County – Slough
Elevation - 51m
Date – 25 March 2023
Distance – 63.2km (cycling!)
Elevation Climbed - 562m (cycling!)
Status – 55th highest Unitary authority/118th highest LA
As well as smashing Tops left right and centre (ahem), I'm also in training for the RideLondon 100, a 100 mile bike ride from central London, around Essex, and back. Trying to fit the training in around work and Topping is a bit tricky, so the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - by cycling up a Top - seemed a welcome opportunity.
A breezy morning had me scudding out towards Slough, which might not even be a council for much longer (it's in dire financial straits and may end up merged with a neighbour). My route took me via the la-di-da towns of Sunningdale, Ascot, Windsor and Eton, none of which are remotely like Slough:
Out of Windsor I rode through the posh cloisters of Eton, and then over the flat fields of Dorney, whipped by the wild wind. Eventually I came to Burnham, on the edges of Slough, and made my way through some suburban streets until I reached the hallowed ground of the County Top:
This is it!
Top smashed, I headed back through the gales into Slough itself, stopping just to see the legendary location of Office fame:
I pootled slowly home via the general awfulness of Slough, got caught up in the Changing of the Guard at Windsor, and cursed the headwind all the way back. Still. Another one done.
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