Archive
24 April 2004
Tbe next Clarion ride – Sunday 2 May
To Upper Beeding and back (as detailed in the previous e mail)
Meet 10 15 by Palace Pier. If you leave at the Hove end I suggest joining us near the King Alfred – outside Maracco’s (?) café on the seafront where the cycle track goes round the houses. (or suggest somewhere else and we’ll look out for you). We might even wait for you if you’re going to be late - as long as I know. Phone me before 9 55 on 682133 or after that (but before 10 15!) on my mobile number 07787528433. Total distance is about 25 miles (Pier to Pier) adjust for your own starting point.
During the coming week I shall be away from Tuesday to Friday inclusive – so if you contact me during that period you won’t get a reply until Saturday.
I’ve checked with the Bridge at Upper Beeding. They do bar food on Sunday lunchtimes. Sandwiches seem to be from c £2 80 to £4 80 and the sort of thing you take a knife and fork to mostly £5 25 – which in my experience is pretty reasonable for Sussex pubs. Assuming better weather than for the Cuckoo Trail run (please!) there’s a nice garden we can sit in and if you climb up onto the ‘patio’ you can see the river – though it’s usually pretty muddy looking.
Our route is not a very long one, but we’ll pass a varied selection of interesting landscape and buildings. After the seafront and Shoreham Harbour we’ll be passing near a number of medieval churches – including the two Romanesque-Gothic Transitional ones in Shoreham, St Mary de Haura and St Nicholas. Near the latter where we’ll join the Downs Link along the track of the old railway line, there’s a very good view across the river of Lancing College Chapel, described by Ian Nairn in The Buildings of England of expressing perfectly ‘that elusive dream of the Gothic Revival’. At Bramber there’s the ruins of the castle and what’s left of St Mary’s 15th century house and on the way back more survivals from the Middle Ages in the parish churches at Botolphs and (my favourite) the tiny 11th century one at Coombes before we get at least a distant glimpse of the terminal at Shoreham Airport which has been used in at least one episode of Poirot to impersonate a 1930s airport (Croyden if I remember rightly).
Hope to see you Sunday (bring ideas for future rides with you – or e mail me)
Boots!
Ian