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I'm visiting family down in the area shortly and I'm taking the mtb with me for a couple of days riding with the son.
What is there worth ridng round that area?
Last time i was down we went to Moors Valley for the day with the family and did the fire roads and the singletrack section but there didn't seem that much of it.
Any ideas people?
Pop into Poole take the ferry to Studland and the you've got the Purbecks.
Or take the train to Dorchester and try Puddletown woods.
What @eddie says, ride the Purbecks and enjoy the views, The routes on the STW site aren't bad
Cheers guys, sounds like a plan .
To save you a search ..
http://singletrackworld.com/trailguide/uk/south-west/the-isle-of-purbeck/
Do the big route. Pub at Worth Matravers - Compass Inn is well worth a pitstop, ruined castle at Corfe
Moors valley is fun with kids, that's about it.
Cycle along the front, chain ferry to Sandbanks, Ride the Purbecks (big route). Lovely.
Square and compass is the pub. Best pub EVA
^^^ thats the one, my mistake on the name
Thanks fellas, top info.
Here is some info from a ride I did there a couple of months ago:
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/trails-around-bournemouth-area
[url= http://www.dorsetroughriders.co.uk/ride-calendar ]Dorset Rough Riders[/url]
Rides every day, plus a group meet at the Claypipe BH16 6JY 7pm Wednesdays for an intensive singletrack session in Gore Heath.
Skills sessions on Monday nights.
The route that Jamba put on, is it best ridden clockwise or anti?
If you are referring to the 'big route', I would want to do the coastal section last, because of the great views. That is providing the weather is good, the wind is not a strong easterly (i.e. not a headwind), and is subject to wherever you want to get to stop for lunch (Square & Compass only serves pies, so if that doesn't take your fancy, you might want to look at some of the other pubs, e.g. Scott Arms in Kingston).
With regard to the Big Route, I would give the off road section between Worth Matravers and Langton Matravers ('Priest's Way') a miss: there are so many gates - possibly as many as one every 200 metres - that it is a tedious stop start ride.
I would also avoid the suggested route from Ballard Down going from/to Swanage. Although it's bridleway, it is a narrow path traversing a very steep slope, and the large number of walkers you are likely to encounter on it means that it's not practical to ride down it (or up it for that matter). I have not tried it, but I suspect that the better option is to use the 'medium route' suggestion at that point to climb up or descend Ballard Down.
Slowster is suggesting anti-clockwise (I think !)
Great info again guys. Would you leave your car at Sandybanks or take it across on the ferry and park at that side?
Would you leave your car at [s]Sandybanks[/s] Sandbanks or take it across on the ferry and park at that side?
I'm tight, so there's no way I would pay to transport a car over the ferry just to park it on the other side. More importantly, there can be large queues of cars to get on the ferry in both directions, especially at peak times (e.g. weekends, good weather, early morning from Sandbanks, late afternoon from Shell Bay). With a bike you can just ride past the queue.
I don't know how much all day parking is in the car parks at Sandbanks, but a bike means that you could park further inland and ride along the spit/around the harbour to get to the ferry, which is very pleasant (and if there's a large traffic queue, you can feel extra smug).
I would also make one other suggestion regarding the route you choose:
If this is going to be your only opportunity to ride in Purbeck while you are down in the area, and you won't be back again for a while, then in your shoes I would want to make the very best of the opportunity.
For me, that would mean starting with the first bit of the Medium Route from Shell Bay to Corfe Castle via Studland and the Nine Barrow Down Ridge, and then following the Big Route from Corfe Castle to Kimmeridge, Kingston etc. etc.
Doing this would mean riding the same bit at the start and finish, but that is no bad thing: the views from Ballard Down are fabulous.
If you take up this suggestion, then it probably doesn't matter much whether you go clockwise or anti-clockwise, since you will get fantastic views throughout the ride.
Thanks slowster, great suggestions. We are there for a week and we are flexible so will be able to pick a good day. Hopefully!
Sandbanks car park will be rammed over the summer......and sadly the council have introduced parking meters on all the side roads on the peninsula this summer, so you'll have to pay if you stay on sandbanks side wherever you park - it might be cheaper now to get the ferry over and then park for free on the studland side.
A
the council have introduced parking meters on all the side roads on the peninsula this summer, so you'll have to pay if you stay on sandbanks side wherever you park
Including roads inland, e.g. Lilliput Road?
Even if it was cheaper to take the ferry and park on the other side, I would not do it: the queues are worst going over from Sandbanks in the morning and coming back in the evening. On a hot day having to queue in the car after a long ride is not nice (cogglepin, if you do take your car over the ferry, then take a cool box with some cans of coke and some food: you'll need the refreshment after the ride and it will make the wait to get on the ferry more bearable).
Lilliput parking is still free - just under a mile to the ferry and quite nice views on the way. Ferry queues can be horrible.
I don't know how many roads they've done - I've started to avoid the area since! Ha ha!
Only time I head that way at the mo is coming back over the ferry at the end of a Purbecks/Harbour loop on the road bike.
Agree on the queues tho - timing is essential! Seen people sit in them for 2 hours waiting for the ferry - certainly nice to zip past the queue on a bike - just watch out for those drivers who swing out or open their doors cos they are bored of being stuck in the queue........had a near miss not too long back!
A
Right, think we need to park up somewhere then. Will check out Lilliput.
Sod queuing for the ferry in summer. Just drive round 🙂
If you are a National Trust member you can park in the car parks on the Studland side or Corfe Castle (although that one is small and gets full quite early)
Sod queuing for the ferry in summer. Just drive round
That is not a particularly good option either.
Most tourists in Purbeck and Swanage are day trippers, and consequently during the holiday season the road into Purbeck (the A351 starting from the A35, through Corfe and on to Swanage) is very busy southbound in the morning and similarly northbound in the evening. It's not a fast road, and various choke points such as roundabouts and traffic lights can result in pretty low average speeds (maybe little more than 20mph or even less?) along that entire stretch.
Because of this, and the awful peak time queues to get on the ferry, parking in Sandbanks/Poole (free or otherwise) and cycling a short distance to the ferry is a no brainer, and is actually a very pleasant ride in itself and a great way to start the day.
Don't take the car on the ferry, as above queue can be horrendous. You've got a bike park up and ride the last bit, an extra mile or two won't kill you 🙂 the drive all the way round is a long one from Bournemouth.
@slowster interesting route tip will put that into the memory bank.
Spoke with son last night, we are parking up then riding onto the ferry as suggested.
Just need to wait for the forecast when we get down there ( Thursday) and hopefully pick a good day.
Will let you know how we get on, once again thanks guys.
Post us a photo 8)
Weather should be ok forecast has been too pessimistic past few days. Weekend was lovely.