I chose the Devon Coast to Coast (C2C) - the 99 mile (158km) SUSTRANS route between Ilfracombe and Plymouth. It offered easy-to-navigate signed roads, paths and tracks - National Cycle Route 27, convenient rail access, varied terrain, and plenty of options to stay. It's the most popular coast to coast.
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/route-27/
I couldn't replace a frayed shifter cable on my Galaxy tourer in time - too many hills on Steve's Redhill ride! So I took my Airnimal - a pocket-sized gravel bike with small panniers that copes well with rough stuff.
Friday night saw me in Ilfracombe, cycling the short hop from Barnstaple after catching a train there from Exeter. Alas the weather-window was becoming murky, with strong winds blowing me to the wind-swept N. Devon coast.
Chris, my B&B host, and a volunteer SUSTRANS warden, was surprised that I was attempting the C2C so early in the season. In fact the first! I reckoned it would be quiet; did he know something different? Was it ambitious doing it in two days, albeit many do - in summer, whilst others do it in 3?
I reached half-way on Saturday, picking-up the Tarka Trail at Braunton, running along the banks of the River's Taw and Torridge through Barnstaple and Bideford, and then skirting Great Torrington on quiet lanes to reach Sheepwash for a pub lunch. Hatherleigh, a small hamlet, was reached just as the rain became more persistent. I stayed in a pub called the Tally Ho!,
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| The Tarka Trail, on old railway lines. |
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| Taw Bridge - asphalt replacing tracks. |
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On the bank of the R. Taw. |
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| The Granite Way. |
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| Waiting for the 9.20 to Waterloo. |
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| Flood waters. |
With the elements it was a bit of a challenging C2C in two days, but made easier navigating the SUSTRANS markers. I liked the remoteness of cycling the route in winter. With only one missed turn, and a few retreats onto roads avoiding impassable tracks, good progress was made.
What would I do differently? Just take a rain jacket, not a winter thermal, to avoid overheating!
3 comments:
Well done Ged sounds like a fantastic and on an Airnimal, what an animal you are!
Good ride, Ged - thanks for the write-up.
There's a lot to enjoy in winter touring, and I find that people are very helpful to a lone cyclist.
Looks like an ambitious ride Ged. There's a bit of a contrast between your photos and those in the Sustrans brochure. Looking at the numbers on the viaduct in summer you made the right choice.
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