Saturday 18 April 2026 - Old Hatfield

Peak spring - lush grass, bluebells, cow parsley, hawthorn in bloom, chestnut candles, lilac etc etc.  Sunny and not too warm, warm enough to show off our new club jerseys.

Fourteen of us met up in Fleetville, the Further Faster group of eight set off first and the six Fabulous riders shortly after.

The Fabulous group ambled along the Alban Way, with a stop to admire the new goods van at Smallford Station, part of a long term project to celebrate the history and heritage of Smallford in general and the railway in particular.  [Lost Rails tells you more about former railway lines in Hertfordshire.  Keep an eye out for the old telegraph pole on the Alban Way! Also keep an eye out for pop-up cafes, usually listed on Facebook.] 

We had another stop to enjoy the tulips at Clarke's Road greenspace, then onward to the end of the line, across the Great North Road and over the East Coast Main Line, then north along the A1001 until we turned off onto NCN12 and doubled back through Old Hatfield.

We were first to Salisbury Square, still a construction site but beginning to emerge. The herras fencing is robustly installed and was strong enough to lean our bikes against, and we headed into Sustain Coffee Roasters for coffee.

We had just got our order in when the Further Faster group arrived.

They had headed out via Colney Heath - getting across the A414 at the longabout signalled crossing, then underneath the A1(M) and the A1001 by the Bullens Green underpass.  They wended their way through South Hatfield and Oxlease, getting onto NCN12 and going under the railway via another colourful underpass.  One member of the group had to head back for a noon appointment, the rest joined the others in Sustain.  

This is a super place to visit.  Coffee and other hot and cold drinks are served on Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in the exciting setting of an actual roastery, with sacks of beans all around.  Some of purchased roasted beans.  The staff are lovely and took our group photo.  More about Sustain here.

Eventually we prised ourselves away from coffee and chat and headed back along the Alban Way in one group.