South Dartmoor CTC Album

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Friday 26 March 2004
19:00 - 22:30
Social: Games Evening

4 Participants: Michael Jones, Oliver Lindley, James Manning, Ashley Myhill
Last social of the season.
Sunday 28 March 2004
11:00 - 15:30
Morning ride: Dr Blackall's Drive
Cloudy but mainly dry
16 miles
4 Participants: Michael Jones, Oliver Lindley, James Manning, Ashley Myhill
James asked for some tracks so he could test out his new Trek mountain bike, purchased especially for the Easter tour. When we started along the slightly uphill track along the brook in Hembury, however, he didn't seem too impressed. He had lots of money to spend, so as soon as we arrived at New Bridge he was handing money over the counter of the refreshment van in exchange for a hot dog, and the rest of us just had to wait until he had finished it!

We had plenty of time so we pressed on with the major climb of the day, all the way up Poundsgate hill. James only persevered because of the promise of another refreshment van and an exciting track descent, but on arrival at the top he was disappointed to find no van in sight! Dr Blackall's Drive, however, never fails to disappoint, and Oliver was congratulated for coming up with the idea. We paused at Bell Tor Corner to admire the spectacular view of the wooded Dart valley and climb the tor, then continued a high speed descent along paths and tracks until we finally reached New Bridge car park again. After more refreshments we returned via River Dart Country Park and Ashburton, feeling that we'd made maximum use of the last morning ride of the season.
Friday 2 April 2004
19:00 - 21:15
Evening ride: Skerraton Down
Sunny
8 miles
6 Participants: Michael Jones, Oliver Lindley, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Phillip Oakley, Gavin Pearson
This well attended first evening ride of the season took us past Nurston Farm to the track the leads across Skerraton Down. It was almost dark as we crossed the high moor, offering a panoramic view of distant village and town lights from Totnes to Widecombe. Our own lights were well suited to the dark descent to Cross Furzes, so it wasn't long before we were back at Crofters, enjoying refreshments and videos beside a warm fire.
Sunday 4 April 2004
10:00 - 16:40
Day ride: North Bovey
Sunny start, some showers later
31 miles
6 Participants: Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, Oliver Lindley, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Joe Venables
There was anticipation in the air at the start of our first day ride since June last year. We made good speed to Bovey Tracey and then enjoyed the old railway track through the woods to Lustleigh. Sadly, all was not well in the village: the once famous cafe now stood permanently closed, and local shops were clearly concerned at the loss of trade to the village as a whole. We ate our own refreshments in the park and the purchases a few items from the shop before setting off for the big climb of the day up Lustleigh Cleave. We paused briefly to admire an enormous boulder edging the road, known as Parson's Loaf.

Our usual track to North Bovey had been left in a particularly messy state by a fleet of off-road vehicles, but the large pools of water and thick slimy mud didn't seem to bother the younger members at all. In fact, the plastering of mud offered them the perfect excuse to ride the ford and get soaked, despite repeated warnings from the more experienced members that wet feet at lunchtime would turn to cold feet later in the ride!

The return route took us through Heatree Cross to Houndtor, where once again the usual refreshment van was nowhere to be seen. The final trek home across the moor to Ashburton was made less enjoyable by a stiff headwind and repeated showers, but the younger members were all pleased to see the total ride length exceeded 30 miles.
Friday 9 April 2004
Tour: Somerset Levels
Day 1 Home to Street YH
Sunny and fairly warm
26 miles (▲ 150m ▼ 100m)
6 Participants: Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Gavin Pearson, Joe Venables
This was a first tour for our three youngsters, all eager for action after being kitted out with the recommended equipment by generous parents. Tao and Joe (13) were first to arrive at Newton Abbot Station on this perfect spring morning. Ashley (15) and James (12) arrived next in Keir's Land Rover, closely followed by Michael and Gavin. Tao was inside the station when everyone else arrived, so Keir soon had to eat his comments about Tao always being late.

The First Great Western 1010 service was perfectly on time. There were 6 free bike racks in the guard's van as booked, and after a longer than planned walk through the train we soon found our reserved seats and enjoyed the kind of conversation that reflected our anticipation of the tour to come. In fact, we talked so much that we forgot to buy refreshments on the train, so the first task on arrival at Taunton was to seek out the cafe at Safeways. Service was not exactly rapid: we spent some time trying to work out where we should be queuing, and then plenty more time standing in line to buy less than exciting refreshments.

The main roads were quieter than usual on this bank holiday Friday. James had a problem with his single pannier falling off, but we were soon enjoying quiet lanes and the peaceful rural villages of Creech St Michael, Ham and Knapp. North Curry village green provided an attractive, sunny location for lunch and photographs.

