Destination: Kington Magna and Cucklington
Distance: 12.94 miles
Duration: 3 hours 24 minutes
Date: 15th April 2021
Weather : 10°C mostly cloudy
After the previous weeks very long afternoon loading bikes on and off cars for our ride along the North Dorset Trailway, we decided not to travel too far, aiming for Kington Magna and Cucklington on the other side of the River Cale section of the Blackmore Vale.
Within four miles we had ridden over and under the London Waterloo to Exeter main railway line. The following clip shows us cycling under Buckhorn Weston Railway bridge.
On our way to Kington Magna we of course had to stop and say hello to Billy Goat Gruff and his friends. Goats and Shadows Post They eventually made their way over to us and munched on some fresh grass we held out for them. We couldn't resist stroking them either. I had hoped their owner would come out so I could question him about the Bere Marsh Farm goats mentioned in my North Dorset Trailway Post and whether he had acquired any of them, but unfortunately he didn't appear.
Halfway up Church Hill, Kington Magna, we pushed our bikes up the steps and through the gate to All Saints Church. We were rewarded with the sight of an heron, which disturbed by our approach, flew away from the medieval fish pond situated below the church. You can just see the heron in the bottom right hand corner of the frame at the end of the following clip.
Whilst we had our break, we glimpsed the heron once more, returning for a brief moment before heading off again, seemingly disconcerted that we were still there.
At the top of Church Hill we turned left hoping to make our way to Cucklington.
As we passed the end of Moor Lane/ Langham Road, (to Gillingham,) we noted that it appeared to be closed to traffic. We decided on an unplanned detour to see how far we could get, but were thwarted at the outset in our efforts. First of all my bike chain came off. Then on setting off again one of the spokes got caught in my rear derailleur.
The following photo shows the rear derailleur just touching the spoke after I had disengaged the two.
The road was closed because of the recent murder of a millionaire living near to Gillingham, so it was probably just as well we were forced to turn back.
My rear bike wheel still rotated, so I coasted downhill and on the flat I used the bike like a scooter with my left foot on the left pedal and my right foot pushing off from the road. This was very exhausting, so I then thought I'd try pedalling the bike very slowly, which although noisy, seemed to work well enough for the rest of the slow journey back to Templecombe. JC likened the noise my bike made to the sound of cigarette sweet cards, which when pegged onto bike frames, would flick between the spokes of the turning wheels. (In the 1970's you were able to buy cigarettes in sweet form and inside the packet were trading cards .)
In four and a half years of cycling, the only bike issue we've had to deal with is my chain coming off, yet within a matter of a couple of weeks we have had to limp home twice. Once because of a flat tyre and this time because of a bent rear derailleur. We are hoping that there is nothing in the saying "these things come in threes!" In the meantime my bike is in urgent need of repair and a rear derailleur will shortly be added to the list of parts (front sprockets, rear sprockets and chain.) to be fitted to my bike. DK Bike Services is going to be very busy!
How nice to see an heron.
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