Hi,

I am looking for some pointers on where to ride in Torbay. I am thinking about moving to Torquay at some point next year, and want to know what the riding is like down there.

currently I live across the road from Swinley and ma there at least a couple of times a week.

If anyone has any pointers or advice I may pop down and try a few rides before moving.

cheers

Giles

Epic natural riding on Dartmor, a few features on here I recall about riding around Exmouth. Swinley is pancake flat compared to Devon.

As an aside if you like the outdoors take up some water sports, the racing sailing is good there and should be easy to get a spot on a crew

Unless you actually will be working in torquay then i would move somewhere near but not in it, traffic is pretty horrible in torbay area and although there are trails and BWs around, its no better than most of the rest of Devon.
Bovey Tracey is widely accepted by devon folk as one of the best if not the best place to live in the county for xc and road riding on account of the fabulous roads, climbs and natural singletrack right on your doorstep: it will make surrey hill look like surrey ‘gentle slopes’! Not actually that far from torbay/newton abbott/exeter for work/commuting purposes and its a lovely little town to live in. I would also reccommend Exeter and Tavistock for local xc riding. Some good little dh spots in torbay, teign valley and the other side of Haldon hill from the trailcentre if thats your thing but for proper dh, Gawton and Tavi Woodlands are just fantastic year-round difficult fun.

Slugwash of this forum will know all the best trails round torquay proper (but haven’t seen him on here for a bit) if you did want a look there in particular. But look up one of the many routed online incorporating lustleigh cleave (near bovey tracey), do it when it hasn’t rained for a week or so, and then your next six months’ xc riding will be a disappointment in comparison. 😀

If you are the sociable sort, there is a lot of good local knowledge in the Teign Valley Pedal Bashers:
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There are about 100 members, so when I rode with them a few years ago, the group was large enough to find people of a like mind.
By the looks of it, they had a few rides recently from Torbay:
Thur 20 Nov was from the Crown and Sceptre, Torquay
Sun 16 Nov was from Oxen Cove, Brixham
Sun 2 Nov was from Noah’s Ark, Paignton
recent rides from Kingskerswell and Newton Abbot were close enough to cycle to and from.

They are a friendly bunch – if you are visiting Torquay to scout for your move, I’m sure they would welcome you getting in touch and joining a ride, or just turning up at the end and socialising.

Jingle

Slugwash of this forum will know all the best trails round torquay proper

I’ll have to re-refer you on to Medoramas or OCB ‘cos they live over there and I rarely make it across the River Dart and into that neck ‘o the woods with my bike (too much stuff to be getting on with in the South Hams!)

There’s a Lustleigh thread bobbing about these recent pages somewhere proliferated by the usual Dartmoor hobbits…

devon’s a great place to live, but torbay would not be my choice. I grew up in torbay. not a bad place to grow up but it’s a ball-ache to live in as an adult, with very little to recommend it IMHO. geographically wonderful, undoubtedly, but very little in it’s favour in terms of lifestyle ( unless you are very in to the yachty thing ), and on it’s ar5e economically, with an ageing population, and no major employers outside the health and other public sectors. nightlife is fine if you enjoy the idea of getting 5hitfaced in a monkey enclosure.
if you sustain a serious bike injury in the area do everything you can to get to RD&E hospital in Exeter, or failing that, Derriford in Plymouth. Torbay is fine for patching up the old and sending them on their way, but not joined up with dealing with sports injuries. guess they cater for their demographic.
as stated Bovey isn’t a bad little town with a few pubs, but not cheap.
Chudleigh Knighton is a small village within cycling distance and I’d imagine property prices there are easier on the wallet. either are within good riding distance of the moor or haldon, and the nearest part of the moor arguably has the best riding to offer of any part of dartmoor.
the Bash are a personable lot, it’s a good way of getting to know a few people, and there’s always a ride on. there’s some good riders there, given the nature of their organisation they are XC biased, but don’t shy away from techy riding.

You’ll struggle to find any meaningful distance off road riding in the bay as there simply aren’t the bridleways, to be honest this is pretty much the issue for a lot of South Devon actually. You can get some riding done but just be prepared to do a lot of homework with OS maps and use a lot of lanes and roads to link the off road sections up.

However, the trail centre at Haldon is not far and, of course the really good stuff on Dartmoor is a 30-45 minute drive away and these should keep you busy for years.

Oh, and it’s Devon so you will need to learn to love short, vicious and very steep climbs 🙂

^ wot del said.
Don’t underestimate how much of a pain it is to escape torbay. I’m just outside Newton Abbot and the local riding is excellent. Very few trails from my door but Dartmoor and the forest close at hand. I’d live in Bovey if I could afford it or Kenn if I was much richer.

Thanks everyone, that is all really useful, It has given me loads to think about. I would be working in Exeter, so we have plenty of options regarding where we end up.

