New Forest or Salisbury?
ManOfKent
Posts: 392
I'm intending to make a weekend of it when I ride the Wiggle New Forest sportive in a couple of weeks, going down a day early and taking at least one extra day on the road bike, as well as possibly dusting off the MTB for once.
I could base myself in the south/west of the New Forest, near the coast, and ride an extra day in the forest. Or I could go to Salisbury and ride around there. I don't know either area particularly well and would appreciate opinions on the options. Thanks.
I could base myself in the south/west of the New Forest, near the coast, and ride an extra day in the forest. Or I could go to Salisbury and ride around there. I don't know either area particularly well and would appreciate opinions on the options. Thanks.
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Interesting conundrum. The area around Cranbourne Chase to the west of Salisbury has some good riding but there are relatively few roads and the traffic can be fast. I don't know the area to the east of Salisbury so well but around the Wallops is very scenic. Looking at the (long) route, it covers some of these areas so my personal preference would be stay in the New Forest and do an extra days riding on some of the roads not used by the sportive. There are some lovely routes around Burley, Linwood, Brockenhurst and Bealieu. the heather and gorse will be in full bloom and the locals are not as bad as portrayed in some places. If you go for the Forest option and know where you're staying I'd be happy to give you some route ideas.I'm intending to make a weekend of it when I ride the Wiggle New Forest sportive in a couple of weeks, going down a day early and taking at least one extra day on the road bike, as well as possibly dusting off the MTB for once.
I could base myself in the south/west of the New Forest, near the coast, and ride an extra day in the forest. Or I could go to Salisbury and ride around there. I don't know either area particularly well and would appreciate opinions on the options. Thanks.0 -
Or even pop on the ferry and get yourself over to the Isle of Wight. £7.20 each way for foot passengers and can be a lovely day out without too much traffic on the roads0
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Having looked at the course for the NF 100 - with so little of it in the Forest I'd suggest riding the spare day IN the forest .... They do have some good off road tracks - and that may be preferable as some of the locals get a bit touchy when there are sportives on ...
That said - IoW is excellent for riding - hilly too - especially if you do a round the island ...
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Having looked at the course for the NF 100 - with so little of it in the Forest I'd suggest riding the spare day IN the forest .... They do have some good off road tracks - and that may be preferable as some of the locals get a bit touchy when there are sportives on ...
That said - IoW is excellent for riding - hilly too - especially if you do a round the island ...
Did the IoW Round the Island last week.
Great route and little traffic...Roads have improved too !!!0 -
Thanks all for the advice. I'll be staying at Salisbury and now intend to ride down to Beaulieu and Lymington on the Friday, aiming for 80-90 flattish, fastish miles. Then the Wiggle NF100 can serve as recovery(!) of sorts, with a friend who's slower than me. On Sunday, assuming I have any legs left, I'll probably do a shortish route near Salisbury before heading home.
The Isle of Wight is slightly too far away. Maybe next time...0 -
Lovely roads down there. Here are a couple of my regular routes:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/9020242
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/87657470 -
i'm reasonably local, well the in-laws are i'm about 25 ish miles away but i know the area very well.
If you're not fussed about flopping out of bed at the last minute to get to the line i'd say stay in Downton or Fordingbridge and ride the couple of miles to the start as a warm up, B&Bs will be cheaper and both of those villages are lovely.
in fact i might pop down that way tomorrow 8)
I hope its not windy on the day because the park is seriously exposed (flat & coastal) if it is find a good group and echelon ASAPRule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Thanks. I borrowed parts of those for my Friday ride, although I had some navigation problems. I blame BikeRouteToaster's "interesting" view of what constitutes a rideable road and my Edge's slow response at junctions - but admit to some user error as well, not least in not taking any paper maps or written directions. That led to my supposed 80 mile route becoming 90 and wrecked my legs for the rest of the weekend.Lovely roads down there. Here are a couple of my regular routes:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/9020242
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/8765747
Usually I have fairly good instincts on which way to go if I'm a little off course, but in the forest everything looks the same and the signposts only indicate the nearest village, which isn't much good if like me you don't recognise anything other the main towns. Being caught in a stair-rods downpour at Bransgore didn't help: not good for morale with 30 miles still to go on very wet roads.
