Cycling Holiday
Discussion
Hi guys (and gals)
I'm looking for some advice. I know you generally 'gas' about cars but pretty sure you do bikes too...
My husband and I are getting back into cycling and are looking to do a weekend cycling holiday sometime during the school holidays.
We ideally are looking for a cottage somewhere for a weekend that we can use as a base (i.e. we're not looking for a cycle route that starts in one place and ends up somewhere else), and to do 2 long cycle rides (different routes) on the Saturday and Sunday.
We're not the fittest of people so are looking for fairly easy routes - maybe a bit of uphill and downhill - with lots of beautiful scenery. But would like each route to be lengthy enough to fill most of the day.
We're not particularly bothered where the cycling is, although we live in Milton Keynes so wouldn't really want to trek all the way to Scotland/Cornwall as we would rather spend the time cycling than stuck in a car trying to get there!
Please let me know your thoughts - really looking forward to hearing where you guys have been and any routes/cottages you would recommend.
Thanx. Charl.
I'm looking for some advice. I know you generally 'gas' about cars but pretty sure you do bikes too...
My husband and I are getting back into cycling and are looking to do a weekend cycling holiday sometime during the school holidays.
We ideally are looking for a cottage somewhere for a weekend that we can use as a base (i.e. we're not looking for a cycle route that starts in one place and ends up somewhere else), and to do 2 long cycle rides (different routes) on the Saturday and Sunday.
We're not the fittest of people so are looking for fairly easy routes - maybe a bit of uphill and downhill - with lots of beautiful scenery. But would like each route to be lengthy enough to fill most of the day.
We're not particularly bothered where the cycling is, although we live in Milton Keynes so wouldn't really want to trek all the way to Scotland/Cornwall as we would rather spend the time cycling than stuck in a car trying to get there!
Please let me know your thoughts - really looking forward to hearing where you guys have been and any routes/cottages you would recommend.
Thanx. Charl.
I went to The New Forest recently for a few days, I took my road bike and there were many pretty country lanes to belt around and if you've got a mountain bike or hybrid there's loads of tracks too. Hotels, B&B's and pubs are plentiful, lots of wild horses, donkeys and other animals roaming about and for the PistonHead in you there are lots of interesting cars to be looked at.
Look at Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Beaulieu and Lymington. You can get the ferry from Lymington to the Isle of Wight too for a day out. The weather always seems that little bit better there too!
Look at Lyndhurst, Brockenhurst, Beaulieu and Lymington. You can get the ferry from Lymington to the Isle of Wight too for a day out. The weather always seems that little bit better there too!
The New Forest is great - I'll send you some routes I have plotted on the Garmin website. Flat, senic, plenty of places to refil with energy (tea room in Beaulieu behind the classic car garage is fantastic 
)
I'm on the border to the New Forest at the moment and it's a little damp I'm afraid. You'll also need insect repellent for the mosquitoes
I went to North Wales for my cycling holiday this year - Two weeks later and I'm still in pain! Wasn't far off 50mph on some of the downs though
) I'm on the border to the New Forest at the moment and it's a little damp I'm afraid. You'll also need insect repellent for the mosquitoes
I went to North Wales for my cycling holiday this year - Two weeks later and I'm still in pain! Wasn't far off 50mph on some of the downs though
Edited by BeirutTaxi on Monday 24th June 12:28
Some good routes mapped on these folks' site too http://www.newforestcyclehire.co.uk/
Doesn't matter where you stay in the NF - it's not so big that you can't get around it, even if you're slow it's only a couple of hours from one side to the other really.
Burley itself is a bit small (and in a steepish valley), I'd stay in Brockenhurst due to availability of pubs etc.
Doesn't matter where you stay in the NF - it's not so big that you can't get around it, even if you're slow it's only a couple of hours from one side to the other really.
Burley itself is a bit small (and in a steepish valley), I'd stay in Brockenhurst due to availability of pubs etc.
BeirutTaxi said:
The New Forest is great - I'll send you some routes I have plotted on the Garmin website. Flat, senic, plenty of places to refil with energy (tea room in Beaulieu behind the classic car garage is fantastic )
I'm on the border to the New Forest at the moment and it's a little damp I'm afraid. You'll also need insect repellent for the mosquitoes
I went to North Wales for my cycling holiday this year - Two weeks later and I'm still in pain! Wasn't far off 50mph on some of the downs though
Is this the classic car place you are referring to? http://www.beaulieu.co.uk/beaulieu-events/museum-t... ) I'm on the border to the New Forest at the moment and it's a little damp I'm afraid. You'll also need insect repellent for the mosquitoes
I went to North Wales for my cycling holiday this year - Two weeks later and I'm still in pain! Wasn't far off 50mph on some of the downs though
Edited by BeirutTaxi on Monday 24th June 12:28
or did you mean 'just' a garage. Hubby loves anything car related so would welcome your thoughts on the museum or any other recommendations.
