Cambridgeshire is very dear to my heart. I was born here and had a pretty perfect childhood in the gorgeous market town of St Ives. Despite having since spent most of my adult life in London, Tokyo and more recently Paris, it is now a real pleasure to be based here, along with my bicycle business. I love its flatness, its watery landscapes and its infinite cycling opportunities! One of my favourite places is the village of Houghton with its stunning National Trust-owned mill, sweet little tearoom and great walks and cycle paths all around.

I love this place because my mother used to take us on summery evening cycle rides along the ‘thicket’ between St Ives and Houghton. We’d end up at Houghton Mill and if we were really lucky, we’d be allowed a lemonade and a packet of crisps in one of the village pubs. I now cycle here regularly with my two young children. The very best bit is the long, straight meadow path from the mill across the fields to Hemingford Abbotts; a gorgeous river-scape, a fascinating lock gate and big skies! It’s just lovely.

Houghton Mill is open to the public and is really worth going inside. There are some great little exhibits and it’s fascinating to see how a watermill actually works and see milling demonstrations. You can buy little bags of Houghton Mill ground flour and the adjacent tearoom even sells homemade scones made using their own milled flour. Just outside the mill there are some lovely grassy banks for picnicking and you can even hire classic punts and take off up the River Ouse with the swans. A heavenly spot on a glorious, sunny day – and all the more so if you go there by bicycle!

Image courtesy of Neal Dench on Flickr