Round Trip Ride – East Molesey 走一轉系列 – East Molesey

There are seven Local Government Districts adjacent to Kingston Upon Thames. Wimbledon and Raynes Park that I recently rode to belong to one of these, the London Borough of Merton. In this round of my Round Trip Ride, I will share with you my visit to another district, the Borough of Elmbridge. The destination is East Molesey.

與 Kingston Upon Thames 接壤的地區政府管轄區（Local Government Districts）共有七個，早前往 Wimbledon 及 Raynes Park 時已到訪過其中一個，亦即 London Borough of Merton。今次要介绍的行程會到另一個區 Borough of Elmbridge，目的地是 East Molesey 市。

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Borough of Elmbridge is located in the south western side of Kingston. To reach East Molesey, the most direct way is going south along Portsmouth Road. The round trip journey is less than 10Km and one probably would finish the ride before the warmup was completed. So to make the trip last a little bit longer, I deliberately took a clockwise route by going through two residential areas: Berrylands and Hinchley Wood. Crossing A3 Kingston Bypass and travel through Littleworth Common to East Molesey. The last leg of the trip will be along Portsmouth Road back to Kingston. The total distance is estimated to be around 20Km.

Same as before, I would leave the Kingston town centre via Brook Street and travel along the following major Point of Interests:

• Lower Marsh Lane in Surbiton
• Berrylands Railway Station
• Berrylands
• Long Ditton
• Hinchley Wood
• Littleworth Common, Esher
• River Ember & River Mole, East Molesey
• Thames Ditton
• Portsmouth Road, Kingston upon Thames

Borough of Elmbridge 在 Kingston 的西南方，要到 East Molesey，最直接當然是沿 Portsmouth Road 南下，這樣的話，來回相信不到十公里，怕且連熱身都未做完。為了增加運動量，刻意改作順時鐘來回，經 Berrylands、Hinchley Wood 等住宅區，橫越 A3 Kingston Bypass，穿過 Littleworth Common 到達 East Mosley，最後經 Portsmouth Road 返回，全程約 20 公里。

行程一如以往，從 Brook Street 離開 Kingston 市中心，沿途會經過以下幾個主要地點：

• Lower Marsh Lane in Surbiton
• Berrylands 火車站
• Berrylands
• Long Ditton
• Hinchley Wood
• Littleworth Common, Esher
• River Ember & River Mole, East Molesey
• Thames Ditton
• Portsmouth Road, Kingston upon Thames

Early part of the journey was similar to my previous trip to Wimbledon. The difference began with taking the Chiltern Drive direction at the roundabout after leaving Berrylands Railway Station. Berrylands and Hinchley Woods are residential areas so there was neither eye-catching buildings nor special landmarks. And in view of privacy considerations, I intentionally not to take any photos along these areas.

From Berrylands to Littleworth Common, one has to cross three busy main roads: Ewell Road, Upper Brighton Road and Kingston Bypass. Extra attention had to pay towards the traffic conditions and light signals.

早段行程和上次去 Wimbledon 相若，差別在於離開 Berrylands 火車站後，在回旋處要向前走往 Chiltern Drive，進入 Berrylands 區。由於 Berrylands 及 Hinckley Wood 主要是住宅區，基本上沒有甚麼特別建築或地標，另外鑑於私隠考慮，我亦沒有拍攝沿途民居景緻。

從 Berrylands 往 Littleworth Common，需要穿過三條頗繁忙的主要道路： Ewell Road, Upper Brighton Road 及 Kingston Bypass，切記留意路面情况和交通燈號。

Just as I had mentioned before, there are a lot of Commons in UK. We would pedal through Littleworth Common to Esher Railway Station, in order not to ride along the busy Kingston Bypass.

Littleworth Common is not very big in size, it has a public footpath called Littleworth Common Path as well as a simple Mountain Bike trail. Entrance to the footpath is in Littleworth Lane. Right at the end of Manor Road South where Surbiton High School Hinchley Wood Sports Ground is located, take right turn to Oaken Lane then followed by another left turn towards Littleworth Road. Littleworth Lane will then appear by the road side.