Next stop was the Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre at Meare Green. The Somerset Levels is a marshy landscape ideally suited to the growing of Willow. And Willow, as we discovered at the centre, is made into all kinds of wicker baskets and boxes. The youngsters particularly liked the hanging bee-hive seats, and had to test them thoroughly.

Burrow Mump is a small hill that stands out against the flat landscape that surrounds it. From the ruined church on top we could clearly see the network of ditches and drains that helps keep the land free of water. Without the series of pumping stations near the sea, the whole area would revert to an inlet of the sea.

There was plenty of time so we took a short detour along some fun tracks around Earlake Moor and Middlezoy. Burrow Mump soon began getting closer again, but the youngsters didn't seem to notice! From Othery the change of level on either side of the road was marked by Beer Wall, a sluice gate system controlled remotely. Joe did not seem to appreciate the long straight lanes across King's Sedge Moor - he thought he might go to sleep and veer off the road into one of the water-filled ditches on either side. The first real climb of the day brought us to Walton Hill and the National Trust woodland track to Street hostel.

The wooden balconies of the hostel and its rural surroundings always make for a warm welcome, and today was no exception. We were in one of the attic rooms which just added to our enjoyment of this excellent hostel. The youngsters, who all had easy-cook noodle meals, had finished and washed up before the more senior members even arrived in the kitchen, so they provided entertainment outside by performing jumps over the grassy banks outside. We just squeezed in a one-mile ride to the nearby Spar before dark to buy some provisions for supper. On our return there were card games and a viewing of the tour video, but Tao was forced to miss it all and retire to bed at 9pm - he works nights, and had been active for 26 hours with no sleep!

[Photos to follow]

Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 29 miles)
Saturday 10 April 2004
Tour: Somerset Levels
Day 2 Street to Cheddar YH
Cloudy with showers
27 miles (▲ 405m ▼ 450m)
6 Participants: Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Gavin Pearson, Joe Venables
The youngsters deserve credit for being so well behaved overnight - everyone got plenty of sleep right up to the designated time for getting up. Tao felt thoroughly refreshed after 11 hours sleep, and once Michael had got over the shock of discovering that his cheesecake and yoghurt, purchased only the previous night, had been discarded from the fridge (presumably because it hadn't been given a label) we set off for the short ride to Clarks village in Street.

We spent an enjoyable hour and a half browsing the well-priced factory outlets and sampling the hot pancakes while the clouds gathered above. Gavin bought himself a rucksack-cum-camelback, presumably to make up for forgetting his water bottle, but there was no opportunity to fill it for the rest of the day! We were ready to leave as the first drops of rain began to fall, but we had to wait another 10 minutes for James to return from a supposedly 2-minute shopping expedition to get some batteries.

We had lots planned for today, and next on the agenda was Glastonbury tor. There was a nasty shower all the way to Glastonbury, but it cleared up as we approached the tor so we were able to climb it after all. Everyone enjoyed the views, although Joe dismissed it as a pile of dirt just like any other!

We were clearly going to be late for lunch at Wells, and the significant detour we took to avoid main roads did not help, but a final cycle path along the course of the disused railway line eventually brought us past the Bishops Palace into the bustling market square by around 2.30. Lunch was hastily purchased and then consumed in the grounds of the magnificent cathedral. The famous clock (the second oldest in Britain) entertained us briefly with its twin knights striking the bells, but if we had thought to look inside the cathedral we would have seen the far more impressive display of two knights and two Saracens riding around in a jousting tournament. One poor Saracen gets knocked down every fifteen minutes, and elsewhere a seated wooden figure strikes the bell and turns his head to listen after each strike. Oh well, next time perhaps!

It seemed as though there would not be time to include our planned visit to Wookey Hole caves and paper mill, but we made good progress and arrived in time for a visit of more than an hour. James was feeling much better as we left and made good speed on the 200m climb to the top of Cheddar gorge. Michael, however, was succumbing to the same fever that had attacked Tao earlier in the week. The descent of the gorge was exciting and fun, and we surprised ourselves by arriving at Cheddar hostel shortly after 7pm.

