Is it busy at rush hour?

Are bike spaces different to car spaces?

If there’s a queue can you just ride up the outside and get straight on or do you have to wait with the cars?

Was on it Saturday. Parked at the beach car park and cycled past all the cars so don’t wait with them. You get on the ferry in the passenger side door and there’s plenty of space so very much doubt it’ll be a problem at rush hour. £2 return.

You can ride up (smugly) past the queueing cars and get on the chain ferry no problem anytime, they just make you wait with bike in the cubby hole corridor next to where the cars all line up. Great going across to Purbeck on a sunny day.

It’s been four or five years since I was there but there wasn’t a massive queue by about six in the evening and I didn’t join the cars. It was busy on sunny days when people wanted to go to the beach etc

Cool. Planning a road ride from Bournemouth clockwise around the harbour. Although a return might make for a more pleasant rural loop instead of hacking back through Poole and Bournemouth.

If you are cycling you’ll get on no problem . They just line the bikes up at the ends of the ferry.

Hm, should’ve brought the MTB, looks like a decent loop could be had around the Isle of Purbeck if you come back on the ferry.

Great rides there, hillier than you think in places. Call in and see Charlie the bikemonger in Swanage

I got my bike from him but he’ll probably be closed by the time I’d get there 🙂

Yes as above, without seeing your route I would agree an out and back via Ferry would almost certainly be more interesting

Purbeck is good for some MTB though not massively exciting. I have no idea what time the ferry packs up for the night so check that if you don’t want to do some ‘bonus’ miles 🙂

Last ferry 11pm.

http://www.cycle-route.com/routes/Poole_Upton_to_Corfe_Castle-Cycle-Route-1186.html is your standard round the harbour road ride – go anti-clockwise and finish at the ferry. If you start early you can catch the first ferry at 7am and be in work on time.

EDIT too slow If on a road bike you are not going to see that much of the sea / harbour just fyi. from Ferry, Swanage yes and the odd good view from high ground.

From Poole back to Bournemouth just stay on the sea front to avoid town traffic. Once off the Ferry you can get onto the front on the sea rather than harbour side and stay on there all the way to B’mouth.

I’m unlikely to be able to hit a ferry sailing exactly, so chances are I’ll have to wait… I was originally reluctant to include two waits in the same ride, but maybe.

This is my last week here so I probably should go out and back on the ferry.

Torso – will nick some of that for Poole – my route had a little extension in the Purbecks.

A wait overloking the sea / harbour isn’t a hardship 🙂

On a cold wet night at 10pm when you’re tired?

They run every 20 mins at each end, so it’s not going to be long.

OK, not in that case. As a sailor cold and wet comes with the gig though. Persoanlly on a cold wet night I’d rather wait for the ferry than ride round the Poole bypass. I do think the small roads around Purbecks are more interesting than the Northern part of the circular loop

Did a lovely ‘mixed surface’ ride around the Purbecks a week ago, taking in al the sights, Old Harry rocks, Corfe castle, Kimmeridge bay, Lulworth cove then back via Bere Regis, Wareham and Studland. Its a lovely part of the world!

^^ in a perfect world the op would do a mixed surface ride, thats what I tend to do there on my mtb

Agreed, the areas “gravel bike” heaven or “old school”(mile munching) xc. Round the harbour wouldn’t be my choice. Instead head over towards Corfe then onto Kimmeridge if the ranges are open in a loop back to the ferry.

Sometimes the ferry only goes when there are enough cars to make it worthwhile so you could end up waiting for a while

However, if an ambulance turns up with lights flashing it will load and go, so if you find yourself getting cold just call an ambulance for an incident on the Purbecks side and you should get sorted quickly*

* In case there is any doubt, obviously you should not actually do this as it would be irresponsible 😀

Every year, in Nov I think, the ferry is out of service for it’s maintenance so it might be worth a quick check if you’re thinking of doing this in late Oct/early Nov