Devon and Somerset

[Pat Malone]

I'm riding from Cornwall to London in July with a group of friends. Maps and published guides for one section seem to be thin on the ground - the leg from Barnstaple to Bath. The Sustrans products are out of print and unavailable.
This is largely National Route 3... can anyone point me towards the maps or guides I need?

 

[mcshroom]

Not sure about the maps, but how about mapping the route out on bikehike?

 

[Fab Foodie]

Welcome Pat!

To be honest we made a tour from Minehead to St Austel mostly on Sustrans (taking in the Tarka trail) and thought the Sustrans routes were pretty crap. In N. Devon they missed the really scenic routes along the coast and many of the Devon sections were on single-track, gravelly, high hedged, hilly and twisty 'roads'. Admitedly they were pretty car free, but you saw nothing and for every hill climbed it was too twisty, unsighted and gravelled to get any joy from the down hills.

Personally I'd get some good OS maps a few beers and spend a night planning your own route.

 

[briantrumpet]

It depends what sort of ride you want through Devon - go by the north coast or Dartmoor, and you'll have some extensive climbing, but there's a vast chunk of land in between which has some lovely roads, pretty good views and little traffic, as well as being quite a bit less lumpy. I'd recommend the route Bude-Holsworthy-Hatherleigh-Winkleigh-Eggesford Station-Chawleigh-Tiverton-Bampton-Wiveliscombe-Bishops Lydeard as a good one across Devon using a mixture of not too busy A-roads right down to very quiet but not wobbly C roads. That gets you into Somerset, with a choice of routes from there.

 

[Ian H]

From Barnstaple the route due west through Swimbridge, Filleigh to South Molton and then on to the B3227 is very good and mostly quiet. Take a look at my ukcyclist/300 page. There's a routesheet and link to a map. It's the section from Barnstaple to Wedmore that's relevant. Carry straight on from Wedmore to Wells then it's fairly easy to route to Bath.

 

[Glover Fan]

From Barnstaple the route due west through Swimbridge, Filleigh to South Molton and then on to the B3227 is very good and mostly quiet. Take a look at my ukcyclist/300 page. There's a routesheet and link to a map. It's the section from Barnstaple to Wedmore that's relevant. Carry straight on from Wedmore to Wells then it's fairly easy to route to Bath.

Wow, what an exceptional route! Will definitely have to give that one a go next year!

 

[briantrumpet]

From Barnstaple the route due west through Swimbridge, Filleigh to South Molton and then on to the B3227 is very good and mostly quiet.

Yep, the B3227 is a great road too, I agree - good views up to Exmoor and down to Dartmoor - reasonably level (for Devon) and quiet.

 

[Davidc]

I've done the B3227 from Taunton to South Molton and separately the unclassified ones from Barnstaple to South Molton and endorse what's been said.

From Taunton to Bath a good route is to go out on the back roads to North Curry then follow the Exmouth Exodus route backwards (see their website for a link) to the top of the Cheddar Gorge, then just use a map to get from the mendips to Bath - plenty of good options but avoid the A368 (bendy, narrow and full of motorised nutters who think its a motorway).

If you don't fancy going up the Cheddar Gorge you can go round the mendips by going Cheddar to Axbridge and then using the Strawberry Line path through the tunnel to Winscombe, but you'll end up going further.

 

[Chutzpah]

then just use a map to get from the mendips to Bath - plenty of good options but avoid the A368 (bendy, narrow and full of motorised nutters who think its a motorway).

I agree with this.

The way motorists overtake other cars on this road consistently scares me, never risked it on a bike.

I commute from a little town called Midsomer Norton to Bath, so if you think your route will go through the general area around there drop me a line and I'll help you with the quickest/least hilly/most pleasant route depending on your preference (or all of them so you can see how you feel on the day!)

Like Davidc and others have said, once you're approaching Bath there's quite a few routes to pick from.

 

[rockyraccoon]

why is the B3227 a good one? Quite, traffic free? Does that include week days?

 

[briantrumpet]

why is the B3227 a good one? Quite, traffic free? Does that include week days?

Yes, it's pretty quiet at any time as it's neither a tourist route nor a commuter one. It's got good views, a decent surface mostly, isn't too hilly, and has plenty of places where he odd car can overtake safely.

 

[vorsprung]

why is the B3227 a good one? Quite, traffic free? Does that include week days?

I used to do a commute to South Molton on the Black Cat - South Molton bit and it was never busy
Some of the surfacing is a bit crummy but a lot of it was redone last year
It used to be a main route for caravans and tourists going to Ilfracombe and that area before the North Devon Link road was built
I wouldn't follow it all the way to Taunton I'd take the A396 to Tiverton then lanes to Uffculme, Nicholasheign, A38 Wellington to Taunton
The B3227 through Wivlescombe is pretty though
Or you could go on the canal from Tiverton almost all the way to Wellington

 

[Davidc]

why is the B3227 a good one? Quite, traffic free? Does that include week days?

It was once the A361, and was very busy. Now it isn't, but benefits from the road improvements done when it was.

Some hills on it, so has every other road in Devon and Somerset though.

 

[Chutzpah]

Some hills on it, so has every other road in Devon and Somerset though.

Amen!

 

[briantrumpet]

Some hills on it, so has every other road in Devon and Somerset though.

Somerset does have some very flat bits (unlike Devon) - the Somerset Levels are, er. level. And quite extensive too (160,000 acres), all kept from flooding by a system of pumping stations.