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I'm staying in Witchampton for a week soon. There are loads of bridleways in that area. Moors Country Park has a 4 mile loop too. Does anyone have any gpx files for rides around 20 to 30 miles? I can map some routes myself of course but local knowledge is very welcome.
I did start a ride in Witchampton, the woods consisted of double track and would suspect privately owned. The airfield at Turrant Rushton is an experience, last used in WW2 and you can ride around the perimeter. There's also a memorial. Badbury Rings is close by and Ackling Dyke, a Roman road, leads to it.
Edit: yes, there is a loop in Moors Park but it's easy single track. Very expensive to park, local roads can be used instead.
Disused railway track from Blandford to Sturminster Newton, cafe at disused station of Shillingstone. Haven't been to Blandford Forest but it certainly has gradient.
Thanks CG. Plenty to go on there. Would you say in general the bridleways are pretty open and easy to follow in that area?
I struggled with navigation due to missing signs, unmaintained RoW where I had to fight my way through. To be fair the area was new to me and I sort of followed a route from a book. The airfield is definitely worth a visit, it's high up so good views with, bizarrely, a farm in the middle of it!
Just to add that there's another route from the same book that I really enjoyed. It started from Shroton, on the A350 just N of Blandford and had some lovely trails through the woods. Only 12 miles but easy to navigate.
I think in general the bridleways and paths link up pretty well. I use Bing maps to plot routes in the area as you can use OS overlay. The issue at the moment (like everywhere I guess) is that lots of it is overgrown, so wear long socks and gloves.
South of Witchampton the Castleman Trailway runs south west and east - see tomthumb's posts on [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/hampshire-riding/page/46 ]this thread[/url].
North of you there is an East-West bridleway called the Ox Drove along the southern ridge of the Ebble Valley (as well as one along the northern ridge). So far I have only explored the very beginning of the eastern end of that bridleway. Even with my poor bike handling skills, that short section was doable on my Tripster, but a bit deeply rutted in places and I would not want to do it unless the ground was dry. It looks like you could get to it via the Roman road that leads northwards from Witchampton. If you give it a go, please report back and let me know what the path is like.
Oh, and if you want an excuse for a short pootle, you could visit the [url= http://famoushedgehogbakery.co.uk/index.php ]Famous Hedgehog Bakery[/url] in Long Crichel and buy a loaf, tart or cake.
Caaaaaaake! :0)
From memory the views from the Ox Drove are better than those from Shaston Drove which runs parallel.
If we're crossing the border may I thoroughly recommend an explore of Bokerley Dyke:
http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=4647
A lot of riding around North Dorset, a bit further West is Hod Hill, Hambledon Hill, Okeford Hill and Bulbarrow Hill. Plenty of links from Witchampton Way to make a long route, the bridleways are a bit overgrown especially the less used ones, after this rain the stingers are going to be pretty powerful!
The Purbecks are only about 30 mins away by car and worth a ride if the weather is good, plenty of routes around if you have a search.
Quite a few doubletrack bridleways in east Dorset that link with the castleman trail and the fire roads through moors valley and the wider FC woods. Good cross/ gravel bike territory. Use an os map at 1:25k on bing or something to get a route mapped. Might have to link with some tarmac sections.
Also if you haven't been, the new forest is good value to explore on a cross bike. Plenty of things to see but no challenging riding that a gravel/ cross bike won't handle.