Impromptu tour of the West Country

Recently, I found had a free weekend to myself while Helen was away with Hayley in Dubai, so a brief tour away somewhere accessible I could reach over a day's ride would be ideal with the possibility of a night away to extend the return ride and make the most of it. My thoughts soon turned to North Devon and Somerset, an area I was unfamiliar with and I really fancied riding around the North Devon coast with a loop back through Exmoor taking in some of the best roads and sights along the way. After researching Ride magazine routes and consulting the Great British Motorcyle rides book I plotted a route down to finish up somewhere near Minehead. A quick search on the excellent Biker Guide website for a place to stay I booked up a stopover for one night in a place called Nether Stowey. 

 

On the road for 9.30 up and over Birdlip a short time later, the route took me straight through the centre of Bath, getting stuck in all sorts of traffic with the day warming up well as I headed toward Cheddar Gorge stopping to refuel and grab a sandwich and drink at a garage/supermarket and parked up to climb up one of the rocky outcrops to enjoy my meal. A good place to spot the birds and a few raptors flying overhead, and plenty of visitors hiking through the Gorge. The temperature now rising, with few sports bikes shooting through the twisties, I noticed the camber of the road didn't really suit a fast run through, so I decided on a more sedate pace to enjoy the wonderful scenery.

 

The route skirted around Wells and Glastonbury, and later in the afternoon after a few stops I found myself a little too early to arrive at the B&B so continued along the coastal road A39 to the little town of Dunster and stopped for afternoon tea in the shade to people watch for a while. I had parked next to a small scooter and watched with interest as the rider, a rather short stout fellow and his short stout wife prepared for the rest of their two up adventure after spending an age removing and replacing the seat to deposit shopping underneath. Quite amusing watching them wobble up the hill, and it left me wondering if this was part of their biking holiday, good luck to them if so, looked like a lot of fun.

 

I often remember a conversation with my Mum about my Grandad and how whenever he bought a new car in the 40's or 50's he had to test its power and worth with a trip to these parts to attempt the climb up the very steep Porlock Hill. My Mum recalled how pleased he was that his Austin Seven could outrun his friends car up the hill, and I've always been fascinated with this golden age of motoring, hardly any traffic, no motorways and the simple adventure of finding out if a seemingly impassable route might need a lengthy diversion. Anyway, suffice to say my GS had no problem, but Porlock Hill is steep long and twisty and well worth the ride up and over as it levels out to what looks like moorland with the sea appearing just over the crest. I found a lane, that took me down an off-road track and parked up overlooking the bay, removed my helmet and earplugs to enjoy the bright blue sea glistening in the sunshine. There was a bit of a wind up here so a good way to cool down too.

 

I tapped the post code of the B&B into my Navigator to lead me to the Old Cider House in the village of Nether Stowey, positioned at the foot of the Quantock Hills. I didn't want to ride along the A39 and the most direct route, I decided instead to skirt south via the Quantocks, and really glad I did, approaching my destination via a gnarly tree lined B road that opened out onto the Common, before dropping down into the really pleasant looking village. As I pulled up, I was greeted by Ian the owner who opened the secure gates to the yard at the back, ideal for bikes, and as I parked up noticed a R1250R parked nearby. I got chatting to one of the other guests, a regular, Roger with his wife Phoebe from Wem in Shropshire who had been coming for over 15 years. I was introduced to Lynne, Ian's other half and agreed to eat in with them. They offer a meal sitting at the same time a great chance to socialise with other guests. The room allocated 'Poets room' was excellent bright clean and ideal overlooking the yard and the garden at the rear, it turns out the Quantocks and Nether Stowey is part of the Coleridge Way, associated with the Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan 

A stately pleasure-dome decree: 

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran 

Through caverns measureless to man 

   Down to a sunless sea. 

