The Three Horseshoes

A Horsham start at 10:00hrs with me as ride leader, so I only had time for a short lie-in before changing my wheels and hitting the road. The weather was still warm enough to ride in shorts but there was sufficient chill in the air to warrant a warm top. The roads through Furnace Green and Tilgate were quiet as was the climb up Pease Pottage Hill and I was nice and relaxed as I cycled into the village. Five yards short of the sharp left hand bend there, someone in a people carrier decided to overtake me just as a contingent of Horsham Cyclists came the other way – when I say “overtake” I really mean “ignore my existence and nearly wipe me out”! Shocked, I failed to make a note of the registration and can only vaguely recall the vehicle as being dark blue and of French manufacture. This got me thinking – perhaps we could start naming and shaming bad drivers - I think there’s a West Sussex Police website for this, but it would need us to remember the registration, so I failed on that count!

It’s funny how, when you’re busy thinking about stuff, the miles can just fly by and so just a few minutes later I arrived at Horsham Pavilions in the Park. Looking at the bikes parked outside, I could only see one I recognised – Anton’s rather excellent titanium framed Enigma. A couple of minutes later Barbara and Norman arrived although Barbara would not be joining us on the ride – she was in the process of delivering the latest copy of The Pedaller to our Horsham members and was taking the opportunity to drop off the copies for the Crawley members to me.

We waited until 10 past 10 but no-one else turned up, so just the three of us set off. We used the usual route westwards out of Horsham – over the golf course, under the A24 and out onto Robin Hood Lane. We turned into Byfleet Lane then Strood Lane before a short stretch of the A281 and A29 followed by the climb up Rowhook Road. We made the usual stop outside the Chequers Inn to get our breath back before carrying on up Horsham Road and then onto Honeywood Lane. Immediately after the Punchbowl Inn we turned right, down the hill and then over the A29 and onto Weare Street. As we made our way along Weare Street, we still couldn’t see the aeroplane that’s visible on Google maps:



As we progressed up this normally quiet lane there was a veritable traffic jam – a horse and rider complete with two large dogs was going up the lane and two more horses and riders were coming down! We carefully threaded between them and carried on. Arriving at Coles Lane we turned right to go past Ockley Station and over the A24 to Capel. Not much further to go now, we headed east along Vicarage Lane, north along Misbrooks Green Lane, east along Trig Street and then Kingsland into Newdigate. From here we went past the Surrey Oaks at Parkgate, along Broad Lane and Clayhill Lane before arriving at Leigh. How do you pronounce Leigh? Lee or Lie – I go for the latter.

Heading south for short while along Smalls Hill Road we held the traffic up slightly as we went up the hill and then after the short downhill we turned left onto Dean Oak Lane. This was pleasant and easy riding on a nice, bright if slightly breezy day and we soon turned left into Ironsbottom and arrived at the Three Horseshoes Inn. This ride was originally arranged by Mick and on entering the pub they were expecting us and we were shown to a reserved table. The beer and cider was well kept and very enjoyable and there was a good choice of food which was quickly prepared, tasty and moderately priced. Although most of the tables were reserved, the pub didn’t really start filling up until about 1 pm – just as we were leaving.

We headed south, back down Ironsbottom and then turned right onto Collendean Lane which brought us to the Norwood Hill crossroads where a left turn gave us a nice downhill run with a good view of Gatwick Airport. After passing through Charlwood and heading out on the Ifield Road we had another good view of the runway at Gatwick.

Rather than take the first right onto Prestwood Lane and the climb up The Mount, we took the second onto Ifield Wood. The Rusper Road then took us past the venue for our Christmas dinner this year, The Gate, and Lambs Green Road took us past the venue for one of our previous Christmas dinners, The Lamb. Faygate Lane then took us on the climb up to Wimlands Lane which in turn took us west along the ridge. A nice fast blast down Wimland Hill was only marginally spoilt by a car coming up the hill. We then stopped by The Frog and Nightgown where we spotted this traction engine:



Here’s another shot to show the true scale:



After this we crossed the A264 and headed into Horsham via Roffey to arrive back at our start point, Horsham Pavilions in the Park.

Our next ride, on Sunday 17th October, takes us to The Plough at Leigh. It starts from Three Bridges Station at 10:00hrs and will be lead by Anton.

Members should have received the latest copy of The Pedaller by now and with it a reminder that our AGM is coming up on Thursday 21st October at Broadbridge Heath Village Centre at 20:00hrs. Please come along, it’s a friendly meeting and helps ensure your club reflects your requirements.