A GRUELLING 100 mile cross-country bike ride that took in Marlborough at the weekend is expected to become an annual event.

The Ancient Hill Fort Challenge was organised by Wallingford Round Table in Oxfordshire.

More than 90 per cent of the route was on green roads like the Ridgeway with much of it along overgrown bridleways.

Organiser Barry Tindall said that in places the cyclists had to fight their way through undergrowth.

He said: "One bridleway between Pewsey and Wootton Rivers was covered with tall nettles and most of us managed to fall into them."

Forty-eight cyclists signed up for the event that included an overnight stop in Marlborough on Saturday.

The marathon ride started at Wallingford Castle and took in a number of ancient hill forts including Uffington Castle, Liddington Castle, Barbury Castle, Avebury and Stonehenge.

Marlborough Mayor Bill Cavill and his wife Tricia met the riders on Sunday morning and waved them away at the start of the second leg.

Most of the riders managed to reach Old Sarum although a few had to give up for time reasons said Mr Tindall.

The organisers hope the event will raise about £5,000 which the Wallingford Round Table will distribute to a number of charities including the special care baby unit at the John Radcliffe Infirmary at Oxford.

Mr Tindall's daughter Eve, now three, weighed in at only 1lb 7ozs when she was born and spent the first couple of months of her life in the John Radcliffe baby unit.

Other charities that will benefit will include the Helen House Hospice in Oxford.