Saturday, 26 August 1944

Log of a Cycle Tour to North Wales, by Roy Spurgeon, with Leslie Lee.   25 August   27 August

Once again the morning looked dull and misty and it was quite chilly as we left Warwick Hostel at 1020 hours (4477.6), taking the road for a short run due eastwards for Leamington. We passed Warwick's two famous old city gates, the large church of St. Mary (see photos) as well as many Tudor buildings, one dated 1571, and ran down the hill past the 14th Century castle (see photos), set on the banks of the Avon. We did not visit this impressive looking edifice as it did not open to the public until 1100 hours, but crossed the pretty River Avon and then turned left beside it at Bridge End.

We reached Leamington Spa at 1055 hours (4480.2) and toured the whole town for some time. It is a very well laid out place (see photo) with spacious, colourful gardens sited around the River Learn, tributary of the Avon, and even boasts baskets of flowers on every lamp standard in the middle of the road. Being a spa, it has, of course, its Royal Pump Room, complete with light orchestra and the whole place was very crowded indeed at the time of our visit. By the time we arrived at Leamington, the weather had become glorious, with the dispersal of the mist and it remained very hot for the rest of the day. What little wind there was blew dead against us but it mace very little difference to our progress. We left Leamington after a great delicacy in wartime, a milk shake, and started south on the fairly long stretch to Banbury. We passed through the small village of Bishops Tachbrook and rejoined the Warwick-Banbury road to the south east. Soon we passed over a large airfield (literally, for the road went right across the main runway so that it was difficult to see which was which) and then stopped to eat our packed lunches near the small village of Gaydon at 1245 hours. This event must be placed on record, since it was the first (and last) time we had actually to eat our packed lunches for lunch, so we finished up our rations with them too, a great feast. Feeling very thirsty after our meal and as a result of the great heat, we set off once more, only to arrive ten minutes after closing time for a drink of cider at a wayside inn. Nevertheless, we were able to repair to a cafe opposite for a very welcome cup of tea.

On the road again, a very pleasant but more hilly ride brought us through the village of Warrington and into Banbury at 1500 hours (4500.6). We saw the famous cross, though a modern structure now occupies the site of the original cross of nursery rhyme fame, the latter having been demolished in 1610. We then toured the rest of the town; the main street is very wide and spacious but the side roads are all extremely narrow (see photo). Banbury is famous for its cakes (in Normal Times) but also has a number of factories. Climbing out of the town, we were overtaken by a schoolboy on a cycle anxious to show us how fast he could go up the hill. Reaching the top and pedalling furiously down the slight gradient on the other side, we had just begun to discover that our speed was higher than his maximum, when his mount literally blew up! His chain and back mudguard both came off in toto with a rending noise, causing him to swerve violently and pull up suddenly, much to his mortification and to our amusement. The look on his face was worth seeing.

At 1555 hours (4510.8) we passed through the small town of Deddington, once a thriving market town, but now apparently living up to its name, for it appeared quite dead and did not even offer anything in the way of tea. So, pressing on, we came upon a wayside cafe at 1650 hours (4521.5) where we refreshed ourselves and spent a little time. Not long afterwards, after a very flat run, we reached the village of Kidlington, then saw Kidlington airfield and were back once more on ground we had traversed in the opposite direction a fortnight before.

We completed the last few miles into Oxford over familiar roads and arrived at the Hostel at 1745 hours (4529.0), hoping to make a quick turn-round and get a boat out on the river. However, our plan was shattered. Leslie found that he had lost his map and, thinking that he had left it at the cafe at Kidlington, he decided to go and try to recover it. Unfortunately, his effort was of no avail but he arrived back at the Hostel after a very fast ride at 1915 hours. We thought we might still have time to hire a boat so we rushed down to the boathouse by the Magdalen Bridge (see photo) only to find it closed. Directed to the Thames bridge, we arrived in time to see the boatman let out the last boat for the night, much to our disappointment.

We then decided to get some supper in the same British Restaurant that we had patronised a fortnight previously and we had quite a good meal in the company of the same pseudo-Bohemians and other comic coves who seem to haunt the town in all weathers. Returning once more to the river and proceeding along the towpath, we thought we heard the sounds of a fair and immediately decided to see what was doing. Tracing the sounds to their source, we left our cycles and spent a most enjoyable hour or so on the "dodgems", etc., before going back to the Hostel and bed, after another long chat with the warden (4537.9).

Total cycling distance for the day - 60.3 miles.

Next day: 27 August