The historic city of Winchester provides a great base from which to dive into the ancient woodlands and trails of the South Downs National Park
This historic city provides a great base from which to dive into the ancient woodlands and long-established trails of the South Downs National Park
With the country still locked down (at the time of writing), we’re playing it safe and staying local with a ride from Winchester, on the edge of the South Downs National Park. The route starts by the excellent Handlebar Cafe, but the car park is busy at the best of times so we decide to meet at the oddly-named Cheesefoot Head viewpoint instead. The small car park here is right beside a large natural amphitheatre (also known as Matterley Bowl), where American troops were based in WWII. Back then, it hosted boxing matches to entertain the soldiers, but nowadays it’s used for filming and festivals, and even cycling events such as Battle in the Bowl. Obviously, everything is cancelled right now, so I’m surprised to find a food van here on this cold, crisp morning, but more than happy to entertain myself with a bacon roll and cup of coffee before setting off on today’s ride.
Shed some slop
Once kitted up (and wishing I’d got into my cycling clobber back at home first), we roll off-road immediately, onto a singletrack trail on this side of the surprisingly busy A272. A gradual descent allows us a gentle but fun start between the trees and the opportunity to pop off protruding roots. Following the long-distance South Downs Way National Trail, we cruise down the Temple Valley,
where there’s always some work going on for the many activities the area hosts. Following the SDW makes for an easy navigational start as we follow the signs and good tracks. We’re soon warmed up – well, as much as we can be at this time of year – before we peel off in search of fun trails.
A short, wooded drop down on some snowdroplined singletrack whets our appetite, but soon delivers us to our first bit of tarmac. The hard stuff helps us gain some elevation and then we start to descend, before peeling back off-road. This fieldedge track plunges us into some woods and dives downhill. Between the naked birch trees, the vibrant green of the moss floor is the only thing other than my bright yellow coat to provide any colour in these surroundings. It’s a fast and fun descent, despite the damp conditions, which means I have to keep my wits about me, because festering leaves conceal slippery sticks beneath their seemingly innocent, mulchy exterior.
Another stretch of road sheds the mud from my tyres (onto my jacket and my face). With a noticeably lighter bike and a hard surface, we grind our way up the next hill and, dropping into another tree-lined trail, join the Allan King Way – a 45-mile route for walkers, running between Portchester and Winchester (not to be confused with King Alfred’s Way, which we rode in MBUK 389).
Soggy bottom boys
It’s pretty waterlogged at the bottom of this trail, and popular with horse riders, as evidenced by a muddy and slippery surface pockmarked with hoof-holes, ready to stall our efforts to navigate through this quagmire. Sure enough, we soon discover traction is non-existent, with any power resulting in a rear-wheel spin and sideways sliding, rather than any forward momentum. It’s hilarious when it happens to Russell ahead of me, but there’s definitely nothing to laugh about when it subsequently affects me. Karma, I guess. At least I’m improving both my fitness and drifting skills in these challenging conditions.
I’m unusually pleased to see an uphill track, which climbs away from the sloppy lowland. As we emerge from the woods onto drier ground, it’s tempting to keep straight on, back to the car park and another warm cup of coffee. However, I know that the left turn here, onto Ox Drove path, delivers a gradual singletrack descent between the trees. It obviously rides better in drier conditions, but despite any grip quickly disappearing as the mud builds up on our tyres, with gravity on our side we enjoy a fun, slippery journey.
The Romans were busy people in this part of Britain in ancient times. We join one of their straight roads, making a beeline towards Winchester. Nowadays it’s tarmacked and motorised vehicles can hurtle along it. We proceed at a much slower, steadier pace, though, because it starts with a steady incline. Once at the top, we turn away from Winchester and get back off-road to enjoy our reward. Even at this dull and often drab time of year,
the sun is out and manages to penetrate the bare branches to cast a golden hue of light, enhancing the colours in the surrounding foliage. It’s a fun little trail, too, which soon turns left and continues straight down the hill (perhaps the Romans’ attempt at singletrack?!). Come spring, foliage will close up to create a tighter path, but for now it’s a straight line with good visibility, allowing us to drop our heels and enjoy a toboggan-style dive to the bottom as fast as we dare.
The king’s road
Had we begun from the official start by St Catherine’s Hill, we would have ridden an outand-back route from the track crossing at the bottom here, using the Pilgrim’s Way over the M3 and skirting the foot of this Iron Age hill fort. I’m tempted to ride it now, just to pop into the excellent Handlebar Cafe at the end, but we crack on, skirting the edge of a golf course. A sign warns us to watch out for incoming golf balls, although
I doubt that turning my face towards any oncoming missiles would help, even if people were actually using the course.
The slithery singletrack is more demanding of my attention so I hunch my shoulders, brace for any airborne impact and charge along until I’m sheltered between hedges. Presently, the track turns downhill more steeply to provide a great descent, with some drops and roots to launch off along the way, before eventually coming to a stop at the roadside. We obviously look a bit of a filthy state, reflected in the head-turning glances we get from passing motorists, which only draws bigger grins that flash white teeth through our muddy chops.
As we ride along the road into Twyford the tarmac once more disperses the mud from our tyres, but we’re so cold and muddy that we decide to forgo a visit to the excellent Bean & Bar cafe in the village. Instead, we warm ourselves up with a climb, as I chase Russell on his e-bike along yet another long-distance trail. This time it’s the Monarch’s Way, which follows the escape route taken by King Charles II as he fled from his defeat by Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army at the battle of Worcester in 1651. Covering a distance of just over 1,000km, from Worcester – via Bristol – to Shoreham in West Sussex, it would have been quite a journey, especially while being pursued by Cromwell’s Parliamentarian ‘Roundhead’ forces.
At the top we turn left before the road to join a trail that descends between the trees, and rail bermed corners until we’re spat out into what feels like the ‘Upside Down’. Snow dances in all directions in the swirling wind of an eerily quiet woodland. The trail isn’t muddy like everywhere else, either, and a thick green canopy covers the forest floor, while the bare branches overhead stretch out like claws pointed skyward.
Our route now leads us over Hazeley Down and back along our earlier tyre tracks to, and over, the Roman road. We could follow a good track over Deacon Hill here, which isn’t so strenuous, but the descent into Chilcomb is good fun – plummeting steeply down through the trees – so worth the extra energy expenditure. After rejoining the SDW here we follow the signposts back along the field edges, but there’s still some singletrack to enjoy – and one last glance at a lovely view from the top in the offing. With the sun fading and cold creeping in we don’t hang around long, but take a moment to enjoy the far-reaching vistas across Hampshire and the fun trails available so close to civilisation. Come spring this will all be drier, faster and undoubtedly even more fun – let’s hope that holds true for the rest of 2021, too.