Home » The Long Way to Portsmouth

The Long Way to Portsmouth

A new distance PB on the way to visit my son at university: 353 km from Maidstone to Portsmouth, the long way round through Tenterden, Dorking, Winchester and the New Forest. Read the ride.

Rides »
The Long Way to Portsmouth

IMG_0424

B1AFEBC0-74B2-4BD2-A39B-E25A199AFEE0

B1AFEBC0-74B2-4BD2-A39B-E25A199AFEE0

My shadow and bike on the road in Tenterden High Street in the small hours.

My shadow on Tenterden High Street

A still Hammer Pond in St Leonard’s Forest under a starry pre-dawn sky with orange light on the horizon.

First light on a Hammer Pond

The tall stone spire of St Martin’s Church in Dorking against a clear blue sky.

St Martin’s, Dorking

The road bending towards a brick railway bridge at Gomshall, with a weeping willow turning yellow.

Under the railway at Gomshall

Bright red creeper climbing over trees beside Down Lane at Compton in Surrey.

Red creeper at Compton

A smooth road curving through birch trees and green verges at Puttenham Heath.

Heathland at Puttenham

A stone war memorial with poppy wreaths near Albury, a small church behind it.

War memorial near Albury

A cyclist with a backpack on a blue bike on a busy street in Farnham.

Passing through Farnham

A small flint church with a wooden bell tower behind a post-and-rail fence near Medstead.

Flint church near Medstead

A lane past a large oak and a fenced field under big skies on Bighton Road near Medstead.

Big skies near Medstead

A road running through an avenue of big trees near Ovington, seen at speed.

Under the trees near Ovington

A narrow lane between trees and fields approaching Avington.

Approaching Avington

A narrow lane running between fenced fields and big trees at Avington.

The lane through Avington

Handlebars and Garmin on a long straight lane between hedges near Medstead.

A long straight near Medstead

The Victorian Guildhall with its green-capped clock tower on The Broadway in Winchester.

Winchester Guildhall

The flint church and churchyard at King’s Somborne under a broken sky.

The church at King’s Somborne

A white New Forest pony grazing beside the road on Beaulieu Heath at sunset.

A pony on Beaulieu Heath

Handlebars and orange sleeves over a cattle grid with roadworks beyond at Dibden Purlieu.

Cattle grid at Dibden Purlieu

A plastic skeleton fixed to a wooden pole beside a hedge near Hythe.

Early for Halloween near Hythe

Moored boats on still water at Eling in the blue light after sunset, behind a wooden fence.

Boats at Eling

The lights of Southampton docks across the River Test marshes, with a railway line and pylon in the foreground, from Totton.

Dock lights across the Test

A lit cycle path running under a concrete flyover in Southampton after dark.

Under the flyover in Southampton

The lights of Southampton reflected in the River Itchen at night, from the Itchen Bridge.

Southampton from the Itchen Bridge

My black Merida parked on the Itchen Bridge at night, its red rear light on, with the lights of Southampton across the water.

Stopped on the Itchen Bridge