8 members of our Cycling Group travelled down to Hampshire for a 3 day “Mini Holiday”.

Day 1 – 8 riders, 24 miles, 1,375ft ascent

We set out from the wonderful Abbey of Mottisfont in the sunshine, with clear skies promising a good ride. It took a while for Helen to find the right way out of the car park, with an unplanned view of the beautiful river Test! Then the ride took us 24 miles through rolling, very underpopulated countryside with long sweeping descents and wonderful views. 

We reloaded our bikes on to the cars and drove to the Meon Valley Hotel, where we had lovely big rooms with lots of space. It transpired that the hotel was hosting BlindGolf, a charity with enables people who are blind or visually impaired to socialise, exercise, learn new skills and conquer new challenges by playing golf with the help of a volunteer caddy and spotters – there were 45 players and 40 helpers. It was truly heartwarming to see how much they were enjoying themselves! But that meant that the evening food was limited to a very poor, expensive buffet – but we kept smiling with the help of a glass or two.

Day 2 – 7 riders, 42 miles, 1,140ft ascent

The next day, Pam and Tony led us through Fareham and Portsmouth, via Portchester Castle (with an excellent coffee stop in the church), along the quay to the Spinnaker Tower for lunch. This is the centrepiece of the redevelopment of Portsmouth Harbour, which is quite transformed. A steep climb took us over Piper’sHill, and through the woods back to the cars.

Day 3 – 8 riders, 22 miles, 650ft ascent

On the third day, we drove to Salisbury and visited the stunning cathedral – once again, Helen couldn’t find the route away from there, but the team pulled together and got us on to the quiet roads alongside the river Wylie. Here the climb was over Smithen Down, but we were rewarded with an excellent lunch in the Bridge Inn, watching the swans on the river. The final hurdle was the closed road home – but we sweet-talked the guys felling a tree and found our way back through Salisbury to the cars. We hugged each other goodbye and trundled off.