This cycle journey to north east England took place in July 1906 when WILLIAM and Marie were both in England. Marie and their son Harry arrived in September 1905 and stayed until June 1909. WILLIAM joined them in April 1906 and left at the end of August 1906. WILLIAM describes several versions of his cycle trip to the North East of England on Pages 31-34 in the Journal and in separate notes attached to it.
The two routes from London both start at Tottenham Station and go on to Boroughbridge. At Boroughbridge WILLIAM then describes two alternative routes to Crawcrook in the North East. He refers to these as Route 1 and Route 2. These routes began in London, which suggests he had been planning this trip for some time.
It is possible the idea suggested itself to him when he first stayed at 77 Fillebrook Road in Leytonstone with the Bevingtons when he arrived in England in April 1906 or that he had had a yearning to return to his birth place for many years, and came to England with the trip already in mind.
77 Fillebrook Road, Leytonstone. This is the family home of the Bevingtons – Emma and two of her children, Elizabeth and Arthur.
However, in the Journal, we have details of the journey he actually took to Emmaville (Route from Leigh on Sea) as well as scribbled notes itemising places to where it joins up with his original itinerary from London.
A family copy of Paterson’s Roads published in 1808, although completely out of date by 1906 when WILLIAM undertook his ride, appears to have been used for his route planning, judging by the marginalia and the references to roads leading off his route which correspond to the Paterson format e.g. St Ives to the right. He may also have owned one of the many Cycling Guides available at the time.
Paterson’s Roads 1808
Routes from London
Although in the event he did not begin his epic ride in London, it is worth noting the route he planned, especially as it provides a little more information about the latter part of his journey.
It would have begun at Tottenham Station then closely follow Paterson’s pages 178/9 from Potters Bar north.
It’s a pity WILLIAM doesn’t describe how he intended to travel from Leytonstone to Tottenham then on to Wood Green, but Fillebroook Road where the Bevingtons lived was almost opposite Leytonstone Station. It is possible that WILLIAM contemplated taking his bicycle by train to Tottenham Station from Leytonstone. Although this would entail a change at Stratford, it would have been a fairly direct route enabling him to get onto the Great North Road (A1) relatively easily without having to negotiate the maze of roads around Low Leyton, Leyton Green and the Marshes.
From Tottenham Station, WILLIAM would have made his way to Wood Green via Bruce Grove and Lordship Lane, then, either via Palmers Green and Alderman’s Hill or via Bounds Green, to Southgate. From here the equivalent of the modern A111 and A1000 would have taken him to Potters Bar and Hatfield where he would have joined the Great North Road. This stage of the proposed journey corresponds with pages 178/9 of Paterson.
(WILLIAM planned to continue north on the A1, but to follow his route today one would need a diversion at Hitchen, because of the changes in road layouts, first onto the A600, then the A602, before re-joining the A1 near Biggleswade.)
In WILLIAM’S list an arrow indicates straight ahead →
It is not clear what WILLIAM means when he says ‘or right‘ or ‘or left‘ in conjunction with ‘straight ahead‘. Does he have alternative routes in mind or is he simply indicating there are other roads?
Both routes closely follow the modern A1 and A167 after Alconbury, north to Durham, although it is clear that the state of the roads is pretty poor especially on the outskirts of large towns. At Darlington WILLIAM ‘took some time to find the road through here‘ and he had ‘a struggle‘ to find Durham. ‘Retford is paved‘ is underlined! Worthy of several exclamation marks today.