Gizmoish said:
I assume he meant here http://www.beaulieugarage.co.uk/
Probably this place. Yards from the National Motor Museum, and usually a nice selection in stock.I always regret not buying a beautiful pale blue Sunbeam Alpine there back in the '90s. I could have afforded it back then, but we were being all boring and sensible, having kids and saving a deposit to buy our own home.
Back to the New Forest. Beautiful place, but some of the 'yokels' have a bit of an ugly attitude to cyclists. The whole place is much nicer after 'wet' years, as when we have had prolonged dry periods, a lot of the 'pretty bits' like fords, rivers and streams tend to disappear or become a series of muddy puddles. If you are cycling in the Forest, try to keep away from the busy 'through routes' and look for the less well travelled lanes. They look nicer, and are quieter. It's also a fascinating treasure trove of wartime sites, with many traces of airfields still identifiable. You'll already know of the National Motor museum, but this place http://www.newforestcentre.org.uk/new-forest-museu... in Lyndhurst is well worth a visit too. Not an all day sort of place, it might be worth biking there, spend a couple of hours, stuff your face with a cream tea or an ice cream, then bike back to base. Meridien Modena, the local Ferrari dealer are also in the town, and usually have something of interest either in the showroom or in the yard out back.
So the question is - what to do?
We're only there 2 nights so can't fit in everything unfortunately - I'm thinking a short cycle ride in the evening of the day we get there, a full day of cycling the next day (suggestions welcome) and then probably the car museum on the final day. Should I try to fit in a quick drop by at the ferrari garage to?
Has anyone been to the car museum? Is it worth the £20 entry?
We're only there 2 nights so can't fit in everything unfortunately - I'm thinking a short cycle ride in the evening of the day we get there, a full day of cycling the next day (suggestions welcome) and then probably the car museum on the final day. Should I try to fit in a quick drop by at the ferrari garage to?
Has anyone been to the car museum? Is it worth the £20 entry?
yellowjack said:
It's also a fascinating treasure trove of wartime sites, with many traces of airfields still identifiable. You'll already know of the National Motor museum, but this place http://www.newforestcentre.org.uk/new-forest-museu... in Lyndhurst is well worth a visit too. Not an all day sort of place, it might be worth biking there, spend a couple of hours, stuff your face with a cream tea or an ice cream, then bike back to base. Meridien Modena, the local Ferrari dealer are also in the town, and usually have something of interest either in the showroom or in the yard out back.
Can you tell me a bit more about these airfields? Hubby is a bit of a 'spotter' and would probably love anything involving planes/history. Would be good to know where they are so we could plan them into a cycle route.Charl79 said:
So the question is - what to do?
We're only there 2 nights so can't fit in everything unfortunately - I'm thinking a short cycle ride in the evening of the day we get there, a full day of cycling the next day (suggestions welcome) and then probably the car museum on the final day. Should I try to fit in a quick drop by at the ferrari garage to?
Has anyone been to the car museum? Is it worth the £20 entry?
Has anyone *not* been to Beaulieu?We're only there 2 nights so can't fit in everything unfortunately - I'm thinking a short cycle ride in the evening of the day we get there, a full day of cycling the next day (suggestions welcome) and then probably the car museum on the final day. Should I try to fit in a quick drop by at the ferrari garage to?
Has anyone been to the car museum? Is it worth the £20 entry?
And yes, have a wander around Meridien. Always walk round to the back too - interesting things live in the garage.
Charl79 said:
Can you tell me a bit more about these airfields? Hubby is a bit of a 'spotter' and would probably love anything involving planes/history. Would be good to know where they are so we could plan them into a cycle route.
Good list here... http://www.newforestmilitaryarchive.org.uk/Site/Ai... ...to start your 'research'. If you were willing to camp, you could stay on the former RAF Stony Cross, it's now a camp site, but you'd need VERY hard ground pegs Some more stuff here... http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/newforestguide/History/... ...and here... http://www.new-forest-national-park.com/new-forest...
I had a book with a lot of aviation history in Dorset in the content, but my Brother-in-Law currently has that, I think.
Start Googling the names of the individual sites too, and you'll get a heap of info. Sometimes too much, really, but you'll soon get the hang of filtering to get the good bits. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=raf+stoney+cross... to get you started.
There were about a dozen aviation sites across the New Forest area during WWII, split between permanent Airfields, temporary operating bases (for D-Day until they got bases started in France) and Flying Boat bases on the coast. Lots of aircraft were lost over the area, either from enemy action, collision with other aircraft in the congested skies, or training accidents. Lots of Army activity too, with preparations for D-Day. Troops and equipment hidden away in the Forest away from prying eyes prior to embarkation. If you go to the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, I believe they have an exhibition about the use of the house and estate by the SOE, and the use of the nearby RAF Beaulieu to carry out the night time insertion of SOE Agents into occupied France.
