‹ Back

Rothamsted and Redbourn Ride

 

The mid week pedallers headed from the usual spot, Highfield Oval, and took off down the Nickey line towards the Rothamsted estate. Winding our way through the fields and countryside we stopped off to admire Rothamsted Manor before cycling down into Rothamsted Park, past the new sports centre, swimming pool and the Eric Morecambe Centre.

 

A quick tour of the more expensive roads in Harpenden, which led to a discussion of how many houses we should buy! Then back onto the Nickey line and as we were all feeling we had more energy we took the old railway line and headed off to Redbourn for a coffee. Ivan suffered a puncture which was quickly fixed but nothing could prepare us for the disapointment of finding The Hub and The Pudding Stop both closed!

 

So, back on our bikes to take the long slow climb back to the Highfield Oval and to our immense relief (especially Demo Dave!) the cafe was open. A great cycle and exceptional effort from Bob who is building his strength. He made it up every hill thrown at him during the 11 miles with no stopping!

 

 

Rothamsted Manor

This stunning house has origins dating back to 1212 when it was built as a private residence. Later additons in the 17th century transformed the house to how it exists today. In the 18th century a labaratory was set up in the house which led to the area becoming known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station or Rothamsted Research Centre. On the estate, foundations of modern scientific agriculture were established along with the principles of crop nutrition.

 

During World War II, the house was used as a listening post and fed messages to Bletchely Park for decoding. After the war it became a hall of residence for staff and vsitiing scientists. The house now functions mainly as an events venue and also as a film location.