正如上遍講過英國有很多 Common，今次就嘗試踩單車經 Littleworth Common 去 Esher 火車站，避免在繁忙的 Kingston Bypass 上舆汽車爭路。

Littleworth Common 的面積不大，裡面有一條步道 Littleworth Common Path 及一條低難度的攀山車徑。Common 的入口在 Littleworth Lane，只需在 Manor Road South 盡頭，即 Surbiton High School Hinchley Wood Sports Ground 傍轉右至 Oaken Lane，再轉左至 Littleworth Road 便可輕易找到。

Other than road signs, commons in UK typically are not equipped with other basic facilities and Littleworth Common is no exception. Cycling in these commons have to be careful and bicycle light is a must, especially during Autumn and winter seasons where sunset comes extremely early.

一般像 Littleworth Common 的 Commons，除了基本的路標指示外，其他設施差不多欠奉。在這裡踩單車，一切要小心，另外一定要配備車燈，尤其是秋冬季天黑來得比較早的時候。

Upon leaving Littleworth Common at Portsmouth Road, the ride continued towards Esher Railway Station.

離開 Littleworth Common，横過 Portsmouth Road 便向 Esher 火車站進發。

Kept on riding for a few minutes along Ember Lane. Using the footpath at the end of Orchard Lane, crossed River Ember and River Mole The residential area of East Molesey would appear on the opposite side of the rivers.

沿 Ember Lane 再走數分鐘到達 Orchard Lane，經 footpath 渡過 River Ember 及 River Mole 後便是 East Molesey 的住宅區。

In Molesey, there is a world renowned mounted police training school, Imber Court, located in Ember Lane near Esher Railway Station. Since its establishment in 1919, Imber Court provided training service mainly to the Mounted Branch of the London Metropolitan Police Service. Nowadays, training service has also been extended to cover mounted police forces all over the world. Other than the training school, Imber Court is also the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch .

Part of the lands of Imber Court had subsequently been donated and redeployed as sports and recreation ground for the local public. If you would like to know more about Imber Court, click here for details.

I was so lucky that day having pleasure to meet a beautiful mounted policewoman while I was crossing River Mole.

行程經過的 East Molesey 有一所世界知名的騎警訓練中心 Imber Court，位置就在 Esher 火車站附近的 Ember Lane。自1919 年成立以來主要為倫敦警隊 (Metropolitan Police Service) 的騎警分局 (Mounted Branch) 提供訓練，而現時 Imber Court 的訓練服務更擴展至全球警隊。除了訓練中心外，Imber Court 亦是 Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch 的行政中心。

警隊隨後捐出原址部分土地給當地居民用作體育及康樂設施。想瞭解或預約 Imber Court 的服務，可按這裡。

當日我亦很好彩，在 River Mole 傍剛好遇上訓練中的美麗女騎警。

Along Walton Street, I shortly arrived at Esher Road. From here, I could either go north in the Bushy Park direction, or ride east to Thames Ditton and take Portsmouth Road back to Kingston town centre. The former required cycling along the busy Hampton Court Road and was slightly longer as well. I ended up taking the latter by going across the two rivers to Thames Ditton.

沿 Walton Street 大街走了一段路便來到 Esher Road，從這裡回到 Kingston 市中心有兩個選擇，一是往左經 Bushy Park 方向走，而另一個就是到 Thames Ditton 再沿 Portsmouth Road 往北走。前者比較多車亦稍遠，我最後還是選擇了後者，再次跨過 River Mole 及 River Ember 到 Thames Ditton。

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Despite this trip did not bring any big surprise, one thing for sure is cycling through a Common is definitely not suitable for road bikes. In case it rained before, extra care should also be made when going over those puddles and muddy road surfaces. And cleaning the nasty bike after the ride is not a pleasant thing as well, especially if you just like me lived in apartment.

當天的行程雖然沒有甚麽大的驚喜，但好肯定的是 Common 的碎石路實在不太適合公路車，如果之前下過雨，走過水氹、泥槳路面就得加倍小心，而事後清洗單車更是另一苦事，尤其我住在 apartment！

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If you are interested in my rides in UK, click here for more details.

有興趣看看我其他在英國的單車遊，可按這裡。