[Closed] Calling Devon MTB knowledge

Also keen to know this as the in-laws live in Shaldon and we often visit. Last time I took the bike we went to Haldon which was pretty good but a bit of a drive. It's certainly not flat round there!

Exmouth has more options for riding from your door.
Only passed through Teignmouth a couple of times and from a cyclist point of view I would say it is inconvenient. I am sure it has some redeeming features but cant think of any offhand.
From Exmouth to Exeter the Exe Trail will get you there with a minimum fuss and there is always the option of using the ferry to get to the other side if you fancy and change of scenery or a quick way to Halden via Mamhead. Road from Exmouth to Exeter is very busy at peak times.
Exeter to Exmouth rail is good and you can get to North Devon direct from Exmouth.
Have a look at road traffic pinch points and work out which will be the easier or most convenient commute and which has the better options.
Exmouth has two bike shops and a bike hire.

Woodsa........ I'm based in Exeter. I can give you an idea of some of the trails for both Haldon and Woodbury. (Haldon is your standard trail centre with lots of good off-piste. Woodbury is excellent but local knowledge is a must.) Teignmouth is at the bottom of a ****-off big hill so it would be a monster climb up to Haldon if you were to leave from your back door.

Had you thought about living in Exeter? Best of both worlds and only an easy 40 minute spin up hill to Haldon.

Another question is about family stuff..... Do you have kids? I have taught in schools in all of those areas. I could tell you EXACTLY what is going on if you need advice.

Ohhhh and Congrats on the new job!...... Devon really is the place to be!

I live in Exmouth and work in Exeter, riding from home I can ride up to Woodbury common and do a loop and come home via the cliff path, there's a good variety, its not all fire roads some nice single track and even some jumps.

In the summer I'll take the bike to work and will go up Haldon and ride the off piste at the trail centre or pedal over to Cafeside which is round the corner. Haldon is 10mins from my work but 30mins from Exmouth. Dartmoor and Triscombe are each an hour-ish away. If you want to commute on bike a nice cycle path from Exmouth to Exeter.

Teignmouth is closer to Haldon, its a 10-15min drive, I am not sure of any riding closer to Teignmouth, I dont think you'd pedal up there as the hill is quite big out of Teignmouth! Depending on what you are looking for house and lifestyle wise Kingsteignton/Newton Abbot are good bang for buck on house prices.

Personally i think Exmouth is your answer! And not just from a cycling point of view...
I dragged my wife from her cottage in North Dorset to live in a caravan whilst we built a house in a little village next to Woodbury common.
She thought i was totally mad, but it did not take long for her to realise the location was worth the 2 years of slumming it and we're now happily bringing up a family there.

As said above you have a great network of paths to get to places on bike or by train and the ferry across is a great addition to a ride in season.
House prices are more, but there is a reason for that.
Also I believe it currently has one of the highest % house price rises in the country. It's going to catchup with the more "sought after" costal towns in the area before long, so might well be a good long term investment.

Feel free to give me a PM if you want to come out for a ride in the area or even give me a call for a chat about the area.

Good luck with the move 🙂

Used to race at ashcombe which is closer but not sure on the access now.

Scadson freeride park towards Torquay.

Decoy if your into jumping.

Thanks very much, that’s a great insight. To try and answer some questions. We do have kids, so schools, parks, family friendly places are an absolute; not to mention the beach.
Being able to get out after putting the offspring to bed is a must and would lead to a pressure build up if I couldn’t.
Traffic wise, I motorbike for commuting, I’d also relish the idea of a train ride to work.
Bike shops are a huge bonus, as I’d be looking for club/group rides.
And it’s got a pretty decent beach that I could occasionally surf and fish from.
When I’m settled I’ll definitely be pm’ing for some ride buddies!
Thanks for the info.

You won’t be doing much surfing at teignmouth...

Cheers, I know. Just the occasional winter westerly swell. Still nice to get the lad out on. Always head north for waves, crowded, Staunton etc. Although I’d be looking toward Banthan down south I guess.

I'm in a similar position to the opening poster as I'm 3.5 months into a new job based just outside of Exeter, I have managed to find a few local places but most has already been mentioned above.

Bike shop wise, the Bike Shed are my local and seem decent enough, they mentioned they do group rides (sounded mainly road riding though) and they put on a few demo days each year.

I’d also relish the idea of a train ride to work

You wont once you've taken a few journeys on the trains down here!

Exmouth actually has 4 bike shops, not two as previously mentioned. I know two of them do MTB shop rides. I've seen people fishing off both beaches. No real surf at either TBH, lots of SUP'ers, occasional swell at Dawlish I'm informed by friends.

bikerider3, when I get down and settled maybe we can get a STW ride out?!

There were a few wind blown waves out at Exmouth this weekend. I sat and watched a few for 20 mins. Nothing mega but a fun few short rides.

Exmouth would be good, or starcross/kenton/Exminster on the other side of the Exe?

Starcross has the advantage of the train station but isn't the nicest village itself. Kenton and Exminster are an easy pedal up to Haldon, and easy commute to Exeter from all three along the canal.

Theres also tons of riding on Dartmoor, around Bovey which isn't far from Exeter, again some local knowledge useful. Or the Teign valley.

where you are going to be working in exeter should influence where you want to live. getting in/out/around can be challenging if you are coming from the wrong side.

I'd also be heavily influenced by the choice of schools as well as the riding and commute. Exmouth Community College is big and doesn't have a great Ofsted Report.

