Hampshire - South West

eternal_headwind

Hello All. Two years ago I spent a couple of days riding the South Coast. The IoW was lovely but I felt the section Poole>Lymington was a nightmare of traffic and traffic lights. Traffic lights in particular. I am thinking of going back next year but doing want the traffic. I am looking for suggestions 40-70 miles in length based around the Lymington area. I am a roadie, a bit of gravel is ok but no knobby tire stuff.

shirley_basso

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40923655

Here you go for a safe route to copy. Make sure you avoid the A337.

If you want to make a loop, you can join up from Brockenhurst to Beaulieu via the B3055 which is a nice road - more fun going East to West as slightly downhill.

B3054 is also fine traffic wise, but surface is horrible (has narrow, horizonatal ruts every 100m or so which drive me insane).

The road that runs from Bolderwood down to Rhinefield house is also quite fun if you can incorporate it.

daniel_b

Missed that you were looking for a circular route, I read it as you wanted a route from Poole to Lymington again

@shirley_basso has probably covered it all anyway, but here is one that starts and finishes in Ringwood, but if you ignore that it is a 100km/60 mile loop.

https://strava.com/routes/2730475597803218852

There is a WALL between Blissford and Frogham, which I notice sb's route navigates around!
I do recall it being covered in gravel and general censored at the bottom of the hill, when you are trying to carry as much speed as you dare from the proceeding downhill, so perhaps better to skirt around it.

It's been a couple of years since I rode it, but I recall it being a very nice route, not too busy either, though it was a Sunday morning we rode it.

Here are two longer variants too (Neither of which I have ridden):
https://strava.com/routes/2730471350009016570

https://strava.com/routes/2730465141559249146

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Some riders love The New Forest, but I've ridden there less than a handful of times while living in Southampton for a few decades now.

Since I got the riding mojo six years ago, getting there from east of the city centre is pretty hostile and unpleasant, when I can head ~3 miles north through to east and reach quiet rural lanes on the edge of the South Downs rolling hill lanes.

shirley_basso

My mum lives in Burley so I've ridden there a bit since I took up cycling. I am sadly inclined to agree with Ugo, in that it's not the most exciting place on earth, but it's also not bad. If you time it right, it's mostly quiet, flattish rolling roads with some nice countryside scenery. The lake district it is not.

eternal_headwind

Thank you all for your suggestions. I really appreciate them. My memory of that bit of south coast is that there were some lovely villages and rolling scenery obscured by heavy traffic. I can't help but believe the local residents (and not just cyclists) deserve better