This ride to the river Deben at Waldringfield off-road is a family favourite. You can ride almost traffic free from Ipswich Hospital all the way to the peaceful beauty of the riverside. We ride it several times of year. It never fails to life the spirits. Enjoy the hospitality of the Maybush, bring a picnic, or pack your crabbing lines or swim gear. Immy and I did this route and had a swim in September, check out the video! This route is good for Gravel, Hybrid and Mountain bikes.
Bridleway Closed 🙁
I rode this route at the weekend and found a long stretch closed for 6 months, more details here.
I rode along the road, but I don’t recommend this for family groups esp younger children due to the blind crest.
The Route
This ride in Suffolk is a 20-mile loop to the river Deben at Waldringfield, off-road for about half the distance . The outward leg is mainly off-road, returning on very quiet roads. This is one of my favourites; I love that you can ride off-road from Ipswich to such a beautiful location. No car required: two wheels definitely better! The soil is sandy and there are no appreciable hills. There is one sandy scramble around the gravel pits on Ipswich road as you head towards Waldringfield. The only tricky navigation is near the Stables coffee shop, where the bridleway runs adjacent to the road. Look for the signs, else you’ll end up on the road.
Ipswich to Waldringfield Ride Report
This training ride was WET although it wasn’t raining. It had hailed and rained in the morning, snowed the previous day, so the usually free-draining soils were waterlogged. This resulted in some spectacular puddles. Some could be ridden around, others we just had to plough through. We did the reverse of the published route and I am glad we did as by the time I had completed the off-road section I had serious grit in my disk brakes; to have cycled another 10 miles with all that grinding would have been unbearable!
The ride down to the Red Lion at Martlesham then up to Old Marltesham church was uneventful. Once onto the quiet lane that leads to Waldringfield the water had built up.
Waldringfield (main picture) was peaceful as ever. Although it was a chill 5ºC, the sailing club were out in the Cadets. There was practically no wind – good for cyclists, less so for sailors!
Heading out of Waldringfield off-road on a track by the school was very damp – the usually soft squirmy dry sand was more solid but a grit bath for the chain. The more wooded parts of the bridleways were muddy, so bike and rider were pretty mucky when we got home.
I had not thought about wearing over-shoes as it wasn’t raining; that was a mistake as my shoes & ankles were soaked and caked in mud . My leggings did a fantastic job of keeping me warm even when wet. I think they must act a bit like a wetsuit retaining water that eventually warms up.
Next training ride is out to Alton Water reservoir. There are a few short sharp climbs and the bridleways to get there can be properly muddy – nice 🙂