Round Berkshire Cycle Route Ride 3 – Martins Heron to Reading

The third and final section of our guide to the Round Berkshire Cycle Route is undoubtedly the busiest. Having left the leafy lanes of the west of the county the route now passes through some of the bigger towns within the county. Ascot, Windsor, and Maidenhead  are all en-route before returning to the start back in Reading town centre. There is an upside to it being busy though – there’s plenty of interesting places to stop at, and you wont have any trouble finding nice places to stop off for refreshment etc.

NOTE – Some of this section goes through Windsor Great Park. The roads through the park are not public rights of way and access is granted by the Crown Estate. This may change at short notice so be prepared to find an alternative route from Blacknest Gate to Bishops Gate.

Section 3 Summary

From Martin Herons railway station the route crosses the A329 London Road and follows Long Hill Road in to Chavey Down. From here the route loops around the back of Ascot town centre via Winfield Row, Woodside and Cheapside. After leaving Cheapside the route now enters Windsor Great Park through Blacknest Gate and then wiggles through the park to emerge at Bishops Gate.

Copper Horse Statue Windsor Great Park

After leaving the Great Park it’s a pleasant downhill stretch along Crimp Hill in to Old Windsor and over Albert Bridge in to Datchet. From here the route now loops around through Historic Eton and along Brocas Field.

After Brocas field there is a tricky but short section where the route uses a pathway adjacent to the busy A322 to get over the Thames and emerge on Clewer Court Road. From here a combination of Dedworth Road and Oakley Green Road gets you away from the busy town centre and in to Fifield where the route turns North. From here the route generally runs parallel to the Thames as it goes through Bray and to the East of Maidenhead.

At Maidenhead take care crossing the very busy A4. (In the original 1990’s route the adjacent Guards Polo Club allowed use of the path through its grounds to a quieter crossing. However we have not been able to confirm this is still the case so are using a guaranteed public route)

Once over the A4 the route takes the A4094 for about 2.5 miles before turning at Cookham to skirt around the north side of Cookham Dean. From here it’s a pleasant downhill run to Pinkneys Green and the A404 crossing. After crossing the A404 it’s a meandering route through Burchetts Green to Hurley Bottom. Now begins the last big climb of the entire route as go through Rosehill to the top of the wonderfully named Crazies Hill.

After cresting the hill another nice descent through Wargrave and Charvil and on to Woodley. From Woodley it’s now largely urban roads in to Reading. The route skirts around the back of PalmerMaiwand Lion Forbury Gardens Reading Park Stadium and Velodrome in East Reading before crossing the River Kennet at its junction with the Thames and then following the Thames path along its southern bank back to the place where the Round Berkshire Cycle Route all began at Caversham Bridge.

 

Start Point – A329 / Long Hill Road junction, Martins Heron

Distance – 49 miles / 77 km

Elevation Gain – 1707 ft / 520 m

 

Places Of Interest:

  • Windsor Great Park and Virginia Water – at the 6.5 mile point.
  • Windsor Castle – just off the route at the 15.3 mile point.
  • National Trust Cookham Moor – at the 26.8 mile point on the route.
  • Charvil Country Park – at the 42.8 mile point on the route.
  • Forbury Gardens Reading – at the end of the route in Reading town centre.

 

Refreshment Stops:

Most villages along the way have some sort of shop, pubs / cafe’s can be found at:

  • Cafe In The Park – at Blacknest gate in Windsor Great Park at the 6.2 mile point.
  • Cinnamon Cafe – inside Windsor Royal station, Goswell Hill, Windsor SL4 1PJ (Discount for cyclists).
  • Costa Coffee – 209 Dedworth Rd, Windsor SL4 4JW at the 17.4 mile point.
  • The Pinkneys Arms – Pinkneys Green, 1 Lee Ln, Maidenhead SL6 6NU at the 31.8 mile point.
  • Velolife – The Old House, Warren Row Rd, Warren Row, Maidenhead RG10 8QS just off the route at the 38.0 mile point.

 

Local Bicycle Shops:

  • The Bike Company Windsor – 59 Trinity Pl, St. Leonards Rd, Windsor SL4 3BX
  • ‘700’ – 68 Peascod Street, Windsor SL4 1DE
  • Flat Harrys – 31 High St, Cookham, Maidenhead SL6 9SJ
  • Berkshire Cycles – 18-20 Wokingham Rd, Reading RG6 1JQ

 

Closest Railway Station(s)

  • Martins Heron – approx 1.0 miles from the start of the route.
  • Datchet – Just off route at the 12.9 mile point.
  • Windsor and Eton Riverside – Just off the route at the 15.3 mile point.
  • Windsor and Eton Central – Just off the route at the 15.3 mile point.
  • Maidenhead – approx 0.5 miles off the route at the 23.4 mile point.
  • Reading – approx 0.5miles from the end of the route.
  • Cookham – approx 0.4 miles off the route at the 27.0 mile point.
  • Wargrave – approx 0.6 miles off the route at the 40.3 mile point.

Ride with GPS Link – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35524772

GPX file, map & cue sheet direct download – Click Here

If you liked this route please consider supporting us by buying a tea at www.buymeacoffee.com/cyclinglabs

Back To Ride 2                                                                                                                         Go To Main page