CTC Cambridge

Thursday 10 September 2026 

Julian writes: This was our second train-assisted ride of the summer. And the three riders who signed up were treated to a grand day out. The journey to Welwyn Garden City was smooth; the train was on time, plenty of space and a carriage with empty designated cycle spaces. The trickiest part of the whole day was exiting the station via the Howard Centre. Never have so many changes of level and sets of steps been incorporated in a building in such a short space.

The ride starts in the quiet streets of WGC and passes through the ancient woodland of Sherrardspark Wood. This is followed by more than 5 km 3 miles of easy cycling on the Ayot Greenway, a gorgeous tree-lined disused railway with a very smooth gravel surface. Then it was up and down on country lanes, past George Bernard-Shaws house, to coffee at Emily's Tea House. This is a mecca for cyclists with excellent cakes – strongly recommended. Then we headed north towards Lilley. The weather was perfect, sunny, not too hot and a slight tailwind most of the time. The lanes were quiet, and I don't think there was any point when we couldn't see a red kite or a buzzard or both. It felt like the best of the summer, and hopefully not the last.

We had agreed to take the 'alternative' route on offer. The rugged off-road section on the Icknield Way was replaced with extra meandering on surfaced lanes. But this got us to the original lunch stop (Plough Café, Offley Hoo – also recommended, and with a bike shop) too soon after coffee. I had identified Dimples Café, just before Baldock, as an alternative but we missed the turn. Poor ride leading. So, we took a small detour to the familiar Tapps Garden centre.

We had the option of taking the train home from Baldock, after 56 km 35 miles. of cycling. But we all chose to ride back to Cambridge, taking advantage of the perfect weather and brisk tailwind. The ride how, was literally 'a breeze'. We were back at the station by 4.30pm after 95 km 59 miles.

The lanes near Welwyn Garden City are surprisingly different (to me) to those round Cambridge and make for very pleasant cycling. If the weather is kind, and there is sufficient interest, we might run a 'falling leaves' version of the ride next month. The route we used is here (and on the map below), and the version that includes the Icknield way is here. Both are adapted from a route in Jack Thurston's 'Lost Lanes Southern England' book, combined with The Ayot Greenway which is a Sustrans route. Julian