route advice - Walton-on-Thames > Winchester

clarkey cat
clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
edited March 2012 in Commuting chat
Mapmyrun takes me down the A31 from Farnham... can anyone suggest a scenic, flatish and relatively quick route?

Many thanks!
Dolan Mythos

Comments

  • Stag on
    Stag on Posts: 99
    A31 is not pleasant as an NSL dual carriageway from Guildford to Four Marks (far side of Alton), albeit that it goes to single track in between Four Marks and Arlesford. I have seen people cycling down this bit but I would not recommend it.

    Geography is against you and there are limited options to get around it. The whole Rushmoor conurbation (Aldershot/Farnborough etc) is to be avoided.

    If you can get to just north of Guildford, my preferred route is the A323 out to Normandy, then a left turn over the Hogs back via Glazier's Lane and Westwood Lane. You can then take a right turn at Puttenham down the Street and Seale Lane which will get you to Farnham via Runfold.

    Again, at Farnham geography is against you. I would head through Farnham town centre then out on the A325 to Holt Pound. Take a right over Binstead hill (another climb) into Alton. From Alton head through the town centre and out the other side, you can probably brave the A31 at this point as it is a lot quieter. Another climb faces you up to Four Marks.

    At Arlesford take a right through the town and then you can pick your way through Itchen Stoke and Itchen Abbas on the B3047 which will be a very pleasant way to finish your ride.

    This is probably my ideal compromise between speed, scenery and avoids the highly unplesant A31.

    As a plan B, you could head up to the A30 and follow it all the way down through Basingrad to Winchester (it runs parallell with the M3). A bit longer, and probably more traffic on balance.
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    Thanks very much! Thats really useful. I will report back (on Plan A)
    Dolan Mythos
  • walkingbootweather
    walkingbootweather Posts: 2,443
    Bikeroutetoaster is my favoured routing application. For this journey it suggests a route between the M3 and A31 running via Odium, Bagmore Lane, The B3046, Northington Down and Itchen Barras.
    Nobody told me we had a communication problem
  • northstar
    northstar Posts: 407
    I've used this when i'm not sure where i'm going:

    http://www.cyclestreets.net/
    Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.
  • el_presidente
    el_presidente Posts: 1,963
    The A33 from Basingstoke to Winchester is great, it is a big wide NSL road but there is very little traffic becasue it is exactly parallel to the M3; and because it is so wide and straight anything that is on the road can see you from miles away and give you plenty of space.
    <a>road</a>
  • clarkey cat
    clarkey cat Posts: 3,641
    Stag on - cheers for the tip. Great ride today! I took the Medstead & Bighton route from Alton - one of the best bits of road I've ridden on. Smooth tarmac, slightly downhill... beautiful. :D
    Dolan Mythos

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