White Horse Historical Tour

[nick]

Easy going as we enter Salisbury Plain.

Some of the locals ...

... looking more dangerous than they really are !

Shep claimed he stopped on a high spot and lost his balance. Whatever.

Ella and Clive ..

Not your everyday road sign.

A White horse.

Somehow Ella managed to do a 180degree U-Turn. I am not sure who was more surprised, Ella or Neil. The bikes were interlocked nicely !

Another White horse.

And another.

Neil came over all intellectual and started to study things closely ...

Another White horse.

Scenic Caen Locks. Strange to see water without a GS ploughing through it.

Building an Iron Age dwelling.

Clive - Thanks for organising yet another great day out. Your rideouts are always excellent.

 

[NeilF]

A cracking day out, Clive.

Thanks for organising and leading, and your explanations of some of the features . . . .


Top man!

And thanks to all for the enjoyable company!



Cheers,

Neil.

 

[Steptoe]

Today, i've been mostly druid/pagan


Thank you Clive. I've learnt and seen such a lot today.

Been on the White Horse tour of Wiltshire.



The Horses eye up close



Have seen and learnt a bit about the Avebury stones, woodhenge, white horses, Sidbury Hill ( the largest man made mound/hill in Europe, Caen locks, Windmills, Gastro Lunches, how to lose all control of your GS and hit another GS.

A White Horse, and the obligatory wiltshire crop circle .



Woodhenge. ( plus some concrete henge thrown in for good measure)






The Locks

 

[blues n twos]

Looks like you had a great day.

Sorry I couldn't make it did not get in from work til 4am.

Jon

 

[Steptoe]

The "Pub" lunch.

Sheps Roast Pork .



My Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding



With Roast Potatoes to Die for.



All tucked into a good lunch, but we had to leave before the desert



I can't even begin to explain - we were both riding in the same direction, it only takes a spilt second for your whole world to turn around



What a load of


Good day out, thanks Clive, and everyone else for turning out

 

[shrek 2]

Same from me Clive top day out as usual and good company .

ps i think i might have trench foot after riding home with soaking boots

 

[Pumpy]

A bit late...

... but had to sort out computer hick-ups first.

It was a great day out and I learnt really an awful lot about the region. Like everybody else, I suppose - or have you read the "places of interest-links" before the ride? Hands up - mmm, well, I thought so...

Thank you, Clive, for taking us on this very enjoyable (and hugely educational)

Our spiritual leader on the first byway of the day

Roll call - still everybody there?

Salisbury Plain - Steptoe not paying attention, part I

NeilF preparing his suspension for the next off-road leg

Somebody not so well prepared for the byways to come... Special edition off road slippers?

Still, the track should be pretty straight forward...

Can we go now?

Shrek 2 doubtful if this was the right junction, scout Clive trying to find out on foot, NeilF still not happy with his bike's settings...

Nevertheless we made it to the next white horse

Nick giving a brief summary of the historical background

And apparently Shep is quite pleased with what he'd learnt so far

Well-deserved lunch - from left to right: Nick, Clive & Shrek 2

Five-star cuisine...

... savoured by NeilF, Steptoe & Shep

The locks...

The impressed tourists...

The impatient who have seen it all before...

Btw, anybody interested in my insect collection?

Nick exploring the next white horse at close range

While others take the opportunity for a quick siesta - NeilF, Shrek 2, Shep, Clive & partially Steptoe

Here's proof - even with the "distractions" gone Steptoe seemed really interested in Silbury Hill

Whereas Shrek 2 & Shep preferred to spend their time beak-chatting and boll...

Another impression of a certain incident...

Not the only mishap for Steptoe that day...

But this experience he shared with Nick & Shrek 2

Nick and Clive contemplating...

... if they should have a go at building an iron-age hut:

and half an hour later...

Thanks to everybody for making the tour so much fun and again to Clive for organising the whole event!

Three things I learnt in particular:

1. Tourances and mud don't go together well
2. Always carry a cargo net with you (thank you for yours, Rob! )
3. When out with Steptoe stay behind him - which I did for pretty much the whole day - apart from the byway to Barbury Castle...

Looking forward to seeing you all again at one of the next ride-outs!

Cheers, Ela