Checkpoint Numbers & Names
Buckinghamshire 2 – Quainton
Buckinghamshire 4 – Nether Winchendon
Buckinghamshire 5 – Prestwood
Day 13 was planned to be one of my longer days in the saddle on the BCQ with a little over 41 miles of riding and around 2300ft of climbing it was going to be a tough one however the countryside looked very pleasant indeed, the roads should be quiet and the weather good so it was an early start to drive to my chosen start point at Great Missenden railway station.
Great Missendon is in a small dip in the landscape, so from the train station the road went in to an almost immediate hill with a short sharp climb up to Prestwood where the first checkpoint of the day was to be found – although the checkpoint is officially listed as being in Prestwood it’s actually around a mile north of the village, on a quiet country lane and was almost easy to miss fortunately having the route programmed in to my sat-nav assisted me greatly. The monument that forms the checkpoint was pretty overgrown and appeared to be a little neglected. However, the answer was easy to find so after a quick stop it was on to the villages and lanes towards Nether Winchendon.
From the checkpoint the road still continued to gently rise for the next three or four miles as it passed through the villages of Great Hampden and Green Hailey before taking a downward turn as it skirted around the edge of Monks Risborough before continuing along the lanes through Meadle, Ford, and Dinton. With countryside so quiet and traffic free you could easily believe you were in the Lake District or Yorkshire Moors not a few miles from Central London, and it wasn’t long before the checkpoint at Nether Winchendon appeared around the corner. With little to do or see other than the checkpoint it was time to make haste and press on.
From Nether Winchendon the route took me through some more quiet country side through Ashendon and Westcott then along the edge of the home of the Rothschilds at Waddesdon Manor. After crossing the A41, on the last couple of miles in to Quainton I stumbled upon the Buckingham Railway Centre so never one to miss an opportunity to look at trains I stopped of for a little nosey around and take a few pictures, but with a lot of miles still to cover I couldn’t stay as long as I would have liked, so on to Quainton.
Once in Quainton it was easy to find the checkpoint at the top of the green, and being around lunchtime it would have been rude not to stop while I was here. On the other side of the green was a pub which also had an adjoining cafe serving some nice lunches and cakes so after 24 miles of cycling I took the break.
With all three of the checkpoints for the day now visited and photographed it was a straight 20 mile ride back in to the start point. So, leaving Quainton, the route took me out towards Fleet Marston, and across the A41 and again along the edge of Waddesdon Manor on the opposite site from the morning ride before turning off the road on to a route known as the Aylesbury Ring which is a bridleway / footpath / cycleway circling Aylesbury, but my ride was to be only a short section of about three miles in to the village of Stone where I re-joined the country lanes on to Bishopstone and through to Kimble.
Once I hit Kimble the road took it’s final major up-hill climb over Longdown Hill with Chequers visible on the horizon it was time to retrace my steps of the first couple of miles back through Prestwood and in to the start at Great Missendon.
This was one of the longest days of questing that I had done so far, but it did take me through some really great countryside, and past some interesting places. If you want to split this up in to a couple of shorter rides there is plenty to see at the Buckinghamshire Railway and Waddesdon Manor to fill out the extra time.
Miles Cycled – 42
Checkpoints Visited – 3
Total Miles Cycled – 481
Total Checkpoints Visited – 25
Click here to download a gpx file for this ride
