Day Trips

Day Trips

Throughout the summer, the club runs a number of longer day rides, offering all-day adventures with multiple café stops. These social rides are a great way to explore new roads and build endurance ahead of longer sportives. Routes vary from year to year, but typically include rides similar to those shown below.

Details and sign-up information are shared through the club's Facebook group and WhatsApp channels.

Isle of Wight

May 2027, meeting in Southampton at 07:30

The Route

We are off to the Isle of Wight for a lap of the island. We cannot guarantee glorious weather but do promise that the road surface will be much better than Hertfordshire offers - We have tried spotting potholes there, and thankfully, failed.

First and foremost this is a social event - we will ride in groups and there are plenty of re-fuelling stops (cafes) to enjoy. Faster groups on the road just happen to rest for longer, or if very fast, wait for the first café to open!

There are two main routes that we take, either the Wight Wizz or Wight Wizz Mini. These are 108km / 81km.  And if you fancy seeing The Needles, then just need to add another 15km detour on when at Freshwater. 

These routes are available on Ride with GPS, and will be published to Facebook with the invite.

Planned stops are:

  • Godshill, Old World Tea Rooms (second breakfast / first cake),
  • Blackgang Chine, for an opportunity to enjoy the great view (and, perhaps, an ice cream from the small van there, cash-only),
  • Freshwater, End of the Line Café, for lunch,
  • West Cowes, ice cream and/or fish and chips, lots of places to choose from.
  • Then from West Cowes we catch the chain ferry back to East Cowes, before coming back to Southampton
  • Eating at each of the stops is optional, chatting isn't!

Timeline:

  1. Closest car park is Gloucester Square "Pay and display" (Southampton, SO14 2GH). All day parking is around £8.
  2. Meet at 07:30 at Red Funnel's Terminal 1, Dock Gate 7, Town Quay Road, Southampton, SO14 2AR. We buy ferry tickets on the day as cheapest fares (including group tickets) are only available at the terminal.
  3. Catch the 08:00 Red Funnel Ferry from Southampton to East Cowes. Ferry crossing is ~1hr. Breakfast options are available to purchase on the ferry. Handy if you didn't have time before leaving home.
  4. Clockwise lap of the island - approximately 105kms / 65 miles with 1,600m of climbing.
  5. Catch the Ferry from East Cowes back to Southampton. We generally catch the 16:30 ferry back.

 

Notes

Car sharing to Southampton helps to keep all of our costs down. Please let us know if you can offer a lift or if you need a lift and we'll try and match people together.

If the weather forecast is shocking, we'll look for another date.

Watch our Facebook group (search for HHCC Clubroom) and WhatsApp for a specific event to sign-up so that we know who will be coming.

 

"The Wight Wizz has been a super day out all the times I have been. I hope to see you there this year."

Paul

White Wizz

White Wizz Route

Route White Wizz
Jordans Mill

Jordans Mill

Proposed Date

August 2027 at 8 am.

We're planning to head back to Jordans Mill again.  Full details will be published here nearer the date.

The Route.

If you fancy a nice long ride during the summertime that is flat-ish (at least for this area), then come along to our Jordans Mill ride, to Biggleswade.

Our route would start in Hemel, then out to Gaddesden Row, Dunstable, Houghton Regis, Westoning, Clophill, Ireland (no, not a typo), then to Jordan Mills in Biggleswade for a cuppa at their lovely Riverside Café, overlooking the river Ivel.  After that, we come back via Henlow, Hexton, Codicote, Wheathampstead and St Albans.

Route is 126km / 78miles, with climbing of only 619m.  To put the climbing into perspective, all of our other one-day 100km-plus routes have between 1,000m - 1,600m of climbing in them.  The route that we use can be accessed via this link: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43994961

Notes.

If the weather forecast is shocking, we'll look for another date.

Watch our Facebook group (search for HHCC Clubroom) for a specific event to sign-up so that we know who will be coming.

Route Jordans Mill

Cambridge and back again

Date

June 2027 at 8 am - 3pm

The Route

An all-day ride out to Cambridge and back, of 185km and 1,392m of climbing.

On the way out to Cambridge we will be riding in a north-easterly direction, passing Wheathampstead, Codicote, Letchworth and Baldock.
We will have a 1st planned stop at Flock Cafe in Barton (80km).
Then, around Cambridge, and in a south west direction, passing Trumpington and various other small villages.
Our 2nd planned stop will be in Hertford, where there are many cafes for us to chose from (140km).
The remaining route back to Hemel will be via Shenley and Chiswell Green.

Notes

If the weather forecast is shocking, we'll look for another date.

Full details will be published nearer the date on Ride with GPS and WhatsApp.

Cambridge
Spire and Spoke

Spire and Spoke

Date

July 2026

Full details will be published nearer the date on Ride with GPS and WhatsApp.

The Route.

One for the climbers, we head West through the Chilterns for pizza at the Spire and Spoke, Wattlington.

Notes.

If the weather forecast is shocking, we'll look for another date.

 

Route Spire And Spoke