Part of my route was circumventing a rather large lake but getting there proved to be more than a little interesting! My route went from road to shared walking path/bridal way/cycle path. This started out with a tarmac surface, moved to gravel and ended up being bare soil - that lucky was firm and dry despite a little rain on Saturday morning.
The path started to get steeper and steeper to the extend that I could not keep at weight over the front wheel and it started to rise! At this point I had to get off the bike and push it up one of the most brutal gradients I have experienced. Mountain bike territory...perhaps!
Once this had been negotiated what greeted me was a truly lovely, picturesque route. The lake was stunning and on it I could see Tufted Ducks, Swans, Canada/Greylag Geese, Great Crested Grebes, Pochard and the highlight a lone Kingfisher that darted across and then perched obligingly on a nearby branch that overhung the lake.
The route back required me to retrace my steps. The gradient I experienced on the way up was terrifying on the way down and as I knew that there was a gravel surface halfway down, I decided to dismount and walk down. Even this was problematic as I found it difficult to hold on to my Brompton on the way down!
I really enjoyed the lake but I think that if I go that way again, I will try and bypass that short but terrifying little hill!!
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