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Past Ride

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Sat Oct 31st 2015

Halloween Ghost Trail	2*

Leader: John Talbot	Start Time: 12:00 pm	Start Location: Burford
Description: NOTE :- start time change to midday. We will lunch at Aston Pottery as planned. I'm planning a gentle afternoon ride visiting the sites of some famous Oxfordshire hauntings. With stories to chill the bones! Starting from the Guildenford car park in Burford we will travel in a 60km anti-clockwise route through some of the most haunted locations in Oxfordshire. We will stop at several locations to hear the tales of murder, crime and tragedy and discover the resting places of the restless. Note the start time! We will stop for lunch at Aston Pottery after 16km. Possible tea-stop at the end in Burford. A reasonably flat ride with a couple of rises and very scenic through the Windrush Valley. I'm expecting this to take 3-4 hours so lights will be required for the latter stages. Fancy dress optional!
Riders: Adrian West Andy Pixton Chris Walters Des Higgs John Talbot John Tranter Katherine Boyce Maurice Bawden Riders = 8 Weather: Report: Note to self. Burford is stupidly busy at lunchtime on Saturday! After a slight delay whilst the leader found somewhere to park we had our first ghostly tale of the ride before setting off into what turned into a glorious autumn afternoon. We headed towards Bampton and as Aston Pottery refused to take a lunchtime group booking as they are busy at lunchtimes (isn't that the whole point of booking in advance?) we stopped in Bampton for lunch instead. This was quick and painless and we probably caught up the lost time here. Heading east we hit the lanes near Standlake which we followed to Stanton Harcourt for another spooky story and then one of my favourite lanes to Cogges and Witney. We negotiated Witney without any issues and headed to North Leigh where we heard the story of Lord and Lady Wilcote and went to look at their tomb in the church. The lumpy section of the ride was next. This corner of Oxfordshire is truly stunning, small quiet lanes, autumn colours in the sunshine, with some rolling terrain. Perfect cycling. The final stop of the ride was at the creepy ruins of Minster Lovell hall. If you've never visited I highly recommend it, look out for the White Lady whilst you are there! We avoided Blackstockings the Highwayman near Worsham and were soon back in Burford as planned just before sunset. A fab ride with fab company. A real highlight of my cycling year. Thanks to everyone for coming along and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Oh, and I sneakily did some Strava art as we rode round. We drew the outline of a ghost with arms outstretched to Burford and Wilcote and the head near Asthall Leigh
Distance: 67.90 km (42.19 mi)	Ride Details: https://www.strava.com/activities/423826276
lunch stop at Bampton with a young admirer! Ghostly tales on Halloween at Stanton Harcourt Ghostly tales on Halloween at Minster Lovell Helmet art for a Halloween ride, at Minster Lovell
Proposed Route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/9510415"
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Start Locations: WMP
Wantage Market Place; OMH
Old Mill Hall, Grove

Categories: 1* - Suitable for irregular, social, beginner or family riders, pace will match the slower riders. Not hilly or long. Expect rides up to 3 hours. Gentle exercise.; 2* - Suitable for regular riders who prefer to cover some distance but at a more relaxed pace. Likely to be half-day rides. Solid exercise.; 3* - Suitable for experienced riders, may be hilly, long, quick, or any combination! Likely to be half or full-day rides. Challenging exercise.; 4* - Suitable for athletic riders who can ride safely above the 3* standard. Quick rides for the fit.; More Information