I've ridden out the back of Exmouth for a loop of Woodbury via the big quarry, castle, Hayes wood & back along the coast path.
Theres also a track that drops down to East Budleigh & comes out usefully right near a pub.
There used to be a bike shop in Teignmouth (it shut down probably 20+ years ago) that had photocopies of two routes south west of Shaldon that they would give out, one big loop & a figure of 8 that I remember riding.
Smallish shop near the train station - Anyone remember the name of it?
We also found some real steep stuff in the woods just south of Maidencombe when exploring down that way about four years ago.

Interesting thread as I start my new job in the New Year, though it’s based in Bovey. What’s the general thoughts on Newton Abbot, as that’s where we got a rental and may look to stay if we can’t find anything in Bovey.

Newton Abbot is a bit of a shit-tip, but not as bad as Kingsteignton (right next door).

Used to teach in the area, and probably the rudest kids I've ever met. A fair amount of social deprivation and unemployment in the area, which adds to the general feeling of apathy amongst the residents of the area.

Some lovely riding up the Teign valley and Lustleigh Cleave though.

At the OP...have you looked around Ottery, Whimple, Feniton way?
Still on a train line, other side of Woodbury, plenty of nice riding, property not too expensive, very good Primary schools in Whimple, West Hill and Ottery, and Kings secondary in Ottery is excellent.

If you decide to move to Exmouth it would be rude not to take up kitesurfing as well...

Woodbury is fairly XC in nature. Used to race there years ago. Scadson would be more my sort of thing, but it's a fair ride there from Teignmouth.

JP

Plenty of and surprisingly good off-piste at Haldon, especially on Cafe side👍

Woodbury is fairly XC in nature. Used to race there years ago.

There's actually a fair amount of decent single-track up there, if you know where to look.
Even some short, quite technical runs, with jumps and drops, etc. over the Yettington side.

Not as much height gain as Haldon to be sure, but also a lot less traffic, so it holds up a lot better over Winter.

A lot of the off piste stuff at Haldon is, to be honest, buggered. Some of what used to be lovely wooded, techy single-track has become an eroded, muddy, wide mess over the last couple of years.

Where's the good riding at Bovey?

Where’s the good riding at Bovey?

Bovey Tracey? Probably best to head up to Lustleigh I'd say.

JP

"A lot of the off piste stuff at Haldon is, to be honest, buggered. Some of what used to be lovely wooded, techy single-track has become an eroded, muddy, wide mess over the last couple of years."

only the obvious stuff ;o)

There's a lot of nice, tricky off camber stuff, and loamy short techy downhills, that hold together even in the wet. To be fair, the more mellow singletrack stuff is screwed, but recovers in the summer.

The key to Haldon area is to explore - I've lived in the Teign Valley for the past 8 years, probably ride Haldon area 3 or 4 times a month, and even then found a bunch of new to me stuff over by the race course this last weekend, and Caf changes regularly enough to keep it interesting.

I wouldn't say we ended up in the Teign Valley by choice, more that it was a sweet spot for rental prices when we 1st moved down (for work too) - cheaper than Exeter itself, for something of a decent size, garage, garden, etc, and significantly cheaper than some miniscule little hobbit hole on the moor proper. But it's proved to be an ideal location for riding from the door (so long as you don't mind a pedal up!) - MTB of pretty much any type - trail centre, to DH, to quiet singletrack (head up the resevoirs), possible to ride over to the Cleave for a longer day out, loads of gravel type options, good road riding, etc. I also now work in the valley and even have a little lunchtime spot for riding up at Cannonteign.

I personally wouldn't choose either Exmouth or Teignmouth - they both seem to have a premium on them - but we don't have to worry about schools other than for the one that hasn't arrived yet and won't need even a primary school for over four years! But if I was looking for slightly larger conurbation residences than our hidden up the muddy lane spot, I'd happily consider Bovey, Moretonhampstead, Chudleigh (but def not Chudleigh Knighton) or even some of the outskirts areas of Kingsteignton.

But - wherever you end up around here, there is loads of riding to be had.

If schools are important have a look at Sidmouth College and its catchment area. No idea of its rating otherwise further afield Ivybridge/Totnes area will give you other school choices and a crap road commute with train option.
Two mtb events to look out for are Devon Dirt (Dartmoorish) if you like 400 rider mass starts and The Knobbler starts and finishes on Woodbury much more low key but good.
Hope you like hills as Devon has lots.

Depending on what type of riding you're into it seems the uplift at Gawton Gravity is running again

only the obvious stuff

Well yes, but the last few time I've been even the some of the secret squirrel routes are getting pretty tired.

found a bunch of new to me stuff over by the race course this last weekend

Shhh, we don't talk about that 😉 strictly on a a need to know basis.

Grew up in Dawlish, went to school in Teignmouth. Yeah, the hill out of either is a big climb. Though not impossible. Used to climb up to Little Haldon on the road as a lad. But of a trek to Haldon itself though.

Problem off road is like a lot of Devon, there's a lot of private land not accessible and you have to go a fair way to get to decent stuff or live in awkward places.

There's a coast cycle path Dawlish to Exeter and think to Exmouth now. Also plans for one along the Teign estuary and if the railway thing goes ahead, Dawlish to Teignmouth.

Key areas I know of are Dartmoor, Woodbury, Haldon, cheeky Haldon, and something near Haldon cafe related 😏, Tavistock / Plympton way stuff.

And yeah Ashcombe did races long ago, but they've been reviving them for mini DH recently. Private land again.

https://instagram.com/ashcombeminidh