King Alfred's Way

[Cathryn]

reading about navigation problems i am assuming people didn't have gps of some sort. I used a Garmin 1030 Edge. probably had 10 spots a day where I missed a tiny turn and had to backtrack 20m, but zero issues and i cannot conceive how hard it must be with a paper map

I’ve downloaded it onto Komoot with voice direction! Hoping that’ll do the trick!

 

[lazybloke]

Finished doing this yesterday. The short version is that it is quite tough. It is difficult to navigate, especially between Reading and East Meon. You could easily spend a week on it, and if you wanted to visit all the sites, you would have to. Finding accommodation can be a problem. There are a lot of hills to lug camping equipment up if you want to camp. Finding cheap accommodation in the Oxfordshire area is particularly difficult.

I started doing this with a friend. We set off from Reading, aiming to reach the Eco Lodge in East Meon. This was a very difficult day. We were looking at the map half the time trying to work out where we were. It was particularly difficult past Farnham. We kept taking wrong turns. We got drenched by heavy rainfall. We could not find the Shipwright’s Way. I had an issue with my gear lever. The forest route was not signposted very well. We had some tough climbs. We had to push our bikes up Butser Hill. We had phoned up the Eco Lodge about 3pm when we reckoned we would not get there by 5pm. The bloke said no problem. We made some short cuts but did not get there until 8pm and it was all closed. We rang up an emergency number and got a door code, but it was a code to the hostel not the B+B, and the letter we were told to expect was not there. We rang the number again and a woman came out to let us in. The nearest place to eat was the Bat and Ball two miles away, so we had to cycle down there without showering before they closed the kitchen. The next day we set off towards Amesbury. Things were going alright until a bolt sheared off my saddle and the saddle came off. Another cyclist recommended I push the seatpost down, but when I tried to loosen the seatpost collar, the bolt snapped. However the seatpost had seized and would not move. Stood on the pedals for another ten or fifteen miles until we reached Winchester. I took my bike to a cycle cafe called Bespoke Biking. The bicycle mechanic said he did not have the bolts to put the saddle back. In addition, he said the brake pads were worn, the headset was loose, the hubs were loose, and that he did not recommend I continue the journey. My friend said it was game over, but I did not want to give up. I tried to buy a 2nd hand bike, but they did not have anything suitable. I went to Bike X, but their bikes were rather expensive. I set off to Halfords to see what they had. They had something that looked suitable, which might have taken a rack, but time was pressing. I went back to Bike X, who had offered me £75 for my bike (I think) in part exchange. However, plans had changed. They put the saddle back on and did not charge me anything. Meanwhile, my friend had phoned another friend to take us back, but I told him I wanted to continue. I had suggested he continue on his own, and I would have tried to catch up, but he did not want to. Later he texted me he was not enjoying the journey, expecially all the map reading. So he went home and I cycled onto Salisbury Youth Hostel in Cholderton near Amesbury, via a busy A road to Stockbridge and then country lanes. I got there at 7:30 very tired. I tailgated some other guests into the hostel, but there was nobody in reception. I waited there for about half an hour before anyone showed up. It turned out there was a buzzer by the entrance I had missed. I had booked a group room, for myself and my friend, but now it was only me in a room with eight beds. The other odd thing was that they used another downstairs dorm room to store bicycles because the receptionist said a lot of cyclists were doing the King Alfred Way on expensive bikes and their cycle shed was not secure enough. The only place to get food was the pub down the road, because the nearest shop was on a dual carriageway. I set off the next day without breakfast, decided against crossing the A303, worked my way towards Amesbury and back onto the route. Had to cycle along a very busy road out of Larkhill, then started going through all these roads and paths adorned with MOD signs. I was not sure which paths we were actually allowed to cycle on and on which we might be shelled by mistake. Eventually I got onto this MOD gravel road which went on for miles and miles without barely seeing anyone, getting soaked by the rain. I missed my turn off, but worked my way back to Avebury where the standing stones are. There I rejoined the route where it became the Ridgeway. I followed that until Barbury Castle, then joined the Old Ridgeway to Chiseldon, where the hotel was. The next day I followed the Ridgeway and the Thames Path back Reading. I am familiar with much of this route and it was fairly straightforward. The biggest incident was that a motorcylist had witnessed a smash and grab from a car parked on the Ridgeway and asked me whether he should call the police. I advised him to phone 111, but I was not very helpful at working out exactly where we were. I stopped a bunch of other cyclists and through a combination of GPS and other phone apps, we were able to give a location.

Would you be able to pinpoint the gravel MOD road pls? It sounds like one of the best parts of your experiences!

 

[Yellow Fang]

Would you be able to pinpoint the gravel MOD road pls? It sounds like one of the best parts of your experiences!

It was one of the best bits, despite the rain.

 

[lazybloke]

It was one of the best bits, despite the rain.
View attachment 605320

Thank you, I'll be on the maps later to have a closer look

 

[Cathryn]

We leave tomorrow! Doing it over 5 nights/6 days with our 11 year old son! Cannot wait! We are a little nervous - it’s a lot of off road for us and we acknowledge that we may not finish it but we are happy to switch to lanes if it all gets too much although we are determined to give it our best attempt!

Today I learned that if you’re very short with very stumpy legs and a tiny little bike, there is no way you can fit a saddle bag on your bike!!! We have had to resort to a rack and rack bag!

 

[jay clock]

We leave tomorrow! Doing it over 5 nights/6 days with our 11 year old son! Cannot wait! We are a little nervous - it’s a lot of off road for us and we acknowledge that we may not finish it but we are happy to switch to lanes if it all gets too much although we are determined to give it our best attempt!

Today I learned that if you’re very short with very stumpy legs and a tiny little bike, there is no way you can fit a saddle bag on your bike!!! We have had to resort to a rack and rack bag!

View attachment 605378

You will smash it....

 

[Cathryn]

Day 1 done! Avebury to Goring. 43 miles. The worst bit was the start of the ridgeway from Avebury to Barbury Castle! Awful! Much better after that! One puncture (husband). Two falls (son). Lots of food. Had a fantastic day!

 

[figbat]

That’s the stretch I ride a lot, both ways. Yes, up from Avebury is not a lot of fun. A couple of good climbs after White Horse Hill and a nice long descent into Streatley (mind the jumps!).

 

[jay clock]

Goring to Reading is pretty with some short sharp ups and downs. the little climb with the steps next to it is unrideable in my view!

Have a great day

 

[figbat]

Goring to Reading is pretty with some short sharp ups and downs. the little climb with the steps next to it is unrideable in my view!

Have a great day

Going that way it is - going t’other way is doable. That little stretch through the woods is lovely, although watch the roots.

 

[Cathryn]

Day 2: goring to Farnham! 45 miles ish! Really lovely stretch through the trees as mentioned above coming out of Goring! The steps were unrideable! We really loved going through Reading - such a brilliant, pretty route through town! More tarmac today and much flatter, just a few short steep climbs at the end! Spending the night with friends. All going really well. We were nervous our son wouldn’t handle it - he’s crushing it, we are holding him back!

 

[figbat]

I happened to ride a section of the KAW yesterday - it’s local to me and I ride it a lot. On getting home and looking through my Strava results I noticed that of the 10-12 people completing the same segments as me, around 8 were on rides with “KAW” in their title. It seems to have really caught on.

 

[Yellow Fang]

We really loved going through Reading - such a brilliant, pretty route through town!

It's not often you hear that. I have to admit I did not follow the route through Reading.

 

[matticus]

Day 1 done! Avebury to Goring. 43 miles. The worst bit was the start of the ridgeway from Avebury to Barbury Castle! Awful! Much better after that! One puncture (husband).

I assume Avebury to Hackpen (i.e. the start) was the problem? (I've ridden Hackpen to Barbury, and most of it from Barbury to Goring. Pretty much rideable in dry or dryish conditions, without big big tyres).

I hope you patched up your husband :-/

 

[Cathryn]

I assume Avebury to Hackpen (i.e. the start) was the problem? (I've ridden Hackpen to Barbury, and most of it from Barbury to Goring. Pretty much rideable in dry or dryish conditions, without big big tyres).

I hope you patched up your husband :-/

Yeah it was Overton Hill (the A4 junction) to Hackpen. We ride down it all the time and it’s fine but uphill was really tough!