London to Boroughbridge
WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at
London to Boroughbridge
. The transcribed version is below:
MILES
LOCATION
WILLIAM’S COMMENTS
ANNOTATION
Tottenham Station
4 ½ miles off
Wood Green
South Gate
Southgate
A111
14 ¼
Potters Bar
A1000 Page 178/9 Patterson
19 ¾
Hatfield
(straight on) to
25 ¼
Welwyn
(left) to
A1/Great North Road
34 ¼
Hitchen
(straight on or left) to
A600/602
35 ¼
X Bird in Hand X
(Right) to
44 ¾
Biggleswade
(45 ¼ other route)
A1/Great North Road
48 ¼
Beeston Cross
(straight on or right) cross River Ivel
51 ½
Tempsford
(straight on or left, cross River Ouse, straight on or right
55 ½
Eaton Socon
(straight on or left)
57
Cross Hall
→ (or right)
60 ¼
Diddington
A1/Great North Road
64 ¼
Brampton Hunts
→ (or left)
67
Alconbury
69
Alconbury Hill X
11.25am
This is where the route from Leigh on Sea joins this route
76 ½
Stilton
Stopped for ½ hour
77 ¼
Norman Cross Hotel
→ (or left) Right to Peterborough
82 ½
Water Newton
(slept for 2 ½ hrs by roadside)
85
Wansford
→ (Cross River Nen, or right,) cross River Welland)
90 ¾
Stamford
→ Arrived 3 o’clock, raining, stayed night left 5.30am
So named after a party of foraging Scots were ambushed and butchered here before the battle of Neville’s Cross in 1346
256 ½
Sunderland Bridge
(cross R Wear)
260 ¾
X Durham X
(→)
261 ¼
Durham Moor
266 ¼
Chesterle Street [Chester le Street]
Modern A167
269 ¾
Birtley
Modern A6127
271 ¼
Aytonbank [Eighton Banks]
(→ or left)
273 ¼
X Gateshead X
275¼
X Newcastle X
8
Crawcrook
120
This is close to Emmaville. Not clear what 120 means.
283 ¼
Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 2
This is WILLIAM’S alternative route from Boroughbridge to Crawcrook. WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at
Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 2
. The transcribed version is below. This is also the route he chose to return home to London. See: The Return Journey
MILES
LOCATION
WILLIAM’S COMMENTS
ANNOTATION
X Route No 2 X From Boroughbridge
(→ Cross R Ure arrow)
A1/Great North Road
208 ½
[illegible] Hall
(→ or right) Right to [illegible] or right)
219 ½
Leeming Lane
(→)
221 ½
Londonderry Leeming
223
Catterick
229 ½
Catterick Bridge
Cross R Swale (→)
230 ½
234
Scotch Corner
A1/Great North Road
240 ½
Pierce Bridge
(→) Right to Darlington left to Barnard Castle
Modern B 6275 Modern A68
247 ½
West Auckland
(→)
249 ¼
Low Toft Hill [Toft Hill]
(Cross R Wear)
252
Witton le Wear
255
Harperley Lane
(→) right to Bishop’s Auckland left to Wolsingham
263 ½
Cold Rowley
Right to Newcastle
265
Allans Ford [Allensford]
(Cross R. Derwent)
270
X Unthank X
Right to Newcastle
Riding Mill
Cross R Tyne
From Unthank, via Prudhoe to Crawcrook
Would have had to re-cross the Tyne, probably at Bywell
Route from Leigh on Sea
This is the amended route he eventually took from Leigh on Sea where he and Marie were staying in England in July 1906 and is based on Pages 31-34 from the Journal and additional scribbled notes on a separate page. The complete route is shown on the map below:
William’s cycle route shown on Ordnance Survey 1:633600 map of Great Britain dated 1904. Source: Vision of Britain.
The links below have detailed individual sections of the route on the 1904 Ordnance Survey map. The road system shown would be as when WILLIAM completed his trip.
Detail is sparse for the first leg of the journey from Leigh to Huntingdon. Mileage is marked for Chelmsford to Cambridge – 46½ miles, but the list is interesting for the places he puts in brackets; it seems likely he rode straight through them to save both miles and time.