These days having secure bike parking is essential, I had packed two disc locks, yet didn't feel the need to fit them to the bike since the security was so good at the Old Cider House. The meal was excellent, a Moroccan chicken dish with a kind of home made Mediterranean bread, all home cooked by Ian and Lynne. I got to meet a great couple Mark and Erica who were venturing out on tour for the first time with a ride down from their home town of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire on their new R1250R. They intend to do more touring, and Mark being a paraglide enthusiast had a few tales to tell, even Erica had been in the air too. The pair were heading off back up north in the morning with a few stops in Bath, Cheddar Gorge and Stratford then on to the Peaks. Great to meet  Roger and Phoebe too, Roger owns a dairy farm and a very active herdsman with many other interests that includes dancing, where Phoebe had decided to learn to dance quite late in life to partner Roger. The pair were quite an inspiration and very active walkers. They had come with their dog Rosie I think her name was, an elderly golden retriever who you wouldn't know was there, she was so well behaved. Ian and Lynne had just returned from an camper van tour of the USA that sounded amazing, and a few years ago had walked the 'Camino', to Santiago de Compostela the Pilgrims Way from the Pyrenees too. Having ridden along some of this route I have been intrigued by tales told by people who have done all or part of this walk, so great to hear their stories of people they met, the hardship  and comaraderie with others. 

Checkpoint stamps, to prove the Way of  St James (Camino) had been completed. 

After the very Full English Breakfast, we all said our 'fairwells' and I packed my bike ready to head off further West to explore some more. I had in mind a route I plotted out to visit Appledore via Porlock Hill again, then wind my way back over Exmoor. The original plan was to do a big loop in-land but I modified it to ride East via Barnstaple, Simonsbath and Wheddons Cross toward Taunton before picking up either the M5 or A38 North. As I arrive near Porlock I noticed a diversion off the main A39 to take a toll road that avoids the hill hugging the coastline with a tree lined narrow road that traversed its way up the hill. The scenery was just sublime overlooking the bay at Porlock Weir, thoroughly recommended and well worth the £1.50 motorcycle charge.

The actual route I took out to Appledore then across Exmoor

Download my Exmoor Loop File

  

Porlock Toll road off the A39

My next stop was the pretty seaside town of Lynmouth where I stopped for a look around and was almost tempted buy one of the spicy pasties on offer at the Cafe near where I parked the bike. I wasn't really hungry and considered buying one for later, but they just don't taste the same cold. Anyway, indigestion on the bike isn't a good thing so I decided against it and opted for a short walk around the estuary 'mouth' instead. Nice spot, I'd like to come back here again one day.

Lynmouth

 

The A39 as it headed into Devon toward Ilfracombe and Westward Ho! became a bit slow, congested and less scenic. I hadn't been in these parts since my days on Boys Brigade camp, can't say it looks how I remembered it as it was so long ago, but when I finally arrived at Appledore I was rewarded with a sunny bay and beach view where I parked up. The temperature was rising into the mid 20's now so I took cover in a friendly Cafe and ordered a nice slice of cake and cup of tea. Not long after, I started tracking back East, and was keen to get into the heart of Exmoor now. I plotted a route that took me toward Simonsbath, and on to Wheddon's Cross. 

Appledore

Initially, after Appledore I took the A39 again but soon turned off and to my surprise found myself near a little village called 'Brayford',the surname of my riding friend Mark who I couldn't resist stopping and getting a photo and sending him a picture of the signpost. The roads here were great as they rose up and down endless valleys with twists and turns rising up to reveal vast vistas of farmland and moorland. Eventually I came down this wonderful valley and stopped at the monument of Sir John William Fortiscue the famous historian and author whose family ancestors owned parts of the Exmoor estate. 