Slugwash – I’ll have to re-refer you on to Medoramas or OCB ‘cos they live over …

… that way. 😉

Right, in Torbay itself:

#1. There’s a small, but ridable three track ‘bike-park’ in Scadson Woods (in Preston), maintained by ‘TQ3 Riders’ (who don’t seem to have a website), which is ok if you don’t have much time on hand, or are just passing. Some of it is quite challenging (ok, with my skillz it is). 🙄

#2. An entertaining BMX track at Parkfield if you feel like sprinting hard enough to make yourself feel sick … (which *is* more addictive than it sounds).

#3. A few BMX parks around the place if you like to risk breaking things.

#4. There’s also a ‘velopark’ at Clennon, (ideal for training) with plans for a banked velodrome, which’ll be the best part … but only once it’s built (there’s some kinda geotech issues to resolve first – it’s on reclaimed land).

Out the back of Torbay (which is where I am), things pick up somewhat – if you are handy with an OS map you’ll find a lot of mixed byways / bridleways out in the countryside in the area formed by Torbay / Totnes / Buckfastleigh / Ashburton / Newton Abbot, but you will need to ride the back country tarmac lanes to link them up. They vary from easy going farm tracks with good views to steep, fully exposed slabs of hideously slippery, saturated limestone to mud-filled ditches (often all three).

Dartmoor and Haldon aren’t far. Of the two *I’d* take Dartmoor everyday of the week as you can make your own adventures, and get as far out of your depth as you can handle, but that’s an individual choice of course. The coast path would be a complete PITA with a bike unless you are training for some kinda event where you’ll have to carry it everywhere, (but it does make for great trail running exercise).

Torbay is good for watersports, there’s a surprising amount of wild swimming to be had, and lots of opportunity for running on rarely used footpaths in the woods / along the coast. There’s some classic coastal climbing too and a summers evening bouldering on Dartmoor is great (and not very far away). No idea about shopping, social life or local bike clubs, as I’m a surly old hermit, so don’t get involved. That said I seem to think that Big Peaks used to do a regular ride from their shop in Ashburton.

The comment about hills is entirely apt – sudden, short, horribly steep climbs are everywhere – almost invariably followed by a similarly steep descent down the other side to a small stream, over a tiny little stone bridge, then straight back up another wall, usually with gravel and whatever else has washed out of the hedge on the corners. Repeat until you reach East Devon / Somerset.

😛

One last thing, and having done it for years, I find commuting between Torbay and Exeter is a horrible experience. Things *should* improve when the SDLR and the Splatford Split work is completed, but whilst that work is ongoing, I’m finding it grim (and I’m only doing it a couple of times a month now). I loathe driving anyway, but I don’t think this commute would be any less horrible even if I loved driving.

If you want something comparable to Swinley, Haldon is it. More technical in that the red trail has actual rocks and narrow trails, but it’s mostly gravel smooth and over in 30 mins. Blue is a family trail and you’ll find loads of families on it at weekends, buggies and all. Off peak it’s a nice blast though. There’s a fair bit of off piste about. Nothing worth a long drive for though.

Exmouth… Woodbury Common. Lovely stuff there. MoD land, so just watch out for the marines, but a nice mix of stuff. Requires exploring or local knowledge.

As said, south Devon is a bit limited. I grew up there and really only road riding of interest and I’m no roadie. Too much farm land and private estates. I didn’t go far on the roads as the climbs are stupidly steep.

And yeah, as a place to grow up there’s “nothing to do”, yet it’s actually great scenery if you’ve moved away like me and return for visits. Nice place to retire, and a lot of people do retire down there. If you want stuff to do, Exeter or Plymouth. Exeter is better. Plymouth is a rough hole.

If you like more “classic approach” to mtb (read: “you don’t mind connecting the tracks with bits of tarmac”), then there is absolutely LOADS of riding around Torbay.

Get the OS map for the area – for example there is a big network of bridleways around Coffinswell-Stokeinteignhead-Combeteignhead (some are very technical). Or my favorite loop: Marldon-Aptor-Berry Pomeroy-Totnes (you can stop at Curator Cafe for a brew and high chance of meeting Slugwash!) -Aish (pretty technical 2 miles of rocky horror) -and back to Paignton. Approx 70% of the route is off-road.

Cockington Woods (with aforementioned Scadson) plus Round Down Wood gives plenty of great natural singletracks and fast gravel “speedway” fun.

8)

Plymouth is a rough hole

Apart from the brilliant doorstep riding and easy access to stunning local beaches

Don’t forget that Torbay is a suburb of Birmingham, so you’ll have easy access to all the Midlands riding too

working in exeter? no question in my mind. live in or near exeter. yeah, the new bits of road improvement will make the business of getting to torbay better, but getting around torbay will still be a ball-ache in season. i did the commute from torbay to exeter for 5 or 6 years, and as someone who spent more than their fair share of time sitting in traffic on the torquay-newton road, i don’t think the new link will make a significant difference to life in torbay. all that traffic will just be dumped in to torbay that bit quicker.

exeter is a nice city, and if you don’t actually want to live in the city then there are plenty of nearby options that are very pleasant places to be, and still viable to commute in by bike.

🙂 yunki!