bikepacking.com/routes/westcountry-way/

The Westcountry Way traverses the UK’s south-western peninsular, climbing from the English Channel over the harsh, exposed heathland of Dartmoor, and across the wooded, twisting trails of Exmoor. Some 130 miles later, the route culminates with a descent to the Bristol Channel.

This part of the country is an evocative place, with a history rich in folklore. Dartmoor, with its open moorland, forests, rivers, wetlands and imposing granite tors, is home to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, probably Sherlock Holmes’ most famous adventure. Exmoor has a similarly foreboding, although more intimate, atmosphere and its own legends including the Beast of Exmoor, a large predatory cat said to roam the moors through the 1970s and 80s.

The journey from Plymouth on the south coast to Minehead in the north can be completed comfortably in three full days, although there are ample camping and bunkhouses options if you want to break up the ride into smaller chunks and add an extra day or two. It’s also possible to complete the journey in two long days. This route crosses the Exmoor and Quantock Hills route. A combination of both routes would provide ample options for a longer trip.