Can anyone give me something like a basic framework route to start exploring Exmoor from?

I don’t know where people ride there, and what its like. To give a better idea. I ride the Quantocks mostly, in particular ‘fast n flowy’ stuff like Smiths/Weacombe/Bincombe and usually ride from hodders car park and climb up holford edge or park at staple plain and climb to beacon hill (to the left) before hitting smiths, or going over the top to willougby cleeve.

I’m coming from the Taunton/Minehead road side, so proximity to there would be good. I’ve got O/S maps and GPS capabilities etc.. so place names that are on the O/S map with a rough description would be fine.

Something like a 12 mile route with no more than about 2000ft of climbing over it which starts reasonably low down?. Give me a grounding with a safe place to park, a well used route up and way back and something in between that’s a bit fun. A grounding to give me a foundation to expand upon later.

First ride would be with a mate who can’t do much more than the above. so gotta be careful.

Possibly around Dunkery Beacon?

Lots of great riding out of Porlock which will take you up to Dunkery Beacon

I think STW magazine had a good route in the last couple of months – if your a subscriber you’ll be able to get the GPX from the digital copy

Beware of stating distances on exmoor. 12 miles could easily be a half day and pretty hard work. Also your ‘starting from low level’, ‘around Dunkery’ and ‘<2000ft climbing’ is a bit like Bontragers ‘ strong, light, cheap’. Choose any two. Sorry, that’s just truth.

That said, my options for an achievable ride with some nice sections and scenery would be

Park in Horner, by the tea rooms.

Head upstream up Horner Water for about 1500m to where it splits. You’ve got a choice here** – (1) stay on the RH bank which for now is a fairly wide path with walkers, but later on has a few slightly more technical sections, including a couple of rock steps, etc. Don’t be fooled by the fact it’s along a river either, from Horner to Pool Bridge is about 450ft climbing although it’s mainly gentle.

Then turn left and climb the road up to the road junction at Exford Common. It’s really steep at the start but after that it’s a nice climb with good views so don’t let the fact it’s road turn you off it. It’s also a great way to gain height (up to 455m) which you can then give back later.

Then turn left along the main track up to Dunkery Beacon. Now you’re at 519m, so that’s almost 3/4 of your 2000ft used up already 😉

** (option 2) at the fork in the water, take the left (over a footbridge from memory) and climb up the side of East Water. This is a more challenging climb, frequently swapping sides giving you chance to test your technical skills / get your feet wet / fall off in the stream (delete as applicable – there are footbridges instead). There will likely be some pushing due to the surface and rocks rather than absolute gradient. Where the water reaches the road by Cloutsham, take the road for a nice windy (as in it meanders, not gusty) road climb. After it levels out and after the road to the church on the RHS, there’s a left turn bridleway (Stoke Pero Common on the OS map) which drops quickly to a stream crossing and then switches back to head east again before another bridleway crosses it. Turn right for a C3 climb (that’s my grading system, and this climb’s a c*** of the highest order) – it’s not particularly steep, it’s not desperately technical but you can’t get rhythm, you pick the wrong lines, and to clean it is always satisfying. That runs to the ridge where you then turn left to Dunkery Beacon.

So from there – continue east on the Macmillan Way path (beware walkers) – wide open, rocky, loose, arm pump, rocks off the downtube, pinch flats, perm at least 2 from 3. Continue over the road on to where it runs into the woods just shy of Brockwell. Then take the left to Webber’s Post, steepish to start with but then becoming a nice climb with a few technical sections in it to help pass the time. Into Webbers Post carpark, from where there’s bridleway back down to Horner. Or….. and it’s a cheeky – just past the view point which has a sort of shelter thingy next to it there’s a path down through the bracken which becomes a steep, loose, switchback trail with big drops off the edges back down to pretty close to where Horner and East Waters split. Turn right back to Horner, or left to do the other lap you missed the first time 😉

couple of other pointers. If you want to add a bit more technicality / difficulty, there are loads of trails heading off to the right of Horner Water (option 1) which you can climb, and then drop back down again to the water. Some are quite tricky though, seen some major crashes on them.

And second, watch out for folk on ebikes, goading you to chase them up the hills and then being barely out of breath at the top while you’re breathing out of your arse.

Also your ‘starting from low level’, ‘around Dunkery’ and ‘<2000ft climbing’ is a bit like Bontragers ‘ strong, light, cheap’. Choose any two.

+1

Hi canopy. I live in minehead and am happy to take you out sometime. As others have said though you’ll need your climbing legs. Email in profile

Thanks guys!

theotherjonv. i’ll try take all that in with a map!

pete68. pretty sure i just found you on strava 😉 looks like you havent crossed to the Quantocks lately! (if at all?) also noticed you’re a lot fitter than me! (at the moment!) staple plain / TA4 4DQ is a good place for a start there! (althpought it starts half way to the top.. you can finish with weacombe descent and its a gentle climb back to the car)

so the climb ‘up’ from village level to the top is a fair bit more than i’m used to then. i kind of expected bottom of exmoor to top vs bottom of Qs to top to be similar, but they aren’t! few e-bikes on the Qtox too.. but not many. 😉

i think it’d really put the guy i’m riding with sunday off so i’ll have a ponder. there’s a possiblity the other mate I broke down smiths combe can ride sunday (his second mtb ride after the road bike.. oops!) in which case we’re doing haldon but he’s up in the air right now due to injury and the birmingham bike show. one of hte next time he and i are out again we’ll give it a go. (still have some quantocks to show him around!)

so the climb ‘up’ from village level to the top is a fair bit more than i’m used to then.

Well, Minehead and Porlock are basically on the sea, and Dunkery’s about 1600ft above. No escaping the bit in between, but both routes I told you are doable (especially the road one – after the bit out of Pool Bridge 8O)

Yeah they’re doable for me, just about! I’ll make it with one of my guys, just not with the guy i’m possibly with this weekend! 🙂 I’ll get up there a good few times over the autumn/winter no doubt. (only rain and snow stops me!)

Here’s a map from the BMBO National Score Champs earlier this year. Starting in Porlock you can navigate to the circles/control points and you can’t go far wrong. There is a couple of toll roads however so be aware of them.

Map courtesy of Somerset MBO

I assume you’re the new follow I’ve just picked up then ! Let me know if you want to go out sometime.

yup that’s me – will do! thanks 🙂

oh and BenjiM – thx for the map!