Nine Mile Ride

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Nine Mile Ride is a length of the B3430 road in the English county of Berkshire, running from the south of Bracknell to Finchampstead, in the Borough of Wokingham. Despite its name, the road is 6.7 miles (10.8 km) long. The western end is close to the California Country Park in California, Berkshire.^[1]

Despite its straight length, the Nine Mile Ride is not a former Roman road. It was built for King George III as part of an expansion programme to the rides built for Queen Anne to more easily facilitate hunting in Windsor Forest. It begins at the site of Swinley Lodge, the home of the Royal Buckhounds.

Nine Mile Ride runs almost parallel with the Roman road known as the Devil's Highway, which was between Londinium and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). However, the projected course of the Roman road is to the south of Nine Mile Ride and runs at a higher elevation through less populous areas. It also passes the large Iron Age hillfort at its eastern end known as Caesar's Camp in Bracknell Forest.

Nine Mile Ride connects several residential areas in east Berkshire. Nine Mile Ride is largely suburban in character, and includes a small selection of shops, pubs and restaurants. In recent years, a number of the older properties along the road have been either renovated and extended, or replaced. The former public house, 'Who'd a Thought It?' featured in the 1954 film, Bang! You're Dead; the building was demolished in 2003.

51°22′55″N 0°48′43″W / 51.382°N 0.812°W / 51.382; -0.812