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Hi All,
I got back into biking recently and have been going up on the Quantocks frequently. I've been doing the usual cross-country rides and incorporated combes like Weacombe and Somerton Combe. Also done Wills Neck and down into Great Wood. Last time out I did Smiths Combe, and man was that dodgy under the trees, I had to walk the steep bit, wimped out due to lack of confidence from an earlier fall. I was just wondering if there were any other good Combes to ride down? I love Weacombe and Somerton. What do other people recommend? Also, I have heard of places like Concrete Block and The Gas Line! Can anyone tell me about these and where they are?
Cheers
Concrete Block
Go to Dead Womans Ditch. At the fork in the road, descent the left road, slowly. After a few hundred metres, look out of a large gap in the left hedge. It has a mossy block of concrete, 3ft sq, in the middle. Descend here.
The Gas Line
Obvious fast rocky open bridleway that descends west toward Dead Womans Ditch. Sharki told me there used to be a gas line along it. It gets wet if it rains.
Gully of doubt
From Dead Womans Ditch CP, cross road and enter the wood at 90 degrees. Scour about for a descent track - after 50 metres it enters a rocky rooty gully line with 3 prominent and doubtful steps.
Chimney
I'm sure there's a description on here somewhere - it's tricky to describe where the start is.
Combes
There are a surprising number of alternative entry points into the combes e.g. it took me ages to locate the entry into Slaughterhouse Combe. And the unlikely alt. into Frog Combe (swoopy west side), the one that collapsed Sharki's lung. It's worth taking the descent, starting west of Triscombe Stone to the Blue Ball Inn car park. Worth starting in Triscombe and exploring the woods to the North West for DH lines, some of which aren't too nasty.
The Qs reward exploring - I'm still finding new stuff some of rather techy. Google Maps (satellite view) is a big help when trying to second guess where trails are.
Buzzlightyear - that's a great help. Thanks mate. I'm up there Saturday so I'll have a look around. I think I must have done the Gully of Doubt, came off there quite badly! May have done the Gas Line too thinking about it. Defo haven't done Concrete Block though. Did the Chimney on my first ride out and have wimped out of that since! Been going down the Bridleway that runs down to Great Wood from the top of the Chimney, that is a really fast and smooth and goes on a for a good 5 mins! We call it the Chicken Run! Thanks for the info. Have looked on the map and am hoping to try Ladys Combe, Slaughterhouse Combe, Stert Combe and Frogs Combe soon.
The Gas Line - does that run parallel to the road down from Crowcombe Park Gate?
Hi DJ, welcome to my garden of pleasure and pain.
Pretty much runs parallel to the road, will be a river tomorrow, looks like a river of real ale with proper head.
That gully buzz, [b]IS[/b] a section of dead womans ditch, as we witnessed the other week it proper fun after all the water run off.
I did smiths the other day and the bit under the trees is the smoothest i've seen it in years, gain confidence and speed will smooth it out a little for you.
From what I understood the gas pipeline ran over the Quantocks somewhere near the top of Somerton Combe.
As you enter from the road by DWD, you can see a access cover, with gas marked on it, and there's a cover of sorts about 100m in on the left of trail, i assume it runs long the main track and then at Halways post it goes up the wide grassy track, theres a metal cover just after the little dip IIRC and a snapped off marker stone on the left in the heather.
Not sure where it goes from there, i know there's a access cover to something along the edge of dens combe.
But i guess the origin of calling the gas line such, is because of the cover at the entrance.
DJ, recommend exploring Lady's Combe, Hodders Combe and Holford Combe (don't know if they're labelled on Google Maps / Google Earth, but certainly are on the large scale OS Map. Nothing particularly technical, but huge flowing fun...tho the numerous river crossings may be a little deep at present...!
The river crossings were deep! I got proper soaked. Thanks for the info though guys, hopefully going up the weekend after next again to try out some more new bits! It was mental with the wind and rain last Saturday! Anyone got any decent helmet cam footage of any of the above?