May 19, 2024
This afternoon's bike ride originated from Chichester in West Sussex. The train ride to Chichester with the bike onboard was about 1.5 hours with a train change in Hove. Mercifully, I was travelling in the right direction from Hove as Brighton were playing home to Man United. There were more train stops from Hove to Chichester than there are alphabets in the English language!
The bike ride took us away from Chichester town to quiet farm country through Apuldram in the anti clockwise direction. Riding through Smuggler's lane with mature trees which provided wonderful shade was a treat as were appropriately named cottages that were flanked on either side of the road - my favourite was the Black Pearl. Further along, the path took us to Chichester Channel. The tide was pretty low and hence had to ride further along to catch the Itchenor Ferry to cross the Channel. The crossing barely took five minutes and I happened to be the solitary passenger at the time. On reaching the other side of the Channel, there were a number of people waiting patiently with their bikes to go the other way. It was truly inspirational to see a couple of gentlemen with their mountain bikes and who appeared to be well into their late 70s!
The scenery from here on all the way to Chichester was breathtakingly beautiful. The ride started in West Itchenor with patrons in The Ship Inn basking in the afternoon sun along with their drinks. As the ride progresses, one passes by some stunning cottages in the midst of scenic countryside albeit on a flatter terrain. At Shipton Green, the path takes us past quaint St Nicholas Church and further along to Crooked Lane which also offers a pleasant ride with large trees providing shade from the afternoon sun. From here on, the path meanders onto Chichester. Since I had about half an hour before catching the train back, I was able to sneak into city center and take in the sight of Chichester Cross and the imposing Chichester Cathedral. My favourite part of the ride was from Ferry crossing down to Chichester.
Cheers!
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