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A fun jaunt through the Mendips taking in the sights of Bath, Bristol, and Cheddar Gorge. This is mostly a paved route, but thanks in large part to the Bristol and Bath railway path only 50% is on roads, while 20% is genuinely off road for which tyres with some knobbles are recommended even if riding the route in summer!
The route is intended to start and finish from Brassknocker Basin Car Park just outside of Bath, which means starting by riding along the tow path of the Somerset Canal, and finishing with the Combe Down tunnel (disused railway line), which together is most of the Bath Two Tunnels cycle route. However, the route is easily joined from either Bath Spa or Bristol Temple Meads railway stations also.
This ride includes a number of Simon Warren's Greatest Climbs, specifically Vale Street, Burrington Combe and Cheddar Gorge. The route passes very close to Belmont Hill and Draycott Steep and could easily be adapted to include them. They have been intentionally omitted from this route based on experience of completing a similar route to this; Belmont Hill is by far the least interesting of the significant hills tackled on this ride, while Draycott Steep is very tough on fresh legs let alone 50+ miles deep into a hilly ride!
A selection of pictures of some of the sights you can expect to see on this ride can be seen in this shared Google Photos album.
Nominally starting and ending in Winchester* at King Alfred's Statue, this is a big day out at close to 200 miles. It also calls at King Alfred's Tower in Somerset, and another two King Alfred Statues in Pewsey and Wantage.
*Of course, being a circular route the start/end point can be moved around the loop to suit the riders.
Route Overview
Starts and ends at Salisbury Train Station. Key points of King Alfred's Tower in Somerset and King Alfred's Statue in Winchester.
The first quarter of the route towards King Alfred's Tower is on quiet roads. The middle half between King Alfred's Tower and King Alfred's Statue is predominantly off road following bridleways. The last quarter back to Salisbury is back on quiet roads.
If this route is done as a one-way endeavour from King Alfred's Tower to King Alfred's statue, it reduces the distance to 56 miles.
Isle of Wight Loop, heading counter-clockwise from East Cowes. The route begins with the novelty of the chain ferry / floating bridge, which runs all day and is just 50p for a foot passenger as of July 2024. The main event though is the climb up to St Boniface Down out of Ventnor, #123 of Simon Warren's Greatest Climbs and rated as a 5/10. However, this route extends that by starting the climb from the Esplanade to get in the alpine style zig-zags.
At just roughly 100km, this route should be do-able without stops, but there are good options to re-supply or grab a coffee on the route at Yarmouth (22km / 14mi), Ventnor (59km / 37mi), Shanklin (67km / 42mi), Sandown (72km / 45mi), and plenty more a little way off the route.
The routing is mostly by road, some of which is quite busy, in particular the section from Freshwater to Chale (Eastern to Southern tip of the island). This can be avoided if desired by taking one of the turnings in land and then taking a quieter parallel road. Here is a slightly modified route that avoids that and another section of busy road on the way into Yarmouth.
The route includes a short section on bridleway to get down to Shanklin from St Boniface Down due to a landslip in Winter 2023 making the road from Ventnor to Shanklin unpassable to even foot traffic. For those wanting to stick to paved surfaces, this further modified version of the route is worth considering. For those wanting an offroad adventure, have a look at this route which is approximately 50% off road (on bridleways).
All of the above mentioned routes can be viewed on a single map, here.
Getting There
Red Funnel operates from Southampton to East Cowes on every hour from 0500 onwards, with the return ferry also departing every half hour until 2030 (with the last ferry at 2330); travel time is approximately 1 hour. Cost for a foot passenger return (with bike) in July 2024 was £22. The ferry terminal is just 1 mile from Southampton Train Station, for which there a 3 direct trains per hour from London Waterloo, taking approximately 1hr 15mins.
Nominal Timeline for Ride Day
0805 - Train from London Waterloo
0922 - Arrive in Southampton Central
1000 - Ferry to East Cowes
1100 - Start Riding
1700 - Return to East Cowes
1730 - Ferry to Southampton
1900 - Train to London Waterloo
2020 - Arrive in London Waterloo
If doing the gravel version of the route, expect to take at least 1hr longer; it is probably sensible to bring the start time forward by an hour.
Starts at Legend'CHX bicycle rental shop in centre of Chamonix. They hire a range of mountain, road, and ebikes. This route follows part of Veloroute 61 and then heads off up a mountain south of Saint-Gervais-les-Bain, ending at a choice of two mountain restaurants - Restaurant l'Alpage and Les Relais des Communailles.
Either return by the same route, or this slightly more direct route.
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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