Churches with Water

On recovery days, generally after a 200 km ride, I often watch Youtube videos of ultra distance cyclists who stop at a shop or petrol station leaving their bike outside unlocked without a thought of its being stolen. Not a problem for them as there is usually a support or media crew outside. For the solo rider like me, it’s a risk too far, even with a cafe lock. I always start a ride with several bidons of energy drink or water but what to do when I’m running low and there’s no cafe nearby?

Here are four churches with water that I’ve found on my rides west of London.

All Saints Church, Church Lane, Dunsden

All Saints Church, Dunsden

Many of my rides take me over Sonning Bridge to the roundabout on the A4155 Henley to Reading road. Heading straight across, my routes climb to Dunsden where it’s a left turn towards Church Lane and All Saints Church. There’s a bench and a tap (by the bush) on the car park side of the church.

St Mary the Virgin Church, Bucklebury

Many of my routes from Reading out towards, or back from, Boxford, Lambourn or Hermitage pass the church at Bucklebury. One warm Sunday morning I stopped at the village hall hoping for water and finding it closed, rode on to the church. I couldn’t see a tap outside so parked my bike in the porch and went inside. The morning service had ended and the parishioners were really welcoming and directed me to a kitchen area where I filled my bottles. They offered me tea or coffee; I thanked them but said that it was water I needed.

St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, Bucklebury - water and toilet inside

They told me that the church is open every day from about 9.30 to 4.30. I returned later on a weekday; a woman who was working in the church told me that they welcome the many cyclists who use the church’s facilities, including the toilet.

There is a contactless donation point by the door.

St Peter’s Church, Little Wittenham

I found the Tour des Clumps ride on the Goring Gap Cycling website and adapted it for a longer ride from West London. For me, there’s a cafe stop at Pierreponts in Goring at about 70 km for a drink and a bidon refill before riding on to Little Wittenham at just over 90 km with a view of the Clumps. St Peter’s Church, which is next to a manor house, has a convenient water tap and two benches just outside the church boundary wall.

St Peter's Church, Little Wittenham

On my last visit there I met a man who told me that he had ridden from Didcot and was pleased that at 75 he could still ride. He was quite large and his bike was heavy: good for him!

Holy Trinity Church, Nuffield

After climbing to Stoke Row and descending, I never fail to find the views from Ipsden really uplifting. Of course, if you descend, you have to climb back up again. My current favourite route is along Brixton Hill which becomes Nuffield Hill to Holy Trinity Church, Nuffield. It’s quite a long climb (at least by the standards of the area) and a top up of water is welcome.

The church is normally open during daylight hours; the door is quite stiff. Parishioners leave tea bags (including decaf), instant coffee and filtered water with a kettle. There are also biscuits. Sadly, there is a notice stating that these are provided by the community and asking that people do not take them all.

There has been a leak; the tap on the outside wall of the church is no longer in use. The tap you can see in the photo is just inside the gate.

To Take a Lock?

I’ve taken cafe locks and even a heavy Sold Secure Gold bike lock but hardly ever used them. In a video answering questions on his bike setup, Josh Ibbett says that he hardly ever uses a lock. He simply wheels his bike into a shop. I take the same approach. Faced with “free” water fountains at Reading station that I could not persuade to dispense water, I wheeled my bike into one of the station shops to buy a bottle of (overpriced) water. I did the same at a Tesco Express in Reading when I realised I had set off without any suntan lotion. Better not to ask permission: you might face a refusal.

Previous
Previous

About Three Hills and 10,000 km

Next
Next

Randonax 2024 - Dave Morrison Excels!