RG8

Pangbourne, Goring, Streatley and the hill lanes

Chalk hills on one side, river on the other, and steep narrow roads joining them. RG8 is the far edge of what we cover and we are straight about the distance.

Streatley hill and the climbs out of the valley are long and steep, hard on brakes and harder on tyres already running low. The bridge at Whitchurch is single-file and narrow enough that people clip the kerb crossing it. Above the valley, Aldworth, Ashampstead, Checkendon and Woodcote are sunken lanes with flint banks either side — the flint is the point, because a flint cut in a sidewall means a new tyre, not a repair. Purley and Lower Basildon sit on the flood line where the road edges break up every winter.

This is a run from Virginia Water and we will say so honestly on the phone. If we cannot come, you hear that straight away.