the scrumping tour

…and Cider Tasting

This route takes in many of the locations referred to in a post-war club-ride report…they did visit The Castle Inn, Chiddingstone, I’ll leave it up to you if you want to drink as much cider as they did! In the spirit of the original ride... our 2019 ride will visit Charringtons Cider for some refreshments!

Charringtons is a real farm, so although the usual pit stop with an array of coffee choices will not be available, Balham CC is delighted to invite you to a simple picnic. Sandwiches, sweet snacks, apple juice and of course a little cider tasting courtesy of BCC.

From Balham we head south-east to The Ridge up Beddlestead Lane, then on to Ide Hill. We follow the North Downs eastwards to Paxtol then head south across the Medway Valley towards our stop at Charringtons Cider Farm 76kms/47m. Heading back we loop around Tonbridge, thro’ Hildenborough and on to Chiddingstone. The final leg takes us past Hever, Edenbridge and Godstone picking-up a great short-cut over the A22...and then it’s the run home from Farthing Downs.

If you still need a coffee fix …Stop options are: Ide Hill cafe/shop km38. Hammonds Deli. Hatfield km77 Little Brown Jug km105 Costa, Edenbridge (just off route) km119

We’re proposing a full route of 165km and a shorter 130km option, branching off the main route after Edenbridge and jumping on the train from Oxted to Clapham Junction. There is also the option to - jump on the train at Hildenborough to London Bridge, making the ride 100kms.

130km The Scrumping Tour Strava route - train home from Oxted
167km The Scrumping Tour Strava route - full distance

167km The Scrumping Tour GPX file
167km The Scrumping Tour TCX file

Should you enjoy the cider tasting Charrington’s will be happy to take a BCC order and deliver to a single address in Balham.