Have fun!!
How about stopping at the Royal Oak in Hurdlow (great food) in the Peak district?
Saturday, cross country to Hartington, then a few more miles to the Manifold trail to Waterhouses, across country once again through the lanes to Ashbourne before heading back up the Tissington Trail to Hurdlow.
Sunday, An easy ride along the High Peak trail and down to a circuit of Carsington Water then back up to the High Peak trail and return to the pub.
Saturday, cross country to Hartington, then a few more miles to the Manifold trail to Waterhouses, across country once again through the lanes to Ashbourne before heading back up the Tissington Trail to Hurdlow.
Sunday, An easy ride along the High Peak trail and down to a circuit of Carsington Water then back up to the High Peak trail and return to the pub.
S10GTA said:
I live in Hythe, about a 10 min ride from Beaulieu, and cycle all over the forest. What do you want to know? 
I am coming to the new forest for a couple of days cycling. Think I now know where I want to go so would be great if you could help me plan some routes. Probably once I get there, my husband can plan two short routes to do the evening of check in and the morning of checkout, but I'd like to have planned the route to do on the main day we are there.We're staying in just outside Burley and I plan for us to spend most of the day cycling. We're not pros or anything so looking for something that is on the whole rather flat, a few ups and downs, lots of great things to look at and nice places to stop - we will probably have a picnic lunch so somewhere nice to stop for that and perhaps a pub or a tearoom later on for a drink.
I'd also like the route to incorporate the ferrari place so that we can have a quick look round there and the airfields that are mentioned in the post above.
We literally have to whole day to cycle - I'd say we'd be looking at setting out about 10 and returning early evening so I imagine its feasible to cover most places?
Following on from my earlier post, here are the googlemaps links for three of the biggest and most obvious airfield sites (and Ibsley, which is slightly less obvious these days )...
http://goo.gl/maps/82DuA RAF Beaulieu; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/ofwqX
http://goo.gl/maps/QAXCu RAF Holmsley South; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/I05Jf
http://goo.gl/maps/dCPSg RAF Stoney Cross (where a runway and part of the perimeter track now form public roads); directions: http://goo.gl/maps/8MIix
http://goo.gl/maps/Eyyo3 RAF Ibsley; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/e3G5x - the control tower and some other structures survive here, but the airfield itself has almost completely disappeared, dug out for gravel extraction in the 1970s http://www.rafibsley.co.uk/index.html
Here's a 'history of' page from the "Friends of New Forest Airfields" site: http://www.winkton.net/fonfa%20pages/THE%20AIRFIEL... (Scroll to the bottom for links to the rest of their site)
As far as setting out a specific route goes, you'd be best doing that yourself, or getting more 'local' advice on which are the best cycling roads, and which of the main 'transit' routes to avoid. I only really know the Forest by car, as my wife had family in the area when we first married.
)...http://goo.gl/maps/82DuA RAF Beaulieu; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/ofwqX
http://goo.gl/maps/QAXCu RAF Holmsley South; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/I05Jf
http://goo.gl/maps/dCPSg RAF Stoney Cross (where a runway and part of the perimeter track now form public roads); directions: http://goo.gl/maps/8MIix
http://goo.gl/maps/Eyyo3 RAF Ibsley; directions: http://goo.gl/maps/e3G5x - the control tower and some other structures survive here, but the airfield itself has almost completely disappeared, dug out for gravel extraction in the 1970s http://www.rafibsley.co.uk/index.html
Here's a 'history of' page from the "Friends of New Forest Airfields" site: http://www.winkton.net/fonfa%20pages/THE%20AIRFIEL... (Scroll to the bottom for links to the rest of their site)
As far as setting out a specific route goes, you'd be best doing that yourself, or getting more 'local' advice on which are the best cycling roads, and which of the main 'transit' routes to avoid. I only really know the Forest by car, as my wife had family in the area when we first married.
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 4th July 09:24
Panclan said:
How about stopping at the Royal Oak in Hurdlow (great food) in the Peak district?
Saturday, cross country to Hartington, then a few more miles to the Manifold trail to Waterhouses, across country once again through the lanes to Ashbourne before heading back up the Tissington Trail to Hurdlow.
Sunday, An easy ride along the High Peak trail and down to a circuit of Carsington Water then back up to the High Peak trail and return to the pub.
^^This. Great fun and all nice and (nearly) flat.Saturday, cross country to Hartington, then a few more miles to the Manifold trail to Waterhouses, across country once again through the lanes to Ashbourne before heading back up the Tissington Trail to Hurdlow.
Sunday, An easy ride along the High Peak trail and down to a circuit of Carsington Water then back up to the High Peak trail and return to the pub.
One or two ups where you might be pushing but it's still excersise.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff