Taplow to Watford: Saturday Adventure Ride

** Please read the ride description carefully before booking your place.** Take note of these points to help you decide if this is the ride for you:-

- Most of the route is off-road and traffic-free, using paths through parks, along rivers, through woodland, and canal towpath. These tracks are mostly unpaved and uneven in places. If we have wet weather the days before the ride, some of them are likely to be muddy. We will be riding at a steady pace, occasionally dismounting cross narrow bridges. If what you like is faster continuous riding on smooth tarmac, this might not be the ride for you.

- The route is suitable for hybrid and mountain bikes. Road bikes with narrow tyres will not be suitable.

- This is a linear, train-assisted ride. We will take the Elizabeth Line from Ealing Broadway to Taplow for the start of the ride. The ride ends at Watford Junction, where we will take public transport to get home. Overground services from Watford Junction go towards Euston and connect at Willesden Junction for other services.

This is our first Saturday Adventure Ride of 2024. This is a whole day out, exploring the countryside to the west of Ealing, following National Cycle Route 61. Although some parts of the route might be challenging if muddy, there are very few gradients on this ride.

From Taplow, we make our way down to the Jubilee River and follow this to Slough, where we turn up through parks and minor roads to join the Slough Arm of the Grand Union Canal for a short distance. Then we head across the Colne Valley, through peaceful woodlands and quiet villages, rejoining the main arm of the Canal near Cowley and riding north to Uxbridge.

We will take a detour from the canal to have refreshments at the Rusty Bike Café in Fassnidge Park https://www.therustybikecafe.co.uk/ .

After lunch, we return to the canal towpath and ride on through Denham and Harefield, where we will meet some diversions due to the HS2 construction works. We have the option of another café stop when we reach the Aquadrome in Rickmansworth https://www.thecafeinthepark.com/rickmansworth .

The last section of our route takes us from Rickmansworth to Watford on the Ebury Way, a traffic free track on a disused railway line.

Train assisted linear ride, from Taplow to Watford Junction, following National Cycle Route 61

Mostly traffic-free, tracks alongside rivers, canal, through woodland, on disused rail lines. Could be muddy if we have wet weather.

Lunch stop at the Rusty Bike Cafe in Uxbridge. Possible second cafe stop at the Aquadrome in Rickmansworth.

Water, snacks for the ride. Spare inner tube. Lock for cafe stop. Money/card for train fare & refreshments.

First-timers welcome!