The scribbled notes
WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at
The scribbled notes
. The transcribed version is below. The list is as follows:
Leigh on Sea Rayleigh x turn to the right 1 ½ miles from Rayleigh Cross R Crouch Battles Bridge Station Rettenden (Chelmsford) 6-5 [6.05] Broomfield (Great Waltham) (Dunmow) 6 7.50am [Altered by William] Great Easton (Thaxted) 7.30 (Saffron Walden) 8.00 Littlebury Great Chesterfield Bourn Bridge Babraham (Cambridge) 9.15am left 10am
From Leigh on Sea to Cambridge he appears to have used Paterson’s Cross Roads p 349 (Chelmsford to Cambridge via Dunmow and Saffron Walden.) This equates to the modern A130.
From Leigh on Sea the only route to Chelmsford was via Hadleigh, Raleigh and Battlesbridge where the River Crouch could be crossed, otherwise it would entail a detour via Wickford. He could have crossed the Crouch at Hullbridge but might not have wanted to trust the Ferry.
WILLIAM has marked the distance between Chelmsford and Cambridge as 46½ miles. He appears to have forgotten to check his watch at times so has overwritten them afterwards.
(St Ives) (Huntingdon) For continuation see strip map Cambridge 43 miles to Stamford To Girton Labworth Fenstanton (St Ives to the right) Huntingdon 27 miles to Stamford
Once past Cambridge he seems to have used Patersons Cross Roads pages 308/9 in reverse. This was the Birmingham to Harwich Road, the modern A604.
Just past Huntingdon, at Alconbury, his route joins the London to Carlisle/ Edinburgh Road. The Great North Road (modern A1.)
The Great North Road continues to Stamford (Paterson’s p247 and/or pp 180/183.) In the margin at Norman Cross he has written ‘to38’. Its meaning isn’t clear except that Norman Cross is where his routes meet.
There is scant detail until he reaches Alconbury where the routes converge. Stamford he admires, but even so he then manages to transport us all the way to Gateshead at break neck speed in one paragraph!
From the Journal
This is the outward journey taken by WILLIAM from Leigh on Sea to Newcastle on Tyne as actually recorded in the Journal. It is about 325 miles via Chelmsford, Huntingdon, Stamford bridge, Doncaster, Durham. The scribbled notes were probably written as he completed the journey and the pages in the Journal completed at a later date.
MILES
LOCATION
WILLIAM’S COMMENTS
ANNOTATION
24 miles
Leigh to Chelmsford
‘Started 5.45am. Ihr 10mins. Stopped 10mins at Dunmow raining‘
Modern A130. See the scribbled notes for the detail
46 ½
Chelmsford to Cambridge
‘Arrived 9.15am 16 miles to Huntingdon, 43 m to Stamford‘
Cambridge to Alconbury Modern A604. See the scribbled notes for the detail
Alconbury Hill
‘11.25 Had a pint of old ale where the London Road joins. 23 miles to Stamford‘
A1/Great North Road
6 miles from Stamford
‘Lay down and slept for two hours‘
115
Stamford
‘Got to Stamford at 3pm stayed the night,nice hotelclose to the bridge and the river. Left Stamford 5.15 am‘
‘136 from Stamford, 226 ½ from London, 245 from Leigh, another puncture. 2 ½ hrs wasted. Pint of old ale at a quiet country inn. Waited 45 minutes for food‘
A167
To Darlington
Covered 16 miles to Darlington in 42 mins. Difficulty finding the road
Ferryhill
Sunderland Bridge
Wrong directions ‘miles outof the track’
Found Durham
‘after struggle. Stayed all night left 7am. In Gateshead by 9am. Very bad road to‘
Gateshead
A69/A695
Emmaville
Arrives 9am
The return journey
On page 220 (London to Durham by Boroughbridge, Catterick and Bishop Auckland) Paterson has the following advice:
‘The adjoining road from Boroughbridge to Durham, which is always in good repair, is preferred by many travellers to the Northallerton road. – The stages from Boroughbridge are, to Leeming Lane 12m; Catterick Bridge 11m; Pierce Bridge 11 m; Bishops Auckland 10 m; and Durham 10 m.’
