Checkpoint Numbers & Names
Hampshire 1 – Danesbury Hill Fort
Day 19 wasn’t really a day as such but was one of those opportunities too good to miss out on – after spending the morning in Andover for work I had the chance to spend the afternoon doing what I wanted, and with the Danebury Hill Fort checkpoint not too far away what else was I going to do?
So, after lunch and a quick change of clothing it was a chance to go for a bit of questing on my road bike rather than my usual tourer, and needing to be back home by late afternoon there wasn’t anytime to waste so this was also going to be a training ride to boot.
Leaving the southern part of industrialised Andover and heading west a little to Weyhill I then turned south along Red Lane, through Abbotts Ann and Red Rice before coming out on to the Stocksbridge Road almost opposite the Hillfort itself.
The Hillfort lies at the end of a stony track and partly up a grass hill, so if you are using a skinny tyred road bike as I was this day you may need to get off and walk the last bit up to the checkpoint. Whilst at the checkpoint there is quite a bit of the Iron Age fort left to see, and if you have the time then it’s worth a look around. I was able to spend some time there but not as much as I would have liked to be honest so once the obligatory picture had been taken of the checkpoint it was time to hit the road.
Once back on the main road it was time to head north along the Old Stocksbridge Road in to the intriguingly named village of Palestine and then back north directly through Grateley and Monxton and in to Andover where I started.
All in all the ride had taken little more than two hours including stopping off at the fort which is a lot shorter than my usual whole day rides on the BCQ, but I still managed to get back to the car before I lost the light and home before my deadline.
Miles Cycled –18
Checkpoints Visited – 1
Total Miles Cycled – 705
Total Checkpoints Visited – 36
Click here to download a gpx file for this ride