It's a beautiful area with mainly very smooth tarmac and like stepping back in time compared to Kent, none the worse for it. One road on the Wiggle ride was marked with a warning for "poor surface". Most of my normal roads are like that! My mate and I ended up doing the 64-mile route because he was suffering early on and I'd lost my mojo. I got out for a short ride in the fog yesterday morning before heading to Beaulieu for the day. It seemed a waste of a sunny afternoon not to be riding but my legs were still shot.
I'll add the New Forest to my growing list of areas I'd like to revisit.0 -
Glad you enjoyed it, it is an amazing place that belongs to all of us not just that ignorant group of anti cycling locals.
Plus it also has a few good vineyards, whats not to love.Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Cyclingwise, the New Forest was my biggest disappointment... the roads are very congested in summer and weekends, the main roads are lethal even just to cross and the offroad is not particularly interesting. Maybe my expectations were too high, but frankly not worth to botherleft the forum March 20230
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Haha. Utter crap. Roads are empty, why are you on the main roads? I'd suggest your crap at route planning. Even wiggle managed to find 100 miles of empty roads on an Easter weekend for their sportive, so I'm sure it's not beyond the realms of impossibility.
Go back and try again0 -
Haha. Utter crap. Roads are empty, why are you on the main roads? I'd suggest your crap at route planning. Even wiggle managed to find 100 miles of empty roads on an Easter weekend for their sportive, so I'm sure it's not beyond the realms of impossibility.
Go back and try again
Are you suggesting you are any better at mapping? I seem to recall you needed to take a train from Clapham Junction to get out of London last year...
I went there August last year for 4 days around Burley. It was holiday season, so the busiest of the year and even the small lanes were busy with traffic at any time of the day. Maybe for your London standards that's empty, but for countryside standards it was very busy and unpleasant. I'm sure in November is quieter.
Main roads (A 31 and A 35) need to be crossed and crossing them was sometimes difficult and/or dangerous. The gravel paths in the wooded areas were wide, but frankly very boring. I found the forest itself quite sinister... not a bird singing, no sign of wildlife whatsoever, except the ubiquitous ponies. Not sure how that's better than any wooded area in the country, which at least appears to be alive.
To sum it up, I would not advise it as a cycling holiday, or a hiking holiday for what that matters.
On the up side the pub where we stayed (the white buck) was lovely and the food was great... mind you, not cheap!left the forum March 20230 -
Given I have lived in Burley for the last 20 years prior to moving to London, I'd like to put my neck on the line and think I am qualified to opine on the state of the roads.
The A35 only really needs crossing in one place, as you enter the Ornamental Drive to go past Rhinefield house towards Brockenhurst, but to cross one busy road is hardly the end of the world. If you are riding on the A31 you are VERY lost my friend, especially as there are many roads which cross underneath or over it, all of which are virtually traffic free.
As I said, your mapping is a bit useless. Try ripping off the Wiggle NF sportive routes - they are excellent and use the quiet roads, reserved for locals and sportive riders only.
Even the two routes posted above are both traffic free - one taken from the NF sportive and one I did while riding with a local club.
As for the white buck, it's ok but to me remains a fairly average Fullers pub which we don't tend to visit any more, but if London-brewery-owned pubs are your thing, then each to their own.0 -
Given I have lived in Burley for the last 20 years prior to moving to London, I'd like to put my neck on the line and think I am qualified to opine on the state of the roads.
The A35 only really needs crossing in one place, as you enter the Ornamental Drive to go past Rhinefield house towards Brockenhurst, but to cross one busy road is hardly the end of the world. If you are riding on the A31 you are VERY lost my friend, especially as there are many roads which cross underneath or over it, all of which are virtually traffic free.
As I said, your mapping is a bit useless. Try ripping off the Wiggle NF sportive routes - they are excellent and use the quiet roads, reserved for locals and sportive riders only.
Even the two routes posted above are both traffic free - one taken from the NF sportive and one I did while riding with a local club.
As for the white buck, it's ok but to me remains a fairly average Fullers pub which we don't tend to visit any more, but if London-brewery-owned pubs are your thing, then each to their own.
