Repeat Respite

A339; Alton to Basingstoke


My wife drove me down the A339 as part of an alternative route home from Oxford some time late Summer. I'm familiar with Lasham for the paintball and airfield but the road North of here now also held memories of of wide fields with well-spaced oaks and elms off country estates and my yearning to walk among them for some chill time following entrapment by the kids on school holidays.

This morning I resisted the urge to turn right down the A272 from West Meon and with great discipline stayed on track all the way to Alton. My ride today was relaxed and near sedate, at times. A trip up the A339 seemed in order and as I needed to go directly to Camberley it seemed the ideal way to approach via the M3. (There's an excuse there somewhere?)

The A339 is a short stretch but seems longer for its lack of overtaking; extraordinary double white-lining makes a Scalextric chicane event of the route and the by-pass effect around Lasham airfield adds at least another couple of miles? Regardless, the bends and slow trucks added to the sense of calm.

Shadowfax's excellent rate of roll and acceleration saw the bendy complexes pass without incident and by the time we reached Basingstoke I was ready to turn around and try the route the other way. As time was pressing I forced us onto the M3 and back to the insanities of the day. A Darlek-style "safety camera" caught us whizzing past at what could turn out to be embarrassment of speed, but I'm hoping my slowing for an obstructive car might have brought us back into acceptable limits?

Teaching kids about safety cameras

This "respite" business could become a habit - or perhaps a challenge? Can I find a route to work that avoids any roads I've travelled (regularly) on before? Stop cringing. It passes the time.

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