Dorset Hostel Break.

What a lovely week I've had cycling for a couple of days in Dorset. On Monday 4th August I drove down to Litton Cheyney with Sporty on the roof rack. Arrived there before ten o'clock, in time to ask the warden of the Youth Hostel if I could leave my car in the car park.

Fishing and pleasure boats in West Bay Harbour.

Soon afterwards I was on my way through the lush countryside towards Bridport. The weather was just perfect, sunny and warm but with a light breeze to keep me fresh. I was soon through the village of Burton Bradstock and having climbed a short hill I was rewarded with my first view of the sea. A few miles on and I was in West Bay where a lot of holiday makers were enjoying the many attractions of the beach, swimming in the sea and fishing from the harbour walls.



After a while I headed inland through Bridport to find a route to Lyme Regis avoiding the main A35. This was not easy as the only alternatives involve looping inland. However the scenery was so lovely that this was very enjoyable.  I caught up with another cyclist who was very heavily laden with camping gear. I chatted with him and discovered he was a visitor from Germany.

At Shave Cross I turned South to follow the Char valley  to Charmouth.

The Char Valley.

My next stop was in the very unusually named village of Canonicorum Whitchurch. Not a bit like our Hampshire Whitchurch but just as attractive.  Canonicorum Whitchurch, Church. Amazingly large for such a small village. The road to Charmouth was surprisingly hilly as it seemed to follow the valley but there was a lot of high hedges and trees giving welcome shade. Charmouth was buzzing with a large number of Dutch cars about. I did not stop long and took on the challenge of  Fern Hill to Lyme Regis. It defeated me! I managed to get within 200 yards of the top before I ran out of puff. It was hard work even walking that last bit. The reward was of course a mega steep and fast descent into the town. Here I got off the bike and walked along the pavement as that was quicker than moving with the cars which were virtually gridlocked. Upwards once more out of Lyme Regis and over the hill to Uplyme. No shortage of hill climbs here. I left the main road and took a lane through the village of Yawl. As I climbed the 1 in 7 hill a lady in a car stopped to let me by and encouraged me to keep going. I made it to the top! The next few miles were relatively flat and I picked up the pace. however I was now quite peckish and looking for somewhere to have lunch . I turned off the B road to Hawkchurch where a pub was marked on my map. It was closed because it was Monday. So I sat in the Church  yard and ate a banana and an energy bar and relaxed for a while. Hawkchurch. I seemed to be border hoping for the next few miles, sometimes in Somerset, sometimes in Dorset. All very pretty. I had just been making up the route as I went and realizing I was getting near to Crewkerne I decided it was time  to turn back towards the YH. I  passed through  two more interesting villages. Drimpton and Broadwindsor   and then as I crested yet another hill I "bonked". (Lack of lunch!) For the next 15 minutes I sat on a grassy bank and ate the rest of my bars and fruit. Soon felt fit enough to continue through Stoke Abbott to Beaminster. An interesting war memorial here. An old horse trough memorial which had been removed has been replaced this year in memory of the commencement of WW1. It was late afternoon now and through the villages of Netherbury and Townway the lanes seemed to be busy with many small white vans and trucks. I surmise it was the workers heading home after a busy day. I continued through Bradpole, West Milton ant into Loders where I paused once more for refreshment and to phone home while sitting in the sunshine on a stone wall. Not far to go now, just another two or three more hilly lanes. As I climbed the one from Uploders under the A35 I noticed these terraced fields nearby. I arrived back at the YH just after six and after a refreshing cuppa and shower I had a very pleasant evening in the pub garden next door eating and drinking with a family of 4 from Midsomer Norton who where camping nearby. More craic back at the hostel with the warden and others before a well earned night's sleep. A great day out on the bike. Notice how the average speed is affected by the sightseeing and hills!

Ride number two from the Hostel on Tuesday 5th August was somewhat different. When woke at 7 a.m. it was raining. By the time I'd breakfasted and got ready at 9 a.m. it was still raining. Of course I was not going to miss a ride because of a spot of rain so off I went. this time heading east through the villages of Long Bredy and Little Bredy. My aching legs from yesterday's ride were unable to manage the first steep hill I encountered., well it was 12.5 %. At the top the wind was blowing the rain hard and I was soon pretty well wet through despite my waterproof jacket but I was sweating a lot too.

Here is my first stop of the day:

The Hardy Monument.
Note the size of the bike compared to the Monument.

As you will notice it is a very grey day!  

It was a nice long and fast downhill ride to Martinstown where I popped into the Post Office to withdraw some cash and get some nuts. (A Snickers bar.) I asked if there was anywhere nearby where I could get a coffee. Another customer told me I could get one just ten mins away. So I set off in the indicated direction. Five miles and a 500 foot climb later and after half an hour I got to the place he had told me about. I then realized that he meant ten mins by car! I was almost in Weymouth now, so I carried on until I got to the promenade. The sun had come out and I soon found a perfect spot for a coffee at one of the small kiosks. Spent the next half hour watching the world go by and chatting to a couple from Trowbridge at the next table. I had dried out nicely by now and set off for a tour round the harbour. A large Condor ferry was loading cars to go to the C.I. In the inner harbour there was a selection of fishing and leisure boats. I had to be careful here as there are tram tracks in the road used to carry away fish from the dockside.

Eventually I tore myself away and headed out into the country to find a suitable pub for lunch. On my way I passed this work of art:

More undulations before I found a nice pub (The Elm Tree) in the village of Langton Herring. Sat outside in the sunshine, completing my drying off. I had some banter from a group of ladies who had come outside the pub for a smoke. They wanted to get rid on one of their friends and asked me if I could take her away on the crossbar of my bike. I told them whilst I was willing I was afraid the YH might not let her in with me! I discovered that they were a group of Carers who had just returned from scattering the ashes of  a person they had looked after and were celebrating the life of that person.

After a most satisfying lunch I continued through Rodden to Abbotsbury. Here i encountered the sternest challenge of my holiday. The hill out of Abbotsbury. Ride with Gps indicate the steepest section as being 23%map . The O.S. only indicate a slope of more than one in seven. i would love to know more about how these grades are calculated. I suspect the Ride with GPS give the steepest whilst the O.S.  give the overall rate of climb.

Needless to say it meant more walking. this time for about 250 yards after I'd climbed the lower slopes.

At the top it was quite misty with the sea breeze causing the formation of sea mist as it climbed the hill.

It was only a few miles now back to the YH mainly downhill.

A much gentler and shorter  ride than yesterday but another  good one.

Back home after my brief break I managed to fit in another ride on Thursday 7th August I just had to go out again to get my week's mileage to over 100 miles. It was merely a quick run around the local area on Posh to keep my legs in shape!

Glad to be inside today and not riding in this stormy weather.

(Don't forget if you wish to see the pictures full screen just click on one and then you can view them).

GRIDIRONMAN