This is WILLIAM’S original Route 2, but in reverse
Having travelled north via Northallerton and losing his way several times between Darlington and Durham, WILLIAM could have expected his route south to be easier. He states his route will be Unthank, Pierce Bridge, Leeming Lane then onto the road south at Boroughbridge, but of course he doesn’t follow Paterson in reverse. Instead he heads west, probably intending to find the equivalent of the modern A68. His road would have gone through Prudhoe, Stocksfield and Riding Mill before turning south towards Unthank and eventually meeting The Great North Road (present day A1) at Scotch Corner.
Before the Derwent Reservoir was built in the 1960s this must have been a remote, featureless place so it is hardly surprising WILLIAM lost his way. Roads would have been bad especially after rain and he tells us that 40 out of the 80 miles covered were in driving rain. The present A68 passes quite close to Consett but it seems likely that WILLIAM took a wrong turning at Carterway Heads and headed east towards Shotley Bridge and Consett rather than crossing the Derwent at Allensford and progressing to Piercebridge, Leeming Lane and Boroughbridge. He reckoned that his detour had put an extra 18 miles on his journey, meaning he was three hours later than expected reaching Boroughbridge.
Robin Hood’s Hill is an area straddling the Great North Road about halfway between Doncaster and Pontefract. This is where he had a puncture.
Once on the Great North Road William arrived in Doncaster at 6pm and stayed the night in a Temperance Hotel. He left at 9am the following morning after a good breakfast and seems to have had a straight run to Hatfield. He branched off at Potters Bar for Tottenham and after negotiating a maze of streets, arrived Fillebrook Road in Leytonstone at 8pm.
He seems to have received cold comfort at Fillebrook Road; ‘had a small biscuit there’ but he is hungry, so when he left at 9pm he ‘bought half a dozen bananas and a packet of biscuits and eat the lot’. One wonders where he’d have a found a shop open at 9pm as late night shopping feels a very modern idea! So too does the idea of being able to find a cup of tea at half past ten at night, which he does at Stanford le Hope.
The last 40 miles home took him 2 hours 15mins which means he arrived back in Leigh in the dark. He must have followed the ‘Old London Road’ (Modern A13) via Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, Rainham, Wennington, Avely, Stifford, Baker Street, Orsett, Horndon on the Hill, Stanford le Hope, Vange, Pitsea, and Hadleigh, although he does not list his route in the Journal.
In spite of the A13 having been much widened and straightened to bypass villages, his route can be followed on OS Landranger Maps 177 (East London) and 178 (The Thames Estuary) where many sections of the old road can still be seen.
Dating the trip
WILLIAM first visits Leigh on Sea for five days in May 1906, but doesn’t supply any further information.
In July WILLIAM said, ‘Took a house at Leigh’, this is 17 Cranleigh Drive, Leigh on Sea. This is known because the address is shown on WILLIAM’S entry on the roll of individuals awarded The Queen’s South Africa Medal. The house would have been relatively new and it is possible it was a holiday let. It seems strange however that they should have preferred a suburban street to the buzz of a seaside town, Southend.
WILLIAM provides no further dates until he tells us he sailed back to South Africa on 25th August. After his journey north he provides us with a great deal of detail about his cycling exploits in Essex which rather suggests his visit was in July, after they took the house in Leigh.
We know from the Perpetual Calendar that 1st July 1906 was a Sunday.
Once in Durham he gives us only four pieces of dating information. We know what he does on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before his departure for the South on Monday.
Working back, he appears to have been away from home for just two weeks, meaning he probably left Leigh on Monday 9th July and returned on 23rd.
If so, his itinerary was probably as follows:
Monday 9th July
Left Leigh, stayed overnight at Stamford
Tuesday 10th
Stamford to Emmaville,
Thursday 12th
‘A couple of days after’ visited N Durham Grounds with Joe Shippen to watch cycling
Friday 13th
Stocksfield to Wesylan Chapel at Emmaville ride, ‘Reckon to be 8 miles’
Saturday 14th
Gosforth ride, The Moor, Heddon on the Wall, Carlisle Road, Wylam
Sunday 15th
Rode to Radcliffe, ‘A stay of five days’
Friday 20th
Returned to Emmaville calling in at Gateshead and Newcastle on his way
Saturday 21st
Victoria Garesfield
Sunday 22nd
George and William, ‘walked over to Wylam’
Monday 23rd
Left the North East for Leigh
Obviously from the scant information we have this can only be conjecture, but a Monday start does seem the most possible. The 16th and 23rd July are equally likely start dates, returning on the 30th July and 6th August respectively.