Bottom line is I didn't like it, neither for cycling nor for hiking.
If one has to drive from London in search of a cycling holiday within 3 hours drive, I'd say Costwolds/Warwickshire at a similar distance offer a lot more. The Isle of Wight is miles better and of course a little further Dorset and Dartmoor are miles better. Somerset and Exmoor are a million miles better.
The White Buck worked well for use as they offered a wide range of breakfast options, as opposed to the usual "full English" indigestion. Dinner was great too... as for the beer, I am past the age where I care about what beer is on the tap... I'm not one for the hangover type holidayleft the forum March 20230 -
Try again and don't get lost on the A31 would be my advice.
The 40 mile loop above has no cars whatsoever once you turn off towards new Milton and arrive back in Brockenhurst, regardless of the time of year.
the other, 50 mile one has the odd car, but basically traffic free.
It's not really a place to go 'hiking' but walking from my front door, I can easily be out for 10 miles without seeing a soul, and I am hardly 'off the beaten track'.
I can understand your prejudice, but it sounds like your routes were poorly planned.0 -
Try again and don't get lost on the A31 would be my advice.
The 40 mile loop above has no cars whatsoever once you turn off towards new Milton and arrive back in Brockenhurst, regardless of the time of year.
the other, 50 mile one has the odd car, but basically traffic free.
It's not really a place to go 'hiking' but walking from my front door, I can easily be out for 10 miles without seeing a soul, and I am hardly 'off the beaten track'.
I can understand your prejudice, but it sounds like your routes were poorly planned.
Thing is the provision of time and money is what it is... now I have Wales at 1-2 hours depending on location, Peak District at less than 2 hours and Lake District or Yorkshire Dales at 3 hours drive or just over. All of them are infinitely more attractive as cycling holidays.
The only place I would visit again in the south for cycling is Exmoor, as it was truly stunning and very challengingleft the forum March 20230 -
True that NF isn't challenging but it can make for an awesome blast seeing as it's so flat. On a rather windy day I did manage to average 19.1 on the 50 mile loop above.0
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True that NF isn't challenging but it can make for an awesome blast seeing as it's so flat. On a rather windy day I did manage to average 19.1 on the 50 mile loop above.
The thing is that we like very different things... for instance I don't even have a bike computer, so I would never know how fast I lapped... I simply don't care about average speed... I do like speed... for instance 50 mph is fun, but 20 mph average rather than 17 means nothing to me.left the forum March 20230 -
I can understand your prejudice, but it sounds like your routes were poorly planned.
Ugo is just negative - unless he suggested it in the first place ...
we're not NF residents, but regularly travel to the NF and ride - both on and off road - yes there are busy roads, but there are plenty of quiet roads available - and off road gives a nice mix of terrain - from woodland to open scrub.
The wiggle routes are good places to start for some route suggestions - they did the falling leaves sportive which was (mostly) offroad which was quite fun too.
Are there "better" places? There are different places - whether they're better or not depends on what you want from your ride ...
bottom line - we'll continue going back - and take our son too - as well as travelling to other places and riding there.... Sardinia was nice ...
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I can understand your prejudice, but it sounds like your routes were poorly planned.
Ugo is just negative - unless he suggested it in the first place ...
we're not NF residents, but regularly travel to the NF and ride - both on and off road - yes there are busy roads, but there are plenty of quiet roads available - and off road gives a nice mix of terrain - from woodland to open scrub.
The wiggle routes are good places to start for some route suggestions - they did the falling leaves sportive which was (mostly) offroad which was quite fun too.
Are there "better" places? There are different places - whether they're better or not depends on what you want from your ride ...
bottom line - we'll continue going back - and take our son too - as well as travelling to other places and riding there.... Sardinia was nice ...
It's not true... I have my opinions and you will find plenty of threads where I chip in to say how amazing somewhere was.
Sardinia is indeed heaven on earth, I used to go windsurfing, but I never cycled there... any good? I always had the impression it is too hot most of the year for cycling and the (not so many) roads can be quite busyleft the forum March 20230 -
I live pretty nearish to the new forest and my in-laws are just on the edge, I've riden around through and across quite a few times and likewise driven and walked in the forest, I like it but its not outstanding like some of the areas around here, with rolling hills dense forests, canals and the plains but then again that's not what the NF is about.
