to use your imagination for some of the photos, let's see what you can come up with for a chance to win an exclusive 'Newbury Velo' water bottle. The theme this week is 'Ring of Fire and Rescue!' and will incorporate local fire stations as well as locations of fires and rescues in Newbury and the surrounding areas that I have attended as a firefighter and that are in the public domain.

We have 22, 38 and 58 mile routes prepared for you which are available in links at the bottom of this article.

The 58 mile route covers Newbury, Pangbourne, Lambourn and Hungerford fire stations as well as a couple of local fires and a couple of countryside rescues. The 38 mile route covers Newbury, Hungerford and Lambourn fire stations as well as a couple of fires and rescues and the 22 mile route covers Newbury fire station, a number of local fires and a countryside rescue.

Please see below a short write up on each incident and on which routes you will find it.

Newbury Fire Station - On the night of 29/1/18 we were eating our dinner in the mess room at the back part of the station when the doorbell rang. On answering it we were told there was a big fire opposite the front of the station. The flames were pretty large! This was a fire in a disused building in Hutton Close which has since been knocked down and new houses are now being built. We never did get to finish our dinner that night! (All routes)

At midnight on 11/04/05 we were called to a fire at Motorworld, Northbrook Street (now Carter Jonas). On arrival I mentioned to my officer in charge that the windows were incredibly black (a sure sign of an intense fire inside). The fire gutted Motorworld and spread to Hethertons Cafe ( Now King's Cafe). Ten fire engines and an aerial ladder were required and we were at the scene all night and relieved by the oncoming day crew shortly after 9am. (All routes)

On the night of 14/10/06 we were called to a fire at Uncle Henry's Public House (this was down the alleyway to Parkway by Ernest Jones) The building was well alight and the barmaid was trapped on the first floor and had to be rescued by ladder by my colleague Jim. The Parkway sign today is where the 'Uncle Henrys' sign was at that time. (58 and 22 mile routes)

On 15/05/20 - 3 days after the first relaxing of lockdown we were called to a hand glider accident at Combe Gibbet. The guy had crashed his hand glider on the steepest possible part of the hill and broken his leg. It was impossible to take him up or down the slope on a backboard due to the incline. There were 3 fire engines, 2 fire officers, 2 police vehicles, an ambulance, an air ambulance and the coastguard helicopter (this had to be called for the winch to rescue him) It was an eventful afternoon! (22 and 38 mile routes)

On 13/07/17 at 06.30 we were called to a house fire in Hampstead Marshall, close to St Mary's Church. On arrival we could not believe our eyes - the house had been 100% destroyed by fire! We had never seen anything like it. It was incredible that it had been burning all night and nobody had seen any smoke or flames! The fire was caused by the main electrical intake! The housekeeper had called us when she arrived to clean. The occupants were not home at the time. (22 and 38 mile routes)

Bucklebury Ford - unfortunately a few people have followed their sat nav or ignored the signs and have tried to drive through the ford! This has resulted in us getting called a number of times - sometimes because people simply don't want to get wet! (58 mile route)

On the Newbury Road between Great Shefford and East Garston there is an infamous bend with warning signs in both directions. We have been to a couple of incidents here. One involved a head on collision between a tractor and a van and although the extrication took a while there were no serious injuries, and the other was a car simply losing control and ending up on its roof but with all passengers out on arrival! Take care on this bend! (38 and 58 mile routes)

I hope you enjoy this Quest and stay safe

Firebirdbe

Routes available her:

22 Mile Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/2709858461456674868

38 Mile Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/28805945

58 Mile Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/28780775

This week's Newbury Velo Quest is a great history lesson for anyone in the Newbury area. The Battle of Newbury is the theme! As ever, we welcome all members AND non-members to take part in our bi-monthly Quests and post up as many photographs as you can of the sites you come across on the routes - you have the next two weeks to do it!

