Bicycleandtour.com

With the spring in the air, you may fancy heading out with the bike on my London-Land’s End Cycle Route. If you find Land’s End in Cornwall "a bridge too far" though, you may want to look into the great new traffic-calmed cycle touring opportunities southbound towards the English Channel. With our Skip the Exmoor Hills Offer it is easy to take in the gentle Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route to Plymouth, where the London-Land’s End Route connects to a wealth of new route choices.

Let me introduce you to my friends Roy and Jacqui Gisborne of Signpost Cycling. Roy and Jacqui (on left in this picture) are pioneering cycling tourism in Dorset and have developed a similar guidebook product as “London-Land’s End” for the coastal route between Plymouth and Weymouth/Poole. Their Tour de Manche pack provides great mapping through the Sustrans Cycle City Guide series and reliable information in their 16-pages guidebook.

This product takes you in nine stages from Plymouth to Poole, with opportunities to take a ferry to France in Plymouth, Weymouth and Poole. If you have completed the Devon Coast to Coast with my London-Land's End Route in Plymouth, I’d recommend taking bikes on the train to Exeter,  as the section between Plymouth and Exeter still takes you partly on busy main roads (NCN 279). From Exeter, you can then comfortably join Roy and Jacqui’s pack. The brand-new Exe Valley Trail (see picture) is simply amazing and takes you quickly to the Jurassic Coast from where the Tour de Manche fun truly starts.    

Although very hilly, this route section to Bridport is truly traffic-calmed, providing you with amazing views and fabulous hidden attractions, such as the Donkey Sancuary, Beer Quarry Caves and the Seaton Tramway. Near scenic Dorchester you’ll also cycle via the famous Hardy Monument before having the choice to cycle either to Weymouth or Poole. If heading to Weymouth, you’ll have panoramic views over Chessil Beach and Weymouth, as Roy and Jacqui show in this picture.

So, what about the routes on the French side of the Channel then? As you can see on the map, there are various Tour de Manche route options possible. In the January issue of the Belgian Cyclelive Magazine, Cycling Dutchman Teus Korporaal explains how the routes on the French side are well signposted, but that you may need additional local maps to work out the individual stretches of the route. 


The only product describing the French side in English is the Petit Tour De Manche guide by Mark Porter. Similar to our London-Land’s End guide and the Tour de Manche pack by the Gisbornes, this book covers visitor information and accommodation suggestions for the section between St Malo and Cherbourg. It includes cycling via famous Mont St Michel (see picture, courtesy of Tour de Manche). The route section Roscoff-St Malo is not covered by this guidebook.  Except some broad information on the official website, detailed info about this section seems to be currently unavailable in English. 

Petit Tour de Manche - Cycle Route Guide St Malo - Cherbourg by Mark Porter, paperback guidebook, 168 pages, also including the English section Weymouth-Poole, £ 11.99, see also http://www.baytreepress.com.


Cycling around the Channel (Fietsen rond het Kanaal - Dutch) by Kees Swart,  two guidebooks of both 172 pages, colour, wiro bound, fits in standard handlebar bag, includes GPS-tracks pack, € 19.50 per book, see http://recreatief-fietsen.nl/fietsenrondhetkanaal/.

My Dutch language guidebook Heart of England Route is currently taking various flocks of Dutch cyclists from Harwich's port to the Olympics and Paralympics in London, including a group of blind tandem riders (picture courtesy of Zizoz). This route takes them through the Essex countryside. Cyclists travel to the Olympic Park via my own route through the London districts Chigwell Row, Seven Kings, Barking and East Ham. This is just as well, as the official Sustrans National Cycle Route from the North into London through LeeValley is partly closed due to security issues during the Games. If you are interested in my traffic-calmed route from Harwich to central London (bypassing the LeeValley), please note my new London-Land's End guidebook will include this link, just as a route from Dover to London (available spring 2013). GPS-tracks will be available too!

Further afield, my wife had been able to get hold of tickets for the Olympic sailing in Weymouth. Being a proper Dutchman, I convinced her that parking at the edge of town to cycle the last couple of miles to the Olympic venue would be the ultimate way to take in the Olympic vibe. My wife remained sceptic, but after I showed her the Weymouth Cycle Map she agreed. Coming from the West Country, we took the scenic coastal road from Bridport to park at the west end of town in Chickerell.

Putton Lane

showed to be our perfect "Park & Cycle" transfer; plenty free parking and direct access to the Weymouth cycle path network. With another cycling family unloading their bikes in the same street too, we were clearly on the right track!

The first section of our 4 mile route took us on the cycle path on

Granby Way

. The new look of both path and signs indicated this important piece of west-east cycling infrastructure has been put in recently, possibly as part of an Olympic "boost". Our five year old son whizzed along the track and we encountered various other cyclists on this good flat valley route. There were even some cyclists with racing bikes, who also preferred the path above the main carriageway with its fast moving traffic. With the only hazard being some driveways (there was indeed one driver turning on high speed across the cycle path into a driveway) we are happy to award Dorset County Council their first silver medal!

