Pootler

Route GPX file     Metroland The gossamer thin trainspotter rationale of th is route is to follow the long- abandoned extension of the Metropolitan Line beyond Aylesbury to its termination at Verney Junction near Buckingham. You will see work on its rather more expensive 21 st century substitute as you go. It is an easy ride on a clockwise route on quiet roads from Haddenham & Thame Parkway Statio n, through pleasant, gently undulating, but generally unremarkable arable and pastoral countryside. There are a couple of ridges to cross in the first few miles and a short but steep climb of 40m or so after you have crossed the A41 at Waddesdon on the return leg.  Also the estate road in Eyethrope Park has been temporarily closed, see the Route Notes below. Zooming In Highlights Include: The home of ‘Spaghetti Trees’. Playing detective to spot what remains of the abandoned stations. (Often not much!) The Buckinghamshire Railway Ce...

GPX file of the route  Goring Gap GPX This ‘figure of eight’ tour takes you from the wide, flat Thames Valley at the East end of the Vale of the White Horse, into much narrower and steep sides valley where the river cuts a course between the Chilterns meets the North Wessex Downs. This is the Goring Gap. It starts from Didcot station and heads north on NCR 5, a good(ish) cycle path towards the Thames, which it follows to Dorchester and Wallingford. Both were important cities in the Iron age and the Saxon period respectively and both can prove it!. It then continues along the bottom of the Goring Gap to Goring itself before returning to Wallingford, enjoying longer views from the upper side of the valley. From there it skirts the foot of the Downs back to Didcot. Apart from NCR 5 out of Didcot, It is mostly flat, minor roads with the odd busier stretch near the river. Much of it is flat, but there is a long but gentle climb out of Goring and an unmade section around South...

  GPX File   Tadpole Bridge & Golden Ridge  This is a pleasant, peaceful and undemanding route. Starting from Oxford Station, there is a short climb out of the town and the road into and out of Oxford is busy. Thereafter it is ride along mostly minor roads in flat, arable countryside in the Thames and Windrush valleys. It visits the market towns of Eynsham and Witney before turning south across the flat clay farming landscape of the Thames Valley, to cross the river at Tadpole Bridge. From there is a climb of around 35m onto the Golden Ridge, which separates the modern Thames Valley from the Vale of the White Horse and which you follow back towards Oxford. Zooming In Highlights are: The flat vistas and wide skies of the Thames Valley. Historic and handsome Eynsham and Witney. The villages and views across the Valley from the Golden Ridge Stanton Harcourt and the Devil’s Quoits, now ‘restored’ A diverse collection of heroes and villains. The word ‘div...