William’s original notes on the route from London to Boroughbridge
William’s original notes on Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 2
William’s original notes of his route from Leigh on Sea
William sketches a map which helps him navigate the route around Doncaster.
Contents
The Missing Years and Mary Sarah Bevington
READ MOREBefore William’s Birth
READ MOREWilliam’s Early Life
READ MOREWilliam’s cycle trip to North East England
READ MORELater Years
READ MOREAfter William’s Death
READ MOREWilliam’s move to South Africa
READ MOREBackground to William’s ‘Poems’
READ MOREWilliam’s cycle trip to North East England
Background
This cycle journey to north east England took place in July 1906 when WILLIAM and Marie were both in England. Marie and their son Harry arrived in September 1905 and stayed until June 1909. WILLIAM joined them in April 1906 and left at the end of August 1906. WILLIAM describes several versions of his cycle trip to the North East of England on Pages 31-34 in the Journal and in separate notes attached to it.
The two routes from London both start at Tottenham Station and go on to Boroughbridge. At Boroughbridge WILLIAM then describes two alternative routes to Crawcrook in the North East. He refers to these as Route 1 and Route 2. These routes began in London, which suggests he had been planning this trip for some time.
It is possible the idea suggested itself to him when he first stayed at 77 Fillebrook Road in Leytonstone with the Bevingtons when he arrived in England in April 1906 or that he had had a yearning to return to his birth place for many years, and came to England with the trip already in mind.
However, in the Journal, we have details of the journey he actually took to Emmaville (Route from Leigh on Sea) as well as scribbled notes itemising places to where it joins up with his original itinerary from London.
A family copy of Paterson’s Roads published in 1808, although completely out of date by 1906 when WILLIAM undertook his ride, appears to have been used for his route planning, judging by the marginalia and the references to roads leading off his route which correspond to the Paterson format e.g. St Ives to the right. He may also have owned one of the many Cycling Guides available at the time.
Routes from London
Although in the event he did not begin his epic ride in London, it is worth noting the route he planned, especially as it provides a little more information about the latter part of his journey.
It would have begun at Tottenham Station then closely follow Paterson’s pages 178/9 from Potters Bar north.
It’s a pity WILLIAM doesn’t describe how he intended to travel from Leytonstone to Tottenham then on to Wood Green, but Fillebroook Road where the Bevingtons lived was almost opposite Leytonstone Station. It is possible that WILLIAM contemplated taking his bicycle by train to Tottenham Station from Leytonstone. Although this would entail a change at Stratford, it would have been a fairly direct route enabling him to get onto the Great North Road (A1) relatively easily without having to negotiate the maze of roads around Low Leyton, Leyton Green and the Marshes.
From Tottenham Station, WILLIAM would have made his way to Wood Green via Bruce Grove and Lordship Lane, then, either via Palmers Green and Alderman’s Hill or via Bounds Green, to Southgate. From here the equivalent of the modern A111 and A1000 would have taken him to Potters Bar and Hatfield where he would have joined the Great North Road. This stage of the proposed journey corresponds with pages 178/9 of Paterson.
(WILLIAM planned to continue north on the A1, but to follow his route today one would need a diversion at Hitchen, because of the changes in road layouts, first onto the A600, then the A602, before re-joining the A1 near Biggleswade.)
In WILLIAM’S list an arrow indicates straight ahead →
It is not clear what WILLIAM means when he says ‘or right‘ or ‘or left‘ in conjunction with ‘straight ahead‘. Does he have alternative routes in mind or is he simply indicating there are other roads?