 

Fortiscue Monument

 

Late afternoon I found myself riding through the city of Taunton in traffic so decided not to stop and head up the M5 to by-pass Bristol. The intention being to get across the Severn Bridge to Chepstow and ride the Wye Valley up to Herefordshire then home. Unfortunately, I got stuck on the M5 so diverted off toward Weston Super Mare, and decided to head toward Clevedon and as fate would have it an enjoyable time waiting the rush hour out with an Ice Cream at the seafront. By now the late evening sun was burning so I sat on a bench messaging Hayley in Dubai and admiring her pictures she was sending me while admiring the view across the bay before moving on to Portishead. The run over the bridge was fun, but on the way to Tintern I was met with a diversion that at first I took as a disappointment, however the diversion route around Tintern to Monmouth was fantastic as the sun went down I found myself riding with another biker through Monmouthshire into the town. By now, all that was left was to find a decent Fish and Chip shop for a good fish supper to cap the trip off with. The one near the bridge and river was ideal so I sat on a bench to eat my tea before heading home via Hereford and Bromyard. 

Wonderful mini tour around the West Country, seen some new sights, great roads and made some new friends. Exmoor is definitely up there for scenery and I hope to stay at the Old Cider House again someday and enjoy another lap soon. 😄👍

East Midlands Rideout

Last Sunday was Father's Day, my two gave me some great reads, beer from Bewdley Brewery and another years subscription to Adventure Bike Rider. Can't wait to start the Pat Garrod book, and the long awaited Henry Cole biography too. I doubt the beer will last long though, thanks kids. 👍

So, for this Saturday, myself and Mark decided on a ride out East into Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, with a route back home via the south Cotswolds into Oxfordshire. Mark plotted a great route  on Basecamp, to include a trip through Stratford upon Avon with a stop for breakfast at Wellesbourne airfield where we met a nice chap riding a small home built cafe racer based on a Honda. I noticed the bike as we pulled up as it had 'Jonda' written on the chrome tank, obviously it turned out his name was Jon!

Brayf's  'Silverstone' route.

Download the Route Here

Later we took a ride out  Silverstone via Southam and on to Stowe stopping off at the huge National Trust property where we took a cheeky ride through the grounds, exiting on to the main road via a pedestrian gate before coming back through the Cotswolds and stopping for a shandy in the very picturesque village Kings Sutton just south of Banbury.

Our route back home picked up some great roads through Honeybourne and then Feckenham. Glorious sunshine today and wonderful scenery all the way. Great ride.

 

National Trust - Stowe

Kings Sutton

Rhigos Mountain and the Brecons

I fancied a ride out on Saturday, the weather looking promising but with my GS overdue a service I had to be careful I kept it within the extended 1000 mile limit to ensure I didn't void the warranty. Decided to go with Cotswold for this service, cheaper and seem to be sticking to the service schedule. I can't believe I've covered over 6500 miles since taking delivery last August, not bad considering I only get to ride at weekends, but I guess tours of the Alps last September and last months Northern Spain / Portugal account for most of those miles.

Anyway, summer is as good as here now, Mark was up for a ride too with Saturday looking the best option over this bank holiday weekend. We decided to head towards the Brecon Beacons and Mark suggested a ride up Rhigos Mountain in South Wales. 

 L

Nice little run down around the Malverns and Ledbury before heading out toward the Brecons. Mark is getting used to plotting routes on Basecamp now too, so few issues with the GPS's apart from one funny moment it was trying to skip the better road and take us on the A40. I was in front, and Mark saw me head off down the slip road, pulled up but luckily I realised the problem and did a naughty turn around the wrong way up the give way to join him. Never mind. We stopped for a large breakfast at the Steel Horse Cafe near Abergavenny, a popular bikers Cafe stop and the large breakfast with two of everything with a cuppa for £7 was just the job. Quite a few bikes pulled in including what I think is a Ural, and the Can-Am three wheelers. As we left to rejoin the route the car park was full with bikes.

Later, we took a great run out by the reservoir along a great twisty B road through Talybont on Usk, before heading up the Rhigos mountain road. Good fun, managed to get a lick on, with Mark on the Versys in front we had a bit of a play in both directions before stopping in Treorchy for a cuppa, and Mark a nice looking bowl of ice cream I missed out on.

