St Leonard's Church, Chelsham

St Leonard's Church, Chelsham, Surrey. We stopped here for tea. Pic by Andy.

Saturday 30 July: Going 'the fast way' to anywhere is not the best of policies, so Andy and I hung a left into Ledgers Road and followed my route from last week, except that we stopped at St Leonard's Church – or Chelsham Church, depending on which sign you believe. It was odd for us to stop 30 minutes into a ride, but the church had appealed to me last week – I didn't stop because the main gate was padlocked and I hadn't seen the unlocked side gate – and I thought it would be worth investigating.

We did what we always do: sat in the churchyard sipping tea and munching cereal bars. Andy took this excellent shot of the church and then we headed off towards Hesiers Hill and the long climb up Beddlestead Lane. Many a Lycra monkey passed us but we didn't really care. At the top of Beddlestead we turned right, headed for Botley and then for home – 'the fast way' – down the Limpsfield Road (I won't say B269 as it sounds a bit nerdy).