Both routes closely follow the modern A1 and A167 after Alconbury, north to Durham, although it is clear that the state of the roads is pretty poor especially on the outskirts of large towns. At Darlington WILLIAM ‘took some time to find the road through here‘ and he had ‘a struggle‘ to find Durham. ‘Retford is paved‘ is underlined! Worthy of several exclamation marks today.
London to Boroughbridge
WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at London to Boroughbridge . The transcribed version is below:
Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 1
WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 1 . The transcribed version is below:
Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 2
This is WILLIAM’S alternative route from Boroughbridge to Crawcrook. WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at Boroughbridge to Crawcrook Route 2 . The transcribed version is below. This is also the route he chose to return home to London. See: The Return Journey
Route from Leigh on Sea
This is the amended route he eventually took from Leigh on Sea where he and Marie were staying in England in July 1906 and is based on Pages 31-34 from the Journal and additional scribbled notes on a separate page. The complete route is shown on the map below:
The links below have detailed individual sections of the route on the 1904 Ordnance Survey map. The road system shown would be as when WILLIAM completed his trip.
Detail is sparse for the first leg of the journey from Leigh to Huntingdon. Mileage is marked for Chelmsford to Cambridge – 46½ miles, but the list is interesting for the places he puts in brackets; it seems likely he rode straight through them to save both miles and time.
The scribbled notes
WILLIAM’S original notes for this route can be seen at The scribbled notes . The transcribed version is below. The list is as follows:
Leigh on Sea
Rayleigh x turn to the right 1 ½ miles from Rayleigh
Cross R Crouch
Battles Bridge Station
Rettenden
(Chelmsford) 6-5 [6.05]
Broomfield
(Great Waltham)
(Dunmow) 6
7.50am [Altered by William]Great Easton
(Thaxted) 7.30
(Saffron Walden) 8.00
Littlebury
Great Chesterfield
Bourn Bridge
Babraham
(Cambridge) 9.15am left 10am
From Leigh on Sea to Cambridge he appears to have used Paterson’s Cross Roads p 349 (Chelmsford to Cambridge via Dunmow and Saffron Walden.) This equates to the modern A130.
From Leigh on Sea the only route to Chelmsford was via Hadleigh, Raleigh and Battlesbridge where the River Crouch could be crossed, otherwise it would entail a detour via Wickford. He could have crossed the Crouch at Hullbridge but might not have wanted to trust the Ferry.
WILLIAM has marked the distance between Chelmsford and Cambridge as 46½ miles. He appears to have forgotten to check his watch at times so has overwritten them afterwards.
(St Ives)(Huntingdon)For continuation see strip mapCambridge
43 miles to StamfordTo
Girton
Labworth
Fenstanton (St Ives to the right)
Huntingdon 27 miles to Stamford
Once past Cambridge he seems to have used Patersons Cross Roads pages 308/9 in reverse. This was the Birmingham to Harwich Road, the modern A604.
Just past Huntingdon, at Alconbury, his route joins the London to Carlisle/ Edinburgh Road. The Great North Road (modern A1.)
The Great North Road continues to Stamford (Paterson’s p247 and/or pp 180/183.) In the margin at Norman Cross he has written ‘to 38’. Its meaning isn’t clear except that Norman Cross is where his routes meet.
There is scant detail until he reaches Alconbury where the routes converge. Stamford he admires, but even so he then manages to transport us all the way to Gateshead at break neck speed in one paragraph!
From the Journal
This is the outward journey taken by WILLIAM from Leigh on Sea to Newcastle on Tyne as actually recorded in the Journal. It is about 325 miles via Chelmsford, Huntingdon, Stamford bridge, Doncaster, Durham. The scribbled notes were probably written as he completed the journey and the pages in the Journal completed at a later date.
The return journey
On page 220 (London to Durham by Boroughbridge, Catterick and Bishop Auckland) Paterson has the following advice:
‘The adjoining road from Boroughbridge to Durham, which is always in good repair, is preferred by many travellers to the Northallerton road. – The stages from Boroughbridge are, to Leeming Lane 12m; Catterick Bridge 11m; Pierce Bridge 11 m; Bishops Auckland 10 m; and Durham 10 m.’
