London to New Forest

padders

I'm heading off to the New Forest at the end of March and I've put together the following route:

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=356858

The distance isn't a concern, but would welcome any comments about the route itself from anyone with prior experience. It all looks relatively tame; the climbs and time in the saddle shouldn't be a problem. I'm just not 100% on some of the A roads, are there any stretches that'd be particularly unpleasant and would warrant a detour?

Cheers.

stifflersmom

I can only comment on the final stretch out of Southampton towards the New Forest. The A35 section over the river Test is extremely busy, as you'd expect, but there is no short detour round this stretch. If it were me I'd come off onto the minor roads once over the river and avoid the main Marchwood By Pass (A326) and go via Eling and Pooksgreen to join the forest roads.
Alternatively, if you are comnfortable on the A35, stay on it until the Deerleap Lane turning at Hunters Hill- the run from there down to Beaulieu and then Lymington/Brockenhurst is lovely. Good luck and enjoy!

andymiller

It looks like a good route - and for most of it it looks like you'd have the advantage that most traffic will be on the A3. the bit on the A307 between Esher and Cobham looks like it might get busy though as a route to the A3. A look at he sustrans.org.uk map shows an off-road route across Esher Common and then through Fairmile into Cobham. I don't know what's like though so I can't say whether it's a better alternative.

Are you riding on a weekend or on a weekday?

padders

Thanks for the replies, I'll be heading down as early as possible on the last friday of March. I'll check out that sustrans route and take another look at the route out of Southampton.

tv

I agree with the other guys about the A35 out of Soton, to get around this you could possibly go through North Baddesley and into Romsey then south from there via Brockenhurst. If you were interested you could even loop through Normansland after Romsey, went through this area on a sportive last sept and there are some nice flowing roads.

topcattim

Another agreement about the final bit of the route. You'll be travelling through some lovely countryside at the end of the ride, but if you go through Southampton you run the risk of missing it. In particular, it would be worth (if you don't mind adding a few extra miles) spending more time in the New Forest. I live in Winchester and often ride into the Forest and would recommend a more North Westerly entrance than the one you have selected, which would avoid a lot of the built up area through Easteigh and Southampton. I've put it up at http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=359669
Well worth having a look at the final bit from Boldrewood to Boldre, a really lovely gradual descent through a fantastic ornamental drive. enjoy your day, whatever route you take.