#perfectpitstop

Perfect road trip pit stop 👍💝

A couple of weeks ago I spent a wonderful morning travelling down to Bosham along the Shipwrights Way, picking it up in Alice Holt, near Farnham.

This well established and, for the most part, signposted gravel route is a modern wonder, allowing you to travel from the leafy suburbs of farnham, all the way to the south coast, on pretty much off-road gravel paths, avoiding the heavily used main roads and supposedly quieter B roads.

Petersfield lies around halfway down the route and is the perfect place to take a breather and a bit of sustenance before the inevitable climb over Buriton and Queen Elizabeth Country Park before the long descent down to the coastline.

The temptation in Peterfield would be to aim for the charming square which has a few different coffee outlets and plenty of outdoor seating, and which do indeed serve a decent brew and opportunity to to grab a bite. Indeed, I have on a previous visit done exactly that and enjoyed it, sitting on one of the square benches and watching the town go about its business.

However, on this occasion there was a Sunday market on the square and I didn't fancy chancing my luck with the bike, so I rolled down beyond the square and on the left, just about 100 yards down, I found The Townhouse.

There are 3 or 4 small tables outside with stools, and plenty of seats and tables inside. I opted for outside as it was a lovely, sunny and warm day and ordered my usual decaf Oat Latte. I didn't order any food as I had some protein bars that I wanted to onboard before the arduous short sharp climb out of Buriton.

The coffee was excellent and so was the service. Charming and welcoming and relaxed. I sat for about 15 minutes watching the goings on on the square and ear-wigging conversations around me. It was very pleasant indeed.

I asked for the bill and this is when I got the surprise. £2.40. FINALLY, a cafe that doesn't rely on their customers having to take a 3 month Klarna repayment plan for a cup of coffee. This was more like it.

Regular followers of this blog will know that one of my all time favourite rides is a loop from Farnham, down to the coast, specifically Emsworth and Bosham, before the climb back to up Farnham.

When I arrive in Emsworth I usually head for the water and the harbour wall, and I don’t usually think about stopping for a coffee or sustenance, beyond the view itself.

On Sunday I did the ride with Stu and Wellsy and we rode through Emsworth on route to Bosham and decided to stop in Emsworth because we weren’t quite sure of the status of cafe’s in Bosham (Pop !n is closed and we were not sure if there would be an alternative opportunity there). 

Driftwood cafe is situated on the high street very close of the triangle and is failr unassuming and unless you were on the lookout you could possibly pass it by. 

However, what became plainly obvious in our short time there was that this is a locals favourite as the queues started to form outside it shortly after we had ordered.

The blackboard outside clearly directs the process for ordering but in our case we elected to sit outside on some tables that were set up outside the neighbouring Chinese restaurant.

Inside the restuarant the a wonderful counter full of the latest fresh pastries and cakes. There’s every flavour of coffee available too, although unfortunately they were out of my favoured Oat Milk today so I opted for a skinny latte.

The decor is light and bright and there’s plenty of seating inside to accomodate a lot of people even with social distancing measures in place, and there’s a huge garden seating at the rear as well which we couldn;t take advantage of because we had our bikes with us. The staff were warm and welcoming despite the obvious challenges of the mandatory mask wearing making it hard to be heard.

The coffee was very good. We couldn’t decide if it was Edgecumbe roast coffee or not, (I was inclined to think it wasn’t) but it didn’t matter. The coffee and the pastry (I had a pain au raisen) set us up nicely for the next leg to Bosham (where Pop !n was indeed closed) and the return leg back to Farnham.

There are places you pass by on an almost daily basis which always pique your interest but for whatever reason you never quite have the time to stop and venture inside. This is certainly the case with 172 Coffee in Elstead.

Nestled in the heart of Elstead, 172 coffee is a fairly recent (18 months?) addition to the Thursley Road and is somewhere I pass with an (at least) bi-weekly frequency. The issue is that normally I am about 20-30k into my ride (so too close to stop) or only 15k from the end of my ride (too close to stop).

All that ended on Saturday when I ventured out for a slightly longer (100k) ride on my birthday. With a plan to stop and check it out, the stop was at 42k of my 100k ride, so justifiable - especially as it was my birthday.

As you approach the cafe it’s immediately obvious that it is cycle friendly. The lovely classic step-through bike is a permanent feature that bodes the good intentions of the cafe, and there are plenty of bike racks to place your steed.

