| 1. An undulating country road ride with a few steep climbs thrown in. Some beatiful scenery and just one or two short sections of A road.
Leave the "One Stop" village shop in Laverstock, turning left out of the car park and head for Salisbury. Turn left just before the railway bridge (opposite the community farm) onto Manor Farm Road, then turn left again onto Milford Mill Road, go through the traffic lights, over the hump back bridge, then turn immediately right. When you reach a second railway bridge, you can either turn left immediately after you go under it and take a short cut through to the A36 at Petersfinger (where you will turn left), or you can just go straight ahead to the traffic lights (just past the park and ride), then turn left onto the A36 there. Follow the A36 for a short distance, passing over the pedestrian crossing, until a point just before the A36 becomes a dual carriageway, where you can turn right (effectively, this is just crossing the road into a business entrance) and cut through Marshmead Close. Turn right out of Marshmead Close onto Clarendon Road. Follow Clarendon road uphill into Alderbury. At the very top of the hill, there is a crossroads with a bus stop on the right. Turn left here and enjoy the downhill. You'll cross back over the A36 by means of a bridge, after which the road bends to the right and takes you through a wooded area. Continue to follow this road all the way until you reach a T junction. Turn left and cycle up the hill into East Grimstead, past the duck pond on your left, then take the turning on the right, which is a dead straight piece of road that gently descends. Stay on this road for 4 miles, passing through Middle Winterslow, after which there's a steep climb followed by an enjoyable descent to a crossroads. Turn right at the crossroads. You'll come to a set of traffic lights on the A30 - go straight across and follow the road through to Porton. Climb up out of the village to the A338 and take great care crossing over this road. Go straight over the A338 and follow the road up to one of the entrances to Boscombe Down, where you will follow the road left and if the fancy takes you, there's a lay-by where you can watch the aircraft landing and taking off (on the right day!). At the end of this road you will meet the A345. Turn right onto the A345 and follow it for just under a mile. As you descend towards a roundabout, there is a small country lane on the left - take this road and follow it all the way through Great Durnford and eventually, to a T junction. Turn right here and go over the bridge, where there is a pub, aptly named "The Bridge"!. You are now in Upper Woodford. Turn left and follow this road through Middle Woodford and Lower Woodford (pub called "The Wheatsheaf"), heading towards Salisbury. After 3.4 miles you will go over a bridge and the road bends to the right. Turn left here, then bear right and climb up the hill (Phillips Lane) that takes you around the back of Old Sarum. You'll come to a T junction where you are forced to turn left (unless you wish to dismount and cross the road), so turn left, go all the way around the roundabout and back on yourself to head for Salisbury. There is a cycle path you can use on this section if you prefer. Climb the hill towards Salisbury, turning left opposite Old Sarum (another pub here called the "Old Castle")and then immediately left again, heading towards the village of Ford. Follow this road all the way to its conclusion at a T junction (the A338) and turn right to the roundabout. Go straight across the roundabout and you are back in Laverstock. Follow the road until you reach the One Stop. |