Checkpoint Numbers & Names
Buckinghamshire 1 – Jordans
Day 18 was to be the last checkpoint that I would be able to get to from home without having to either drive or catch a train.
So, knowing it was going to be a long day I decided to start early and make the most of the morning sun and quieter roads at that time of day. Heading out from home through the now very familiar roads of Winnersh it wasn’t long before I turned of into the country lanes between Winnersh and Shurlock Row where there was barely a car too see for the next couple of miles or so. Once I hit a road known as ‘ The straight mile’ (which for some reason has a 90º bend in it) there were a few more cars around, and this continued on until I had gone through Shurlock Row where they again became quiet until I reached White Waltham.
From here on the route was always going to be a fair bit busier as I would be riding close to the edge of Maidenhead town, but the road through the wonderfully named Pinkneys Green and then the downhill section in to Furze Platt was a lot quieter than expected which led on to a nice cruise through Cookham, Bourne End and Wooburn, but it still didn’t prepare me for the next steep uphill!
After leaving Wooburn Green the road took me up a very steep hill hill with around 200ft of climbing in one mile, so after reaching the top and crossing the M40 and A40, a drinks stop was certainly in order, but with nothing in sight there was no option but to press on through Holtspur, down hill and then back up again in to Beaconsfield where I had my pick of cafe’s to choose from.
After being fully refreshed the route again took me on a brief up and down section as I cruised on the three miles or so in to the checkpoint at Jordans, a small village famous for being one of the oldest centres for Quakerism in the country and also the burial place of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania which makes it popular with American tourists. The village definitely has an ‘olde worlde’ feel about it and is an interesting place to look around while locating the checkpoint.
With the checkpoint duly located and photographed time was pressing a little, and my stomach was warning me lunch was drawing near, and with there being no pub in Jordans the only option was to make haste and stop on the way home.
So heading south from Jordan my route took me through the south part of Beaconsfield where there was a wealth of pubs to choose from – seeing one that was prominently advertising local real ale the choice was easy and pleasant pub lunch was had.
Feeling fully re-fuelled I now took the road south and running on a parallel line to my outbound route I passed again through the villages Wooburn and Bourne End, and back down the steep hill that I climbed up earlier in the day. From here I re-joined my outbound route for a short stretch until i reached Cookham where I turned away south through Widbrook Common and then towards Maidenhead. After a brief but busy trip through Maidenhead town I was soon back out in to the country at White Waltham from where it was an easy ride to retrace my outward journey back to the start.
This was one of my longer days questing especially as there was only one checkpoint to visit, however it was also to be the last of the checkpoints that I could actually reach by cycling the entire journey there and back from home. All future journeys would now involve having to travel to a starting point either by car or train.
Miles Cycled –53
Checkpoints Visited – 1
Total Miles Cycled – 686
Total Checkpoints Visited – 35
Click here to download a gpx file of this ride