I'd say average for varied cycling and yes very busy traffic through and around, as ugo said the A31 in summer is like a solid car park, best avoided imo. We went awhile ago to meet some friends for a picnic in the plantation, I rode from home and met my family there who when I arrived were struggling to find a space in the car parks.
So yes its easy to see how someone could view the NF as busy. I on the other hand did an 80 mile loop from homr that day using practically empty lanes.Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Well the A31 isn't exactly a cycle line in the same way the a4 west of Barons Court isn't0
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Well the A31 isn't exactly a cycle line in the same way the a4 west of Barons Court isn't
It's not just the A 35.... There are indeed empty lanes, as well as there are unclassified roads which are exceedingly busy during school holidays. The road that runs through Burley for instance is very busy.
The broader point is that it is a family holiday destination... the cycling (both on and off road) isn't great and the walking isn't that great either.
As forests go, it's pretty disappointing too, no wildlife to be spotted... I can't remember even seeing a bog standard grey squirrel, nothing... as if someone had sprayed nerve gas the night before.left the forum March 20230 -
Yep, we removed them before your arrival 0
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Even in summer you can find quiet roads in the New Forest, although you may have to pick your time. In that respect it is no different to other national parks. As for no wildlife..that really shows you are just being contrary. By posting something so blatantly untrue you only serve to undermine your other arguments. Ponies, cattle, deer, and rabbits are really common. Plenty of birdlife too.Well the A31 isn't exactly a cycle line in the same way the a4 west of Barons Court isn't
It's not just the A 35.... There are indeed empty lanes, as well as there are unclassified roads which are exceedingly busy during school holidays. The road that runs through Burley for instance is very busy.
The broader point is that it is a family holiday destination... the cycling (both on and off road) isn't great and the walking isn't that great either.
As forests go, it's pretty disappointing too, no wildlife to be spotted... I can't remember even seeing a bog standard grey squirrel, nothing... as if someone had sprayed nerve gas the night before.0 -
I can see a rabbit right now in fact he's sitting on the sofa opposite meRule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Even in summer you can find quiet roads in the New Forest, although you may have to pick your time. In that respect it is no different to other national parks. As for no wildlife..that really shows you are just being contrary. By posting something so blatantly untrue you only serve to undermine your other arguments. Ponies, cattle, deer, and rabbits are really common. Plenty of birdlife too.Well the A31 isn't exactly a cycle line in the same way the a4 west of Barons Court isn't
It's not just the A 35.... There are indeed empty lanes, as well as there are unclassified roads which are exceedingly busy during school holidays. The road that runs through Burley for instance is very busy.
The broader point is that it is a family holiday destination... the cycling (both on and off road) isn't great and the walking isn't that great either.
As forests go, it's pretty disappointing too, no wildlife to be spotted... I can't remember even seeing a bog standard grey squirrel, nothing... as if someone had sprayed nerve gas the night before.
Since when cattle are wildlife?
As for rabbits... you can see them on most grassy roundabouts in big cities, no need to go to a National Park for that.
Ponies are nice, but they are not allowed in the wooded/gated areas... birds? Haven't heard one over three days... very weird
Last weekend I went to the Shropshire hills for a walk around Church Stretton... amazing... and amazing cycling too. Just saying... left the forum March 20230 -
As a NF resident I have noticed that the roads have become busier in the last couple of years. The only main road to contend with is the crossing at Rhinefield/Bolderwood or if you are doing a long forest loop via Beualieu you may have to negotiate the one way system in Lyndhurst.
Quietest part of forest is north of A35 up through Bolderwood (nice gentle climb with a little ramp at top).
I now tend to head out NW of Fordingbridge to get even quieter roads and some better hills which can be found if you get into the Chalke Valley. This is a truly outstandingly beautiful place and further west you have Shaftesbury (Gold Hill) and the great climbs of Wingreen and ZigZag Hill.Always be yourself, unless you can be Aaron Rodgers....Then always be Aaron Rodgers.0