This is WILLIAM’S original Route 2, but in reverse
Having travelled north via Northallerton and losing his way several times between Darlington and Durham, WILLIAM could have expected his route south to be easier. He states his route will be Unthank, Pierce Bridge, Leeming Lane then onto the road south at Boroughbridge, but of course he doesn’t follow Paterson in reverse. Instead he heads west, probably intending to find the equivalent of the modern A68. His road would have gone through Prudhoe, Stocksfield and Riding Mill before turning south towards Unthank and eventually meeting The Great North Road (present day A1) at Scotch Corner.
Before the Derwent Reservoir was built in the 1960s this must have been a remote, featureless place so it is hardly surprising WILLIAM lost his way. Roads would have been bad especially after rain and he tells us that 40 out of the 80 miles covered were in driving rain. The present A68 passes quite close to Consett but it seems likely that WILLIAM took a wrong turning at Carterway Heads and headed east towards Shotley Bridge and Consett rather than crossing the Derwent at Allensford and progressing to Piercebridge, Leeming Lane and Boroughbridge. He reckoned that his detour had put an extra 18 miles on his journey, meaning he was three hours later than expected reaching Boroughbridge.
Robin Hood’s Hill is an area straddling the Great North Road about halfway between Doncaster and Pontefract. This is where he had a puncture.
Once on the Great North Road William arrived in Doncaster at 6pm and stayed the night in a Temperance Hotel. He left at 9am the following morning after a good breakfast and seems to have had a straight run to Hatfield. He branched off at Potters Bar for Tottenham and after negotiating a maze of streets, arrived Fillebrook Road in Leytonstone at 8pm.
He seems to have received cold comfort at Fillebrook Road; ‘had a small biscuit there’ but he is hungry, so when he left at 9pm he ‘bought half a dozen bananas and a packet of biscuits and eat the lot’. One wonders where he’d have a found a shop open at 9pm as late night shopping feels a very modern idea! So too does the idea of being able to find a cup of tea at half past ten at night, which he does at Stanford le Hope.
The last 40 miles home took him 2 hours 15mins which means he arrived back in Leigh in the dark. He must have followed the ‘Old London Road’ (Modern A13) via Ilford, Barking, Dagenham, Rainham, Wennington, Avely, Stifford, Baker Street, Orsett, Horndon on the Hill, Stanford le Hope, Vange, Pitsea, and Hadleigh, although he does not list his route in the Journal.
In spite of the A13 having been much widened and straightened to bypass villages, his route can be followed on OS Landranger Maps 177 (East London) and 178 (The Thames Estuary) where many sections of the old road can still be seen.
Dating the trip
WILLIAM first visits Leigh on Sea for five days in May 1906, but doesn’t supply any further information.
In July WILLIAM said, ‘Took a house at Leigh’, this is 17 Cranleigh Drive, Leigh on Sea. This is known because the address is shown on WILLIAM’S entry on the roll of individuals awarded The Queen’s South Africa Medal. The house would have been relatively new and it is possible it was a holiday let. It seems strange however that they should have preferred a suburban street to the buzz of a seaside town, Southend.
WILLIAM provides no further dates until he tells us he sailed back to South Africa on 25th August. After his journey north he provides us with a great deal of detail about his cycling exploits in Essex which rather suggests his visit was in July, after they took the house in Leigh.
We know from the Perpetual Calendar that 1st July 1906 was a Sunday.
Once in Durham he gives us only four pieces of dating information. We know what he does on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before his departure for the South on Monday.
Working back, he appears to have been away from home for just two weeks, meaning he probably left Leigh on Monday 9th July and returned on 23rd.
If so, his itinerary was probably as follows:
Obviously from the scant information we have this can only be conjecture, but a Monday start does seem the most possible. The 16th and 23rd July are equally likely start dates, returning on the 30th July and 6th August respectively.