Here's a little history about the battle with the routes of the Quests following (thanks to Kevin Hurley for putting this together):

In late summer 1643 the Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War were one loss away from defeat. After lifting the siege of Gloucester they were heading back towards their base in London along a route that included Aldbourne, Hungerford, Kintbury, Enbourne and Newbury. The Royalist forces led by The King and Prince Rupert intended force them into a decisive battle. On 18th September 1643 Prince Rupert's cavalry attacked the parliamentary forces just west of Aldbourne and managed to slow their march down to ensure the two main armies would meet at Newbury. The 50 mile route takes in this area, look to the ridge on your right as you travel down Lottage Road west of Aldbourne to see where this happened.

In early evening on the 19th September the Royalist cavalry arrived at Donnington Castle and surveyed Newbury before them. This is the first stop on our rides, it's worth walking the short path to the castle to get the same view they had. You'll see the town below you ( they immediately took the supplies that were waiting for the Parliamentary army in the town ), and you'll also see the ridge over by Wash Common on the opposite side of the valley where they knew the Parliamentary army would soon be arriving.

Our rides will then loop out west to then approach Newbury using the same roads the Parliamentary army used. On Enbourne Street 400 meters west of the A34 next to a T junction you'll see an old thatched cottage called Biggs Cottage, this is where the Parliamentary commander, The Earl of Essex, stayed on the 19th of September ( the night before the battle ). As you cycle towards Wash Common, note the high hedged lanes around that area. They were the same in 1643 and presented problems for the Royalist cavalry who found it harder to attack the foot soldiers / pikemen of the Parliamentarians.

Next stop at Round Hill, Wash Common. It's worth getting off the bike and walking 40 yards onto the battle field via the public right of way. You'll get a good view of Donnington Castle where you and the Royalist Cavalry stood earlier. You'll see how Round Hill dominates the area, something the Royalists failed to appreciate as they looked over from Donnington. This meant the Parliamentarians gained a strong defensive position and the Royalists were forced to attack them.

Final stop is the Faulkland Memorial in Wash Common which commemorates the Royalist casualties only(!).

The battle was considered to be one of the 3 most important ones in the civil war. The Royalists who lost approx 1300 men failed to defeat the Parliamentarians ( who lost approx 1200 ). The Parliamentarian pikemen largely came from the London Trained Bands who were considered to have better training and discipline than other Parliamentarian brigades. This training enabled them to maintain formation with their pikes even when under the most terrifying Royalist cavalry charges. They became the template for the more professional Parliamentarian New Model Army that would go on to win the war.

20 Mile route (thanks to Rhian Salmon): https://ridewithgps.com/routes...

35 mile route (thanks to Rachael Elliott): https://connect.garmin.com/mod...

50 mile route (thanks to Mel Sneddon): https://connect.garmin.com/mod...

We look forward to seeing all your pictures!

The theme this week is the popular book and film "Watership Down". The writer Richard Adams would have been 100 this month, so this is good time to celebrate this local author. We have 20, 33 and 50 mile routes prepared for you which are available to download below.

Watership Down, was based around our area and follows the fortunes of a group of rabbits who are forced to flee their burrow in Sandleford (The Retail Park/Tesco) due to construction. Just like the bunnies, you will be starting from the retail park. You'll cross the River Enbourne near the Swan pub just as the rabbits did and will then go on to visit Nuthanger farm where the rabbits were terrorised by the farm cat and dog but also found some nice female rabbits. This would be a good place for a photo, but note that the short dirt road that leads to the farm is only a designated footpath so best to walk with your bike for this 100 yards or so.

Just south of here you'll also be at Watership Down, so another photo of this beautiful part of the our countryside would be great. Riders on the 50 mile route will also ride along the Test Valley where our hero rabbits escaped their pursuers on a raft. The 33 and 50 mile rides have been designed to show you some of the other great countryside beyond Watership Down.

As before we'd love to see your photos, and anyone posting one on our Facebook pages will be entered into the amazing prize draw (Newbury Velo water bottles are amazing). Anyone who includes elements of rabbit fancy dress (ears, facepainting etc) will have a TRIPLE CHANCE OF WINNING the bottle.

20 Mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/34068754

33 Mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/34069086

50 Mile route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/34069496

gpx files are also available here:

Newbury Velo Quest Watership Down 20 Mile Route

Newbury Velo Quest Watership Down 33 Mile Route

Newbury Velo Quest Watership Down 50 Mile Route