Two or three-day road trips to the more remote parts of the British Isles are great, but often few and far between, what if you could have a brilliant drive and still be home in time for breakfast? Living on the edge of the Chiltern Hills, I am fortunate enough to have a selection of worthy roads within a 30-40 minute drive from home, and one such gem is the stretch of A507 from Baldock to Buntingford.
For much of its route from the M1 to the A10, the A507 is just another trunk road and apart from a short section near Woburn Forest, is utterly dull and devoid of interest to Seven owners and other serious drivers. It is also heavily trafficked. However at Baldock this changes. Firstly, the new(ish) A505 dual-carriageway link to the M11 does a grand job of diverting away much of the through traffic and heavy lorries, and secondly the characteristics of the road itself shift, from wide, flat and monotonous to a more tortuous, sinuous and far more engaging prospect.
My most direct route from home brings me to the western end at Baldock, but this road can be equally enjoyed in both directions. Early risers should be prepared for low sun if heading east, and morning mists lingering over fields and hedgerows. From an unassuming start, crossing the A505 dual carriageway, the Weston hills on the horizon only give a hint of what lies ahead. Rising slightly the first section winds you in gently, alternating between smooth crests and undulating cambers. There is even a decent straight which allows for clear-sighted overtaking in case you catch a slower moving car or two. Climbing past the Cothall turn-off, you can stretch out the Seven over the long right-hander, really a rolling double curve, and then drop down through the jink left. A short straight then carries you into the first real complex set of bends. The approach to the opening left is neither straight or flat, and the tarmac bears scars from some heavy braking in the past. It’s a tight turn, and if the inside grass has been cut you can see across… if not it’s a blind entry and demands care as larger oncoming vehicles (and mad bikers) can stray into your lane, despite the double-white lines. It’s a slow apex – and here the surface has a few scars, but the exit rolls nicely in to the next right-hander and the camber change, combined with noticeable incline, rewards a smooth entry and exit. Now the true nature of the road is revealed, and the turns really roll from one to another. Rolling right and left, we come to a hard righthand bend – near ninety degrees – so another blind entry, and although this one opens out on to a short straight there is no overtaking here as the double-white lines warn you imminently of the next corner just under 200 metres away.
The road dips down to the left as you brake, and then continues to fall away into the dell below as the corner runs downhill in to a second apex before swooping right and climbing again. This is a sweet complex of bends and gradients but beware of the farm entrance at the bottom of the dell and the possibility of emerging tractors. From the other direction this set of bends are more open with better visibility, so look out for oncoming bikes and enthusiastic drivers who cut in to centre of the road and even overtake slower traffic. Leaving the mild compression as the road crosses the stream, we climb again with a slight lean to the right, then back again before the road levels out. At the top the solid white line returns, and the mild left-hander steers us into a longer right, dropping way once more. This in turn links in to another left turn and you can see the road climbing away over the field on your left, with another slightly tighter turn to navigate while the road dips slightly. Pulling into the climb, the road is never really straight, and a final jink left brings you to the top of the rise. Ahead a double chevron sign warns of a hard-right turn. Hedges block the view, but once passed the apex the road opens on to a short straight. First there is an unsighted slight left, then ahead another double chevron indicates a hard left. This leads on to the short run down to the Give Way sign at Cumberlow Green. To the left is a set of single-track roads leading to the Moon and Stars public house where the Hertfordshire Area of the Lotus Seven Club has a monthly meet. The A507 continues right, and the road opens out a little after the first left-hander. Feeling wider, and with a good view ahead, the run up to Cottered village is now fast and sweeping. There are overtaking opportunities, but the long valley crests are blind and it includes many farm entrances can catch out the unwary. At Cottered we lose the National Speed Limit (NSL) and need to heed the 30mph limit through the residential area.
It’s just under two miles from Cottered to the Buntingford roundabout. The NSL resumes at the village edge, and the road continues to offer rolling cambers and gradients to thrill any enthusiastic driver. After a set of linked curves, all well sighted and with fairly gentle radii we arrive at a pair of sharper turns. With barely three Seven lengths between them, linking the left / right combination would make for a classic set of curves, but the trees and verge flora do a good job of obscuring the view ahead. On an empty road the brave might blip the throttle between corners, but to me this feels it needs like a lot of practise to get ‘right’. With the tight turns behind, the road opens out, falling away again only twist and rise through another series of sweeping bends. Over this crest the road drops down, crossing Thistley Vale Brook, and rises for the last time, twisting slightly for good measure. These rolling dips carved by small brooks are what helps to give the road its varied depth and character. As the A507 nears its completion, joining the A10 at Buntingford, it widens, flattens and returns to a more utilitarian state. The roundabout service station offers fuel and refreshment if required, or the opportunity to swing back around and ride the A507 all over again.