At the end of

Granby Way

, a multilane roundabout was ahead of us, with a difficult crossing over the busy

A354 Weymouth Way

right next to the roundabout. Being a cycle route consultant I see this type of crossing all over the country. Unfortunately, to be able to cross, you have to scan the whole roundabout area for fast turning traffic, heavily depending on drivers doing proper signalling before leaving the roundabout (and many don't!). We had to stand on the island in the middle of the road for at least 5 minutes before we found a gap in the traffic, and still, we were depending on traffic on the roundabout to slow down for us to make the crossing safely.

This shows how cycle path crossings next to multilane roundabouts are NOT advisable and extremely hazardous. To make these crossings suitable for users of all ages and abilities you really need either toucan lights (please with only one press on the button and one wait to cross both road directions) or priority for cyclists Dutch style. Sorry; no medals for the local authorities at this crossing!

Once across the A354, a fine gravel route along the estuary to Weymouth town centre made pleasant cycling to us. With cycling growing in popularity, this path is close to its capacity limit though. Various cycling commuters from the Southill area were overtaking/approaching us on high speeds and we can imagine number of conflicts between users are likely to grow on this narrow path. Being it a main corridor to the town centre, also popular amongst dog walkers, this path should be ideally 4 metres wide or more, with ideally segregation for pedestrians Dutch style. In its current setting, a cycle path is better than nothing, so our jury finds a bronze medal for this stretch applicable.

The next junction en route, the roundabout at the river bridge, with various cycle path underpasses, was adequate, but lacked one important aspect of cycle path infrastructure; good and consistent signage. An incorrectly aligned signpost made my wife ready to join a route leading away from the Olympic venue, a perfect example of how poor signage is a continuous problem in the UK. In my cycle report for Totnes I emphasised on the importance of Dutch style consistent "A-to-B cycle route signage" to get more people familiar with local cycle routes. Free town cycle maps and on-line route planners, how well intended, only serve those who are into map reading (like me). It is only for this reason we were able to find the next section of our route. So, on this occasion; good infrastructure in combination with poor signage only justifies a bronze medal.

Once we found it; the Rodwell Trail really lived up to its promise. It is an excellent cycle route on the course of a dismantled railway with good tarmac surface and a great mix of scenery to take in, appealing to both locals and visitors. The Sustrans Connect2 project made a new bridge possible across

Newstead Road

, clearly improving the attractiveness and speed of travel on this route. Also, there are many slip paths to connect to the local road network, a great help for local connectivity. The jury was ready to award the first gold medal for Dorset County Council, but then there was one complication…

Where did we have to leave the Rodwell trail to get to Nothe Hill, the venue for the Olympic sailing? My Weymouth Cycle Map featured a "Nothe Route, opening 2012", but on the trail there were no signposts whatsoever and we found ourselves heading to Portland Bill, well beyond Nothe. The

Nothe Cycle Route

proved only to exist on council maps. After a journey through a maze of hilly back streets we could do no other than to downgrade the Rodwell Trail from gold to silver, because of its lack of proper signage away/to the trail. Just a sign here and there (as in the picture on the left) is just not enough! 

Naturally, the last stretch to Nothe Fort & Park received no awards at all, as we were also forced to cycle on a road with medium traffic intensity (see picture on right). (If you wish to make your way to the Olympic sailing by bike as well; straight on the Rodwell Trail over Connect2 Bridge

Newstead Rd, straight on through tunnel, then 

immediately left onto a zigzag path. Turn right onto

Wyke Road and turn right at the lights. Then first road left (St Leonard

's Rd) and fifth rd right (

Newberry Rd)

. Left at T-junction and at roundabout right into Barrack Rd.)    

So, what about the cycle-friendliness of the venue itself then? Now, here we were really up for a pleasant surprise. The Olympic organisers had gone to great length to provide a guarded bike parking in Dutch style next to the main entrance, and even FREE to use. Having that said, with the difficulties we experienced to reach the site, it should be! Finally, the jury could grant Weymouth a gold medal for their sustainable travel efforts. With many bikes already in the cycle racks, it showed how more and more people in the UK are trying to make a sustainable effort to get around by bike.  

Looking at the crowds present on Nothe Hill though, those who cycled to the Olympics were still in the minority by far. To get more people on bikes, the issues as addressed above need proper attention. I found the general Weymouth situation exemplary for areas with good cycling efforts around the UK. But even in these "better areas", away from the existing cycle routes, cycling as a way to get from a to b remains in its infancy. A strategic approach is needed to make cycling a good means of transport for people of all ages and abilities, everywhere. The Cities Fit for Cycling Campaign provides a good starting point and I am more than happy to oblige. Overall cycling infrastructure medal results for Weymouth: BRONZE!