Monday, 11th September 2023. Chichester to Gosport. 56 kms.

    AM:  Today we ride to The Alverbank Hotel in Gosport near Portsmouth.

   Route: Chichester - Emsworth - Langstone - Hayling Island Ferry Point - Southsea Ferry Point - Alverstoke - Alverbank Hotel, Stoke road.

   PM: Well, the ride was 56 kms and quite easy and scenic. It was much better weather today, about 24 centigrade with a pleasant cool breeze.

   We went past the D Day Museum in Portsmouth, which had a real Landing Craft from the big invasion of France, positioned outside the front. I didn't realise how huge they were.

   Gosport is a vast improvement on Brighton and Hove. It's much cleaner and quieter, and more spacious with lovely architecture. It also has lots of traffic-free bike paths.

   The Alverbank Hotel is really nice. It used to be a mansion where Queen Victoria used to stop off when she came down to go to her beloved Osborne House on the Isle Of Wight. There is a great view of the island from the front of the hotel. We were informed by the Receptionist that the room in which we are staying was used by the queen when she was waiting to go on to sail to the island.

   We have been delighted by the sounds of the English birds. The Blackbird has a kind of choking sound, and we like the calls of the Wood Pigeon, the Raven, the English Magpie and of course the ever present shriek of the Gulls.

   

   

    

   

                                 Arriving at The Alverbank Hotel.

     

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

                        

        

   

   

                                                                 Portsmouth.

      

                            The view of The Isle Of Wight from the terrace of The Alverbank Hotel.

          

Sunday, 10th September 2023. Brighton to Chichester. 52 kms.

    The ride to Chichester was complicated and varied. It was 52 kms, and thank goodness for Google Maps!

    We went past the Rolls Royce Factory and shortly afterwards, we could hear a lot of high powered cars apparently racing around a circuit of some sort nearby.

   Then we saw a big sign saying "Welcome To Goodwood Motor Racing". That explained all the noise.

   Chichester is very nice, with a beautiful Cathedral and lots of history.  It certainly has a charm about it.

   We are staying at The Trent Greene King Hotel. The weather was cooler today, which was good.

   Route: Brighton - Shoreham-By-Sea - Worthing - Kingston Gorse - Angmering - Littlehampton - Bognor Regis - Merston - Chichester.

   

   

    

   

Saturday, 9th September 2023. Around Brighton and Hove. 20 kms.

    The TV tells us that it was 34 Centigrade here today. It seems remarkable for England.

   We had a very nice ride Eastwards  to the other side of Brighton to see P. and R. in a lovely peaceful caravan park which looks on to the Sussex Downs. It's much quieter than the beach front area of Brighton and Hove.

   We then had to race back to pick up some shopping, and then go on to a follow up gathering in a park away from the beach. It's amazing to meet all the extended family members from the descendants of Ally's parents.

   It's still too warm for any strenuous cycling here, so we only did 20 kms today.

   We have been assured that the cooler weather is coming tomorrow when we are leaving Brighton and riding to Chichester. Chichester is the birthplace of my maternal Grandfather, so it will be interesting to see it.

   

Friday, 8th September, 2023. Brighton and Hove.

    All the various relatives gathered at The Rockwater, which is a beach front pub/restaurant/ function centre to commemorate the occasion. It was amazing to see old friends and meet some of the clan for the first time. In some cases the time gap between seeing each other was as much as forty years or more!

   It was really good that so many people made a big effort to travel to Brighton to attend, some came from many thousands of kilometres away.

   It was a special fond tribute to the warm memory of Ally.

   It's still unusually hot and humid here, so it's a good thing that we are not cycling much yet. The weather is predicted to cool down on Sunday when we set off towards the West.

 

Thursday 7th September 2023. Hove to Chanctonbury Ring and back, 42 kms.

    Today we cycled from our hotel in Hove to the top of Chanctonbury Ring for the scattering of the ashes. Chanctonbury Ring was a prehistoric fort dating back about 2000 years, which was later developed by the Romans before it was later abandoned and turned back into farmland. It sits on a high peak on the Sussex Downs, and has stunning views of the surrounding country side. It has a very definite feeling of peace and a good place to appreciate Mother Nature.

   The first 8 kms were Westwards along the seafront and through the industrial parts and the Port area, and were not much to look at, but then we turned North along the River Adur. The path then became traffic free and pleasantly scenic. 

   After we passed through Steyning, the big climb to Chanctonbury Ring began, and it was hard going and very hot. The route went from a narrow tar road to a gravel path which seemed to be a never ending huge climb.

   We met all the family at the top, had a nice picnic and then scattered the ashes. The ancient site is truly beautiful and peaceful.

   The ride up took us 2 hours and the return trip down only 1 hour, making a total of 42 kms.

   We met everybody again on the Hove beachfront at 6pm for drinks which was very pleasant.

   The sea is quite calm here and there are lots of Stand Up Paddlers. The beach is very stony, so one has to wear rubber sandals to walk down to the sea.

   A very pleasant day.

   

    The view from the top of Chanctonbury Ring.

   

 

The beach at Hove.