A bright, clear, morning. A sign of a change in the weather? Yep – by the end of the day I wasfeeling cold, especially my poor nose!
Arrived early at the Three Compasses; in fact too early! We made a lonely sight.
19 riders had their signatures and money extracted from them by Steve Edgington, the rideleader.
At about 10:30 we set out. The drop off system was used for our 18 mile route to our first stop,The Dorset Crafty Barn. Nobody managed to get lost. An interesting route exploring back lanesvia Chesilbourne, Ansty, Hilton, and the pictures Milton Abbas.
The thatched cottages we passed were built by Joseph Damer, Earl of Dorchester in 1780s. Damer decided to remove the existing houses in the town because they spoilt his view from his manor house. He waited till leases ran out and in the 1780s he demolished the existing cottages and replaced them with new ones further away. He also moved the almshouses. The new settlement was renamed Milton Abbas. Each cottage housed four families.
At just after midday Steve led us on the second part of our journey to The Lakeside Kitchen at Todber via Winterbourne Whitechurch, Winterbourne Strickland, and Manston. The view from Tunworth Down over Shillingstone and towards Salisbury is stunning. I had difficulty keeping my eyes on the road as North Dorset was laid out before me.
The forename Winterbourne of many villages around Dorset refers to a seasonal spring which dries up during the summer.
The return to the Three Compasses took just under an hour (33 miles) on glorious biking roads – a good mix of fast roads, and town riding.
In total 68.3 miles were travelled on the route.
Many thanks to Steve Edgington for organising the route at short notice. Mike Davies
