Wokingham
Wokingham Borough combines both beautiful countryside with liveable towns and communities. With your bike you can explore all of these, from family fun activities at Dinton Activity Centre and Dragonfly Café, to essential daily travel to local schools, business parks, rail stations and beyond!
With a borough as varied as ours, there are many different options for cyclists from off-road to more scenic road routes. Let’s have a look at some of these.
The California Greenway route
For those who would like a safe route suitable for small families, or for those wishing for the freedom to cycle without cars, look no further. Located just beside the Finchampstead Baptist church, the California Greenway route is a beautiful paved area running through the woods and open to walkers, cyclists, baby buggies and the occasional horse rider. Linking up with the new development in Arborfield Green and for school pupils in Bohunt, this is an excellent route for beginners and those wanting to build confidence in cycling.
The Dinton Pastures Ride
For those who are a bit more confident on the roads why not try a cycle to Dinton Pastures? You can access this, from the A329 Reading Road, which has both off-road and on-road dedicated cycle lane along most of the route. Follow the Reading Road towards Winnersh and turn right into Woodward Close (which can be accessed via a toucan crossing after the railway bridge); follow the cycleway past Wheatfield School into Watmore Lane, continue to the end of Watmore Lane and turn left, then right on to Robin Hood Lane, continue straight on to Davis Street and the entrance to Dinton Pastures is on the left.
Once you arrive you can enjoy a range of facilities and activities at the waterside centre and café. For more information about Dinton Pastures visit the website here.
NCN Route 4 - Woodley - Reading - West Berkshire
Another option you might try is the National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 4. To the west the route is traffic free and follows the Thames Path to Reading, before extending to Newbury and Thatcham. The route is suitable for all ages and abilities and one of Britain's most popular long-distance waterside cycle routes. Download a free route map from British Waterways below.
NCN Route 4 - Woodley - Crazies Hill
To the east NCN4 is a signed traffic free route, combined with some short on-road shared use sections. The route heads towards Crazies Hill and Oxfordshire, passing through Sonning , Twyford and Wargrave. The route is about 6.5 miles with lots of pleasant views and the opportunity to stop off at the Velolife cafe in Warren Row Road for a slice of homemade cake and a bike service/repair.
See the Sustrans Kennet and Avon Cycle Route Guide here.
One interesting route that confident cyclists could try, would be to cycle along to Windsor along the NCN route 4. You can pick the route up near Woodley and then follow a lovely marked route along via Maidenhead and down towards Eton and Windsor. This could be accomplished within a day as it is about 20 miles either direction and features a mixture of traffic free and on road sections.
A little bit of a longer route, would be to follow NCN 23 from near Shinfield and then follow it down towards Southampton. Passing through Basingstoke, this route is mostly shared with cars and is about 57 miles to Southampton.
For those looking to extend their cycling over a couple of days, you could take your bike along to Bristol. Following the NCN 4 the whole route this cycle would be 98 miles from Woodley and features some fantastic vistas along the North Wessex downs before coming into Bath and then Bristol. A lot of this route is car free and features some lovely cycles along old railway lines.
See local rides on the Reading CTC site here.
For more information on cycle routes, cycle training, cycle maintenance and local events in Wokingham Borough, please visit the My Journey website at http://www.myjourneywokingham.com
To take part in locally organised social rides through the Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire countryside visit: https://www.readingctc.co.uk/rides
Or of course view routes all across the United Kingdom at:Â http://www.sustrans.org.uk Â