There have been posts in the other place....
Anyway:
There were fourteen of us at the start (Paul W- Postie on the other place- joined us at Liphook having had to work the previous night) left about ten minutes late because I missed my usual train (by a minute, quite literally) and ended up getting the later train into London Bridge. Apart from the nip in the air and a very light shower early on, the weather was perfect, including that rarest and most pleasant of phenomena, a tailwind. For such a small ride, we had quite a few punctures, five (including a repeat, almost certainly a split tyre, the young lady affected eventually bailed). For that reason, and our generally relaxed pace, we gradually became later and later behind our expected arrival time- we were still at Haslemere at six!- and aborted plans for a second stop in Petersfield and a trip on the Hayling Ferry.
But those were hardly important. For the most part, our route followed the ideas Hummers, self and others had tried and tested. From HPC we went to Putney Bridge (this time via Chelsea Embankment rather than the direct route, a variation that worked very nicely), then through Richmond Park, where John (aka Plodder) impressed everyone with his negotiation of the rather tight kissing gates with his Dawes trike. And as always, riding through there at night was a great experience. We managed to take a very slight detour when we missed a turn in Cobham, but that was quickly spotted and corrected. On we went to Guildford and our halfway stop at Tesco, where we met a few friendly locals both there and on our way out of town (thankfully rather more efficiently than I did the other week).
From there we passed through Godalming, Haslemere (another puncture), Petersfield, before the one climb of note (though there was much of the rolling variety),up from Buriton, where I had to walk part way after fluffing my gear changes. From there, it was mostly downhill or flat through Havant and Pompey.
And as for the cafe at the Castle: Superb. Great location, great food, and very reasonably priced, served up by lovely people. Highly recommended.
Cracking night out!