We were in the annexe, as on all previous occasions, but carried out our meal preparation in the main kitchen. The showers caused some confusion – to switch them on you had to lower the head unit to below waste height! Obvious really! There was another short excursion to the nearby Spar (on foot this time, as it was dark), and the usual viewing of the day’s video clips – of particular interest to the three who had refused the caves! Poor Michael suffered overnight under multiple quilts!
Sunday 11 April 2004
Tour: Somerset Levels
Day 3 Cheddar to Crowcombe YH
Mainly sunny
35 miles (▲ 480m ▼ 365m)
6 Participants: Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Gavin Pearson, Joe Venables
Starting out a little earlier than usual we decided to explore Cheddar caves. Entry fees were quite high and some of the youngsters were hard-pressed to find the money, but we all spent an enjoyable hour wandering around some truly spectacular formations with the friendly voice of the audio guides accompanying us all the way. The café experience was not quite so enjoyable, with sky high prices for substandard refreshments.

There was time for a short stop at the Spar before we rode the short distance to Wedmore and Blackford. We then turned into the Levels again and enjoyed lunch in a field on the banks of Cripps River. The sun was hot in this sheltered spot, and nothing disturbed the peace except a single plane circling in the distance.

The afternoon ride took us past the Gold Corner pumping station to Bridgwater (where nothing was open on Easter day) and on to the foothills of the Quantock Hills where the ancient church in the village of Over Stowey looked delightful with its many spring flowers adorning the grassy churchyard. James’ bike needed a little attention before the climb to fix a bottom bracket, and Tao continued his regular maintenance of the offending pannier that refused to do as it was told. A challenging climb brought us quickly to the moor and tracks at the top, and James, who had never ridden this far in one day before, did not let himself down in any way. We didn’t feel like any major track excursions so we took the quick descent to Crowcombe and set about negotiating the final lanes to the hostel. On the way we were fortunate to see the steam train on the West Somerset Railway.

Crowcombe Heathfield hostel was up for sale many years ago, but the idea was abandoned through lack of prospective buyers and the hostel is still there now, a magnificent country house set in huge gardens in an isolated location. We had a large first floor dormitory and after adequate showers we prepared our final meals of the tour in the spacious self-catering kitchen. The youngsters were short of food and money so bought a loaf of bread and ate slice after slice of toast. Ashley decided to use the expensive Cheddar jam he had purchased – he maintains it was never intended as a gift for his parents!

(Previous recorded mileage for this ride was 36 miles)
Monday 12 April 2004
Tour: Somerset Levels
Day 4 Crowcombe to Home
Sunny and warm
21 miles (▲ 225m ▼ 340m)
6 Participants: Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, James Manning, Ashley Myhill, Gavin Pearson, Joe Venables
After our final breakfast of the tour we set off through the peaceful wooded lanes to Lydeard St Lawrence, Tolland and Wiveliscombe where we felt sure we would fine a cafe. There was a cafe, but whilst the door was open the café was definitely closed. The supermarket was open, however, and the seats in the village square provided an excellent spot for the consumption of beverages in the morning sun.

Pressing on we proceeded through many more typical Westcountry lanes to Bradford-on-Tone. Lunch by the riverside in the shade of ancient woodland was absolutely perfect. Our train was leaving from Taunton at 2.36 so we took our time on the final stage of the journey along the river Tone, through Hele and Upcott. Cycle Route 3 led us usefully through some Taunton parkland direct to the Safeways near the station, so we were able to purchase some last refreshments and inspect the well-stocked cycle store nearby before boarding the train for home.

It's amazing how refreshing a 4-day break can be. By the end of the tour it felt like we had been away for a week or more. All the youngsters did well and were eagerly looking forward to their next trip - Salcombe in May. They all felt very pleased to have completed 117 miles over the weekend - an excellent achievement.

(Previous recorded mileage for today's ride was 25 miles)
Friday 16 April 2004
19:00 - 21:15
Evening ride: River Dart Country Park
Dry
8 miles
3 Participants: Michael Jones, James Manning, Ashley Myhill
The continuous rain of the afternoon finally gave way to brighter weather just before the start of the ride, but James and Ashley didn't want to completely give up their plans for an extended social. The compromise involved a ride through Pridhamsleigh to Ashburton and then along the riverside track from River Dart Country Park to Hembury Woods. James was showing a significant improvement in performance after last weekend's tour.
Sunday 18 April 2004
10:00 - 16:00
Day ride: Fermoys
Occasional showers
22 miles
6 Participants: Louis Burgess, Tao Burgess, Michael Jones, James Manning, Keir Manning, Ashley Myhill
The weather didn't look too promising and Louis probably wasn't ready for a full day ride so we decided to aim for lunch at Fermoys. As it turned out everyone made excellent speed, so when the youngsters had eaten their half price roast meals and we had ridden back to Ashburton via the Rising Sun we still felt in the mood for a detour home along the Hembury Woods track from River Dart Country Park.
Page 239 of 408 (4072 items)
Events Index Gallery Participants