On the way home we decided to go via the usual A470 valley road and refuel in Brecon, and then took that sublime road from Brecon to Builth (B4520) I'll just have to go back and ride that one again soon. A brief stop at Builth where to our amusement there was some kind of Harley/MC club event on with a band playing AC/DC covers before we heading home with Mark peeling off at Leominster and me taking the back road via Tenbury Wells. 😎👍

1925 BSA combination - single 557cc

Just back from a fantastic ride around Northern Spain and Portugal. Those Picos and National parks and the Douro valley are just sublime. What a well organised 8 day ride thanks to our leader Steve Freeman of Motorrad Tours, again, the routes we were given to ride whatever way we wished didn't disappoint. I would have spent hours searching for those roads, the way they link up with great accommodation, food and good company too. Take a look at the tour blog site, hopefully I'll put a few videos up soon too.

Anyway, back at work now, and being Mental Health Awareness week, the company invests in courses for us all  (I tried to tell them you never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrists, but they wouldn't listen! ) , so in the end I attended this well run valuable course where I was introduced to Paul one of our Design engineers who has inherited his Grandfathers 1925 BSA Combo....

 

Clearly as can be seen, all original and unrestored Paul's Grandad used the combo to run his business and has the original acetylene lights. His grandad kept all receipts for servicing evven petrol receipts too (reminds me of Lindsay who I reckon will leave a vintage V-Strom and a pile of spreadsheets!).

Anyway, to get the BSA road worthy again it needs a new starting crank cog, a relining of the petrol/oil tank, a magneto refurb, and possibly a carb refurb too as well as the obvious new tyres and inner tubes.

 

Paul has decided that a full restoration would ruin the character and heritage of his Grandfathers time with the bike and sidecar, and I have to say I agree. Sometimes restoration to concourse pristine condition is great to see how a machine came out of the factory but will lose the history embedded within the bike. I often think while pondering over a scratch or scuff on my own bikes each dent and paint chip can tell a story, so why erase those stories unless to motivate resale value? Since Paul intends to keep the BSA setup I do hope he gets it all fixed up and rideable, it would be great to see it on the road again. Thanks to Mick (a BSA owner himself) I passed on some advice and ideas for help with the work, but anyone else reading this who maybe able to help please get in touch, I will pass any information on to Paul.

Mountains : Picos and Asturias

All packed and ready for another adventure. Riding down to Portsmouth today to catch ferry to Santander. 

Meeting Steve en-route, and the rest of the group later. Few days off work at last ... Happy Days 😁. 

Latest blog for this one here.

 

St Georges Day and Easter Holiday Ride.

With this years Motorcycle Tour of Northern Spain finalised and coming up fast, where I'll be riding the wonderful Picos again in the Asturias region of Northern Spain before going down through the Douro Valley in Portugal, I decided to get some new rubber fitted to my GS. Now coming up 4500 miles since taking delivery of her last August, the Michelin Anakee III tyres have been good, but quite noisy and a stiffer ride than the 'Metzeler Tourance Next' I'm used to. The rear was starting to wear a flat spot and with so many twisty bends coming up I started looking at swapping back to the old faithful Metzelers, or maybe an alternative tyre instead. I considered the Michelin Road Pilot 5's (reports have the 4's a bit slippy in the wet so unsure about the later version), or the Bridgestone Battleaxe Adventure A41's. After gauging thoughts on Facebook groups I decided to go with the A41's this time, as they are slightly cheaper and getting good reviews with a good tread depth pattern ideal for a bit of loose-surface lanes, and now fitted as standard to the latest GS's coming out of the factory. Gary at Rybrook Motorrad organised a fitting on Saturday for me, so still time to scrub them in and see how they fair on a good ride out before the big trip. Being Easter and Bank Holiday I have the Tuesday off in lieu of working Good Friday so with the promise of quieter traffic, decided to wait until then to plot a route the night before to chase the Dragon in Wales on a bright and sunny St Georges day.     

