Just two of us today, and we marked the eve of the Olympic Torch procession coming through our area. As it was a while since we had ridden east, and as it was farmers’ market day in Hatfield, our route choice was made.
We left the torch route at Morrisons to ride along parallel on the Alban Way. We stopped for a breather at the boundary milepost (I checked this on the map after - I had thought the nearby Blackberry Arch was the boundary between St Albans and Hatfield, but actually it is this milepost). Coincidentally there was a shower of rain, so we spent a bit of time admiring the milepost before deciding to ride on anyway.
The farmers market was cheerful in spite of the wet, and we enjoyed a browse before our elevenses at Simmons. The sun actually came out and the whole scene got a bit livelier. We decided on a loop through Old Hatfield, and found ourselves on the actual torch route as we freewheeled down French Horn Lane - there was a road-worker setting out the 'no parking' cones.
It is always a lovely detour through Old Hatfield, along the NCN 12 Great North Way. We popped out on the Hertford Road and turned westward, riding briefly on the Great North Road itself, then over the East Coast Main Line and back onto the former St Albans Branch of the Great North Railway. Another milepost to admire, this one more colourful, and for the horticulturalists, that is some buddleia just coming into bloom in the background.
A straightforward ride back to St Albans on the Alban Way, now going in the same direction as the torch.
