Cycling UK Forum

The CTC Gazette for Feb 1958 includes an appeal for funds to erect a memorial seat in Burford on the Windrush (Oxon) in memory of the well known cycle tourist 'Wayfarer' (W M Robinson). Does anyone know if this was ever built and if it still exists?

link to Burford Tourist office they might know something
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/burford.shtml

Link to articles regarding the Wayfarer Stone in the Ceiriog Valley erected by the RSF
http://www.tracks.me.uk/wayfarer.html

Despite the fact Burford was just about at my furthest reaches of days ride from Cov I know nothing of the stone seat, but have certainly visited the Wayfarer stone a couple of times.

Thanks for that Eileithiya. The article on the Wayfarer stone mentions proposals for a seat. If no one comes up with anything I'll try the tourist office. I'll get to the Wayfarer stone one day but the seat would be much nearer to the Isle of Wight if it actually exists!

I used to cycle to and through Burford dozens of times a year and I never noticed an obvious memorial seat. There are several seats around the top of the high street but I think they're all bog-standard issue ones. (An armchair journey via Google Streetview supports this.)

Sounds like it didn't get beyond the proposal stage, it was meant to be quite elaborate in Cotswold stone.

A friend was asking about this, so I googled it and found it is in Meriden apparently :-

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4436087

Cheers.

PT1029 wrote:A friend was asking about this, so I googled it and found it is in Meriden apparently :-

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4436087

Cheers.

I sat on that bench and ate fish and chips for lunch on my birthday last May.

Rob

PT1029 wrote:A friend was asking about this, so I googled it and found it is in Meriden apparently :-

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4436087

Cheers.

Thanks for that. Now I've got 3 reasons to visit Meriden - the cyclists' war memorial, the Wayfarer seat and the ancient cross which is a British Cycle Quest location!

pedalsheep wrote:Thanks for that. Now I've got 3 reasons to visit Meriden - the cyclists' war memorial, the Wayfarer seat and the ancient cross which is a British Cycle Quest location!

Make that 4 - there is some lovely riding in the area. In the days when there was a CTC weekend there every May, I did a led ride which was all very scenic, surprisingly so considering how close to the industrial midlands it'd all been.
Re BCQ - there is a nice little cluster to the South of Meriden - Packwood, Warwick, Chesterton and Stratford, and again some lovely riding between them.

PH wrote:

pedalsheep wrote:Thanks for that. Now I've got 3 reasons to visit Meriden - the cyclists' war memorial, the Wayfarer seat and the ancient cross which is a British Cycle Quest location!

Make that 4 - there is some lovely riding in the area. In the days when there was a CTC weekend there every May, I did a led ride which was all very scenic, surprisingly so considering how close to the industrial midlands it'd all been.
Re BCQ - there is a nice little cluster to the South of Meriden - Packwood, Warwick, Chesterton and Stratford, and again some lovely riding between them.

Heart of England Cycling Club* still organises a series of 160, 100 & 50 Audax events in May (on the Saturday before the CTC memorial bash on the village green)

*HoECC was a CTC group until late 2015 but decided, unanimously, to plough its own furrow as a standalone cycling club.

Rob

robgul wrote:Heart of England Cycling Club* still organises a series of 160, 100 & 50 Audax events in May (on the Saturday before the CTC memorial bash on the village green)Rob

And good events they are too, I've done the 100 & 160 and ECE'd both (Though one was in the days before that was as simple)
However, it used to be a complete weekend, led rides, a group camping, evening meal and entertainment, very social and well run, it's a pity it's lost, though quite probably dying out before Heart of England's changes.

PH wrote:

robgul wrote:Heart of England Cycling Club* still organises a series of 160, 100 & 50 Audax events in May (on the Saturday before the CTC memorial bash on the village green)Rob

And good events they are too, I've done the 100 & 160 and ECE'd both (Though one was in the days before that was as simple)
However, it used to be a complete weekend, led rides, a group camping, evening meal and entertainment, very social and well run, it's a pity it's lost, though quite probably dying out before Heart of England's changes.

Without wishing to stir up a hornet's nest the "old event" was close to death before HoECC abdicated in 2015 - primarily with lack of support (even promotion) and just lip-service from CTC HQ. The HoECC Audax events have continued and indeed grown with the introduction of the 50 and increasng numbers for the longer distances year-on-year.

There is still a service on the village green by the monument on the Sunday but (I've never been) numbers are apparently dwindling as each year goes by.

Rob