The first is from Pete, the second is one I prepared earlier (to use a phrase from Blue Peter). We both report on the same things but it's interesting to see the different ways we present it.
Petes Blog:
A warm sunny day greeted us as we welcomed five new riders to our group at Three Bridges station. After some introductions we set off for Redhill Aerodrome using the NCR 21 for most of the way. This took us via North Road, Three Bridges in to Manor Royal – some of the riders were not aware of the existence of the tunnel in to Manor Royal and so it was good to share that information. Through Manor Royal to the tarmac path by the landing lights for the runway and Gatwick and a short break. And to stand under a landing aircraft! Another first for some people and quite spectacular if you have not done it before. Shortly after this we passed under the terminal building to emerge in to our second county for the day – Surrey. Under the subway in Horley and we reached the open countryside via the Langshott estate. The off-road route through to Salfords (all on the NCR21) was dry and very pleasant, with one short sharp kick-up and we soon arrived in Salfords for the right then left up to the top of the hill overlooking Redhill aerodrome (about a mile short of the East Surrey hospital).
We arrived for coffee and cakes about 11.00 (just over 10 miles at an average speed of about 8 mph) and sat outside in the sunshine solving matters of world-wide import and watching the light aircraft movements before heading back via the same route. The idea was to see if everyone had remembered the way. It seemed as if there were less uphill’s on the return journey and we soon made good time to the Three Bridges junction of NCR20 and 21 where we headed south towards Brighton on the route 20. Barbara left us for her train while we continued along Tilgate Drive to Furnace Green and then in to Maidenbower past Oriel School. Total distance 23 miles. Well done to all riders and thank you for joining us. We hope to see some of you at our regular Sunday rides. Our next beginners ride is on Sunday 14th August at 10.00 from Three Bridges Station. We’ll see who turns up, and what the weather is like but potentially we will follow the Worth Way/Forest Way eastwards – going to either East Grinstead, Forest Row or Groombridge. And back!
In the meantime – Happy Cycling!
Peter S
P.S. For those needing help with route-planning in Crawley try this site: http://www.cyclestreets.net/ – Crawley CTC are going to be maintaining the local information for Crawley, so please report any suggestions or ideas using: crawshamctc@hotmail.co.uk Anybody needing help or advice regarding route finding and the best way to get around Crawley on a bike please contact us via the same email address.
And now Blog version 2 from Bob:
A nice, bright morning found four club members joined by 5 other riders for one of our "Introductory Rides" - we hold these on the second Sunday of each month with the intention of alerting people to just how easy it is to have an easy yet interesting bike ride from Crawley (or Horsham).
Todays destination was Redhill Aerodrome and, starting from Three Bridges station, we soon had the hardest part of the ride behind us - crossing Haslett Avenue! After that, the quiet back roads of Three Bridges and then Northgate are the setting for National Cycle Network (NCN) route 21. This route uses an underpass to get into the Industrial Estate without crossing Crawley Avenue. The Industrial estate itself is traversed using a combination of very quiet roads and dedicated cyclepaths. Then, using a couple of sets of traffic lights we arrived at The Beehive before gaining the tarmac path between the Railway and The Gatwick Stream. We stopped for a breather (and a photo) directly under the flightpath and in amongst the landing lights:
As we went past the Airport terminal building, we pointed out the various ways to get into the terminal (stairs and lifts) and the bicyle storage facilities lining the path. Those riders unfamiliar with the route were amazed to see the lake that swims into view just after the tunnel under the motorway link - they'd lived in the area for years but never knew it existed!
We worked our way through Horley using a couple of quiet residential roads, the underpass under the railway and out on the Smallfield Road before turning north to follow NCN21 through the Langshott estate on a shared use path. Now we were on a farm track called Lake lane and we stopped for another breather and photo:
At the end of this farm track, Pete (the ride leader), gave us a choice for the next part of the route: either we could climb the hill using a quiet country lane or we could climb the same hill on a smooth bridleway - we opted for the bridleway. It was an easy climb (middle cogs front and back) and very pleasant under the trees, especially once we crested and could enjoy the smooth downhill:
Just before reaching Honeycrock Lane we noticed a Dog Show in progress on the left of our route - two facilities there amused us somewhat - one was a tent advertising itself as a place for "Dog Portraits" and the other was a what looked like a swimming pool but with dogs being encouraged to jump in and out of it.
Here was the second climb of the ride, but everyone managed it with no fuss at all. then we turned right onto Kings Mill Lane and I could point out where the Old Crawley Clock seems to be spending its days. No one other than me seemed to remember it, but to jog peoples memories, I've included this picture which I found on the Crawley Borough Council website:
To find the picture I did a search on the internet and came up with very few relevant hits.
One of the hits seems to be an extract from the minutes of the now defunct New Towns Commission (the organisation charged with developing the various New Towns around London that emerged after the Second World war). It had this to say:
"Genevieve" Clock
92. The Commission have provided a clock in Queens Square featuring the annual London-Brighton Veteran Car Run. When the hour is struck models of the cars emerge and move around the clock, and bells chime a tune based on the theme music of the "Genevieve" film.
93. The clock was unveiled on the eve of the 1965 Veteran Car Run by Sir Thomas Bennett, the first chairman of Crawley Development Corporation, and handed over to the Urban District Council.
92. The Commission have provided a clock in Queens Square featuring the annual London-Brighton Veteran Car Run. When the hour is struck models of the cars emerge and move around the clock, and bells chime a tune based on the theme music of the "Genevieve" film.
93. The clock was unveiled on the eve of the 1965 Veteran Car Run by Sir Thomas Bennett, the first chairman of Crawley Development Corporation, and handed over to the Urban District Council.
I'd love to see the clock back in Crawley I think it would be a great addition to Queens Square (where it was originally installed) or even on the High Street - it would certainly be VERY popular on the day of the Old Crocks Race.
Arriving at Redhill Aerodrome we found a lot of people enjoying the sunshine outside the cafe but it didn't take us long to get served and find tables to sit at. Light refreshments were the order of the day and it was very pleasant sitting in the sun, eating, drinking, chatting and watching the movements of several light aircraft. A party of boy Scouts were being shown around and several of them boarded a plane for a flight. Barbara also told us that she had been on a helicopter flight from here took her on a sightseeing trip over London.
Looking to the southwest we could see dark clouds bearing down on us and decided we ought to head back for home. We decided to use exactly the same return route so that everyone would get the chance to memorise the route for themselves and, as one of the riders commented, the return journey seemed far quicker. Once we got back to Three Bridges we said goodbye to Barbara who was heading for the Station whilst the rest of use followed NCN 20 as it passed Three Bridges Football Club and used Tilgate Drive to cross the railway into Furnace Green. I peeled off our little 'Peleton' as we passed my street and Pete led veryone else on, under the railway and into Maidenbower by Oriel School where everyone finally dispersed.
Thankyou to everyone who turned up - please come on another ride with us sometime - the second Sunday of each month will generally be comparably family friendly and a big thankyou to club members Pete (and Marian) for leading the ride and Barbara for helping keep everyone safe.
Next Sundays ride (July 17th) will be led by me (Bob) and starts from Horsham Pavilions in the Park (car parking is free on Sundays) at 09:30 hrs. It will head north to Leith Hill where I hope to visit the Tower (National Trust, light refreshments available) and then we'll head for Newdigate to stop for lunch at The Six Bells. From there it will be a simple ride back to Horsham. Although the vast bulk of this ride will be on tarmac roads, to get to the Tower will involve a few hundred yards of hardpacked offroad and though I believe the ride will be suitable for all types of bikes why not bring your mountain bike and have some fun on the tracks near Leith Hill Tower whilst we're there? The golden rules are that no-one will get left behind and everyone will enjoy themselves (I'll be monitoring the smiles).
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