There are 4 (or more?) benches outside that can seat 6 comfortably (or 4 in these Covid times I guess) at sit outside the front of the large window panels of the cafe. 

Inside the cafe it is light and airy and there is plenty of space to sit and enjoy the coffee and cakes should the weather be a little off.

There was plenty of choice in the coffee and cake department too, with my favourite Oat Milk being offered and a variety of cakes and pastries available.

I opted for my usual Oat Milk Latte and an Orange and Almond slice which I had outside and they were delicious. The cakes are clearly home made so quality and taste were spot on.

It goes without saying that an establishment is only as good as it’s staff, and in this case 172 coffee exceeded all expectations. The enthusiastic, friendly and welcoming lady who took my order kindly brought my choices out to the bench and then started to throw complements about my bike my way. She wondered at the colour of the bike and how it reflected the sun in magical ways. Perfect Pitsop? I think so!!

As destinations or waypoints on a ride go, Bosham must rank up there as one of the quaintest, perfectly English seaside towns there is. Nestled just west of Chichester, in Chichester harbour, it’s a haven of tranquillity and escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life.

With a sailing club and a waterway that’s very tidal, the coastal scene can be very different every time you visit and changes hour to hour.

And on a sunny, clear day you can spend hours just watching the world go by, albeit at a wonderful seductive relaxed and calm pace.

The Bosham loop (as we call it) is one of our favourites; so much so that Stu, Wellsy and myself were talking about establishing it as a tradition and making it our first Sunday New Year ride every year.

However, part of that plan would require a decent pitstop, and the perfect pitstop was found yesterday in Bosham itself, in the form of Pop !n.

Befitting the small and quaint nature of Bosham, Pop !n is nestled on the road as you arrive into Bosham, and is neighbours with the local art studio.

It’s not the biggest cafe stop, with standing room only inside, but for what it lacks in internal space it certainly makes up for with its offering.

There a small rack for 3-6 bikes, although there plenty of outside space for bikes so that wouldn’t be the deal-breaker if you were a larger group.

Pop !n is owned by the locally critically acclaimed Millstream Hotel and their eco-credentials are also very visible with a very conscious effort to provide a sustainable service.

The excellent coffee is supplied by Edgcumb (also listed on this blog as another Perfect Pitstop) near Ford in Sussex, whilst the cakes are supplied by the Millstream Hotel and restaurant situated about 100 meters away.

It’s a perfect combination!

We caught it on a perfect October morning with the sun having fought its way through the clouds that gave us the perfect opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the tranquillity of life in the village along with some of the best coffee and cake money can buy.

The coffee, as expected, was top-notch, and I even got my preferred Oat Milk which was another welcome bonus, and the cakes and croissant were simply delicious.

The 2 members of staff were warm and welcoming and seemed delighted by our visit. We were even told that we were “exactly the kind of visitors they wanted” which scores even more bonus points from us. It was music to our ears and we were very happy to be there.

The biggest issue for us was leaving. It was quite a wrench and we could quite easily have stayed for more coffee and cake, although the grind back up to Farnham might have seemed a little tougher if we had.

Whilst the weather undoubtedly helped, there’s not much more you can possibly say when you are welcomed and served in such a wonderful way, in such a wonderful spot, in such a wonderful archetypal English seaside village.

When people mention the place Ford, you’d be forgiven for immediately thinking about the prison, and well not much else. Well, on our Arundel ride today we stopped shortly after we rode through Arundel and headed to Ford. Just after the railway crossing we took a right, directed by the sign on the main road, and found this haven of tranquility nestled on the right of the road.

Having parked our bikes in the bike racks, we headed inside and were presented with a wide selection of goodies including sweet and savoury snacks. This was the delicious bakewell.

They all looked delicious and we made our selection but the true treat was to come. With the coffee roastery on site, the coffee is not only fresh, it is delicious. And for fussy punters like myself, there’s decaf and even Oat milk.

There’s seating inside and outside in a warm and welcoming environment that is established by the excellent staff. This is not one of them, that’s Stu!

There are nice touches all around that reinstate their love of cycling here. I assume they don’t have the same ridiculous council members as the poor VeloCafe that is fighting for sits existence.

This is the roastery opposite the cafe and you can see the bike racks, although there is plenty of space for more bikes if it is busy, and whilst we were there for our 2 coffees (yep it was that good) there was plenty of coming and going of both cyclists and non-cyclists alike.