There were twenty days of rain in March in the Wiveliscombe area so I think we were extremely fortunate that we had good weather on our ride. There was no rain and we even had some sunshine for the eight tandems and three solos. It was a testing start to the day for some, as locating the car park in Wellington proved to be the first challenge. When planning a route there is always the pressing question of ‘when and where will there be toilets?’ It is not a trivial matter when considering both the more mature age of many of the cyclists plus the fact that there has been a 50% decline in the number of public toilets available in the UK over the past decade. 

We cycled from the car park along paths and quiet roads, past the ponds at the back of the sports centre and out into the lanes. It was a gentle start through Westford with lots of daffodils and lambs to convince us it truly was spring. After a short descent to lull everyone into a false sense of security, we climbed very steeply up to the common at Langford Budville. From here until we reached Wiveliscombe it was down and up on repeat. The hard work of the ‘ups’ was rewarded with beautiful views across to Exmoor in one direction and the Quantocks in the other.

Wiveliscombe provided a chance to regroup for those who had opted to take a short cut. We left Wiveliscombe via Langley Marsh and around the back for the last steep climb on the route, to the top of Pitsford Hill. The back lanes to Ash Priors Common were muddy and in some places still partially flooded. We had lunch at The Allerford Inn at Hillfarrance and by the time we arrived via Halse and Oake, everyone was very hungry. After lunch it was only a shortish ride back to Wellington. Everyone felt they had worked hard on the ride although James said it was good preparation for the route he has got up his sleeve for next month. You have been warned!
Rob & Sally