 

Some months ago I had been watching the series 'Life on the Road with Brian Johnson'  where the AC/DC front man meets up with fellow 'rock gods' to discuss their lives in Rock bands on the road. The episode that caught my interest more for it's location was where Brian met Robert Plant(Led Zeppelin) on the old Victorian wooden bridge over the River Mawddach near Dolgellau at a place called Penmaenpool. I was intrigued not only by its idyllic river location and surrounding marsh land but also by the wooden toll bridge itself. It's not often we see these bridges these days, made up entirely of wooden struts in the usual ornate 'pier' like design favoured by the Victorians. The chosen route took me out via Ludlow, Knighton and on to Machynlleth before heading up to Dolgellau. I wanted to take the opportunity to test my Navigator VI too before visiting Spain as it's been in the draw since the Alps trip last September. I'm finding Basecamp the Garmin route planning software really easy to use these days too and prefer this now over a Google map on-line alternative, it's more accurate and configurable, but does take a while to get used to.  We had a late start 1.30 pm yet the route there was bang on perfect all the way with no directional hiccups at all. 

 

With a quick pit-stop off in Knighton and arrival at 3.30pm there was ample time to experience the serenity of this peaceful scenic location after paying the very worthy 50p Motorcycle toll fee (both ways). The usual Red Kite's were circling in the sky and people sat outside the George Hotel (St George?), really enjoyed looking out at the marsh land and spotting a few waders and Herons. Good to sit in the sun and and relax a bit while looking out across the bridge and river before plotting the inevitable a route home.

So far the new Bridgestone's seem fine, a slightly softer yet more comfortable and quieter ride than the Anakees since the side walls are less stiff. Gary mentioned that removing the Michelin's due to the stiff side walls needed two people on the tyre machine, and I now see what he means since you can really feel the softer  and slightly detached feel. That said, I am really pleased with how they turn in to bends, it will be interesting to see how they fair on the Picos Mountains and hopefully I'll get 6k+ out of them with a good wear profile.  

 

The route back via Welshpool then around Shrewsbury was not an ideal choice, but I haven't been this way for a while so it turned out to be a nice change. Took a slight detour after a fuel top-up at Morville to take the more interesting road to Kinlet and Button Oak, arriving home around 7.20 pm.

Most enjoyable afternoon run out to a great scenic location. 👍

Battleaxe A41's - scrubbed in now (a few bobbles on the edge to get rid of  😉)

Cold morning ride to Shobdon

Nice little ride today, quite cold though well down to 6 degrees as a I set off from home out toward Tenbury Wells. I really enjoy that run up through Clows Top. As I came past Little Hereford I came across temporary traffic lights and a convoy system, so I pulled up in front of the traffic at the side of a nice looking F 800 ST. I got chatting to it's owner, a friendly chap Andy from Bewdley while we waited in the queue, he was heading in the same direction it seems, toward Shobdon Aerodrome Cafe. Travelling together we arrived just before a large party of Motorcycle club members arrived so we managed to nip in the cafe while the club was parking up to place orders of two small breakfasts ahead of the rush.  

Andy was just recovering from the broken leg he endured just before Christmas while riding his trail bike in Wales and this was one of his first rides of the year. Sounds like he was having a lot of fun out riding the trails near 'break neck falls' - the waterfall I visited a couple of years ago. Apparently there are some legal trails out there through the forest,  and sadly he hit a rut and broken his ankle. Amazingly, he managed to ride the bike back to the van before heading to hospital later. Anyway, good to see he's out riding again. We both got chatting to a guy who was riding an original Norton Dominator wearing just a Brando style leather jacket and was thinking how cold he must be in classic biker gear.

During our breakfast myself and Andy exchanged phone numbers.  It turns out he is on the same ferry as me leaving Portsmouth to Santander Spain riding down the same day so we'll keep our eye out on the boat and maybe have a beer together. 

Later on, for a ride I decided to follow Andy who had a Ride Mag' route loaded on his Garmin for a quick loop around Presteigne - good ride, Andy and the ST was batting along quite nicely. Good mornings ride !