This year I set myself he challenge of cycling to 12 of England's finest churches, using Simon Jenkins book of 1,000 Best English Churches as my guide. It turned out to be less difficult than I expected, and I completed the set in May.
Next year I am planning to reach the next 12.
For the first 12 the distances (as the crow flies) ranged from 3-16 miles, and the actual distance I rode from 16-60 miles. Crows would travel 16-20 miles from here to reach each of the next 12.
But in figuring out which ones to include in the next twelve, it turns out that I had missed one in the first twelve. Holy Trinity at Bledlow is closer than one of the churches I visited this year. So today I thought I would add it to the set.
It was a round trip of 46 miles, over the hills to Marlow then Stokenchurch, down the steep hill to Chinnor, then across to Bledlow. The return jouney started with quite a demanding climb up to Bledlow Ridge, then a long descent into Wycombe, and back home along familiar routes.
The church was locked when I got there, and I wanted to get home before it went dark, so I didn't hang around to look inside. It sounds as though it would be worth it, though. Certainly, if the inside is as pretty as the outside, it will be well worth another visit. And it seems there is a steam railway nearby to add to the visit.
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