Southampton - Local Pride - 30 miler

You don’t have to be the next Bradley Wiggins, but you’ll need to know your way around a bike and be fairly fit to take part in our Challenging rides. If you’re comfortable riding with other people and fancy a fresh challenge, these rides are perfect for you. They start at around twenty miles long, and are paced at between 11 and 12 miles an hour. Meeting at 9.30am to purchase tickets for the 10am ferry - join us on this scenic cycle ride starting from Southampton Town Quay, where we will meet the ferry to Hythe. Whilst we wait for the ferry, refreshments can be bought from the kiosk on the pier.  We will then take the short crossing to Hythe, taking in the views of  any cruise ships and ferries passing on Southampton Water.  Once at Hythe we will take a short walk along  Hythe Pier with our bikes. The railway running along the piers is the oldest continuously operating public pier train in the world, but unfortunately there is no room for bikes. Once we reach the end of the pier, we will set off on our bikes using quiet lanes and cycle paths to The New Forest. We will ride to Beaulieu, famous for its National Motor Museum and Abbey, there is a choice of tea stops in Beaulieu or a sunny sit by the river. After our rest, there's a one mile climb away from the river to Hill Top and then downhill to the coast,  where we will reach the world famous Exbury Gardens and Steam Railway. There is a cafe and comfort stop for those wanting a break. We will continue to the coast road and follow this lane to Lepe, with an option to stop at the cafe and break, wich has good views of the Isle of Wight. Lepe is famous for the building of The Mulberry Harbours used in the D Day landing of France. We then go slighty inland to follow a quiet lane to Calshot activity centre where we can stop at a Cafe, take a look at the Velodrome, Ski Slope and watch some serious climbers. The old aircraft hangars were once the home of the Flying boats that took off from Southampton Water, and Lawrence of Arabia was once stationed here.  We will then cycle back to Hythe, retracing our steps to the Hythe Ferry for a return trip to Southampton.