DORSET!

[BIG BILL]

Hi all,

The wife and l think we will leave Europe for 2021 for at least a year to see how things pan out, Brexit and Covid -19.
So' we have always fancied Dorset area and plan to do about 10-14 days, we would like a base camp (caravan/cabin or the like for 7 nights) and daily runs around the Dorset area (must do Laurence of Arabia's house) it's on my to do list.
Our obligatory Scotland trip's are pretty much planned.
We will be riding down from Northumberland and staying one or two nights on route down.

Any recommendations for lodgings and good roads please.
TIA,

WillyB

[Born2Ride]

This place is run by a good friend of mine - lovely setting well placed for getting around Dorset

http://www.nottonhillbarncottages.co.uk/

Not entirely on route but the roads around Cheddar are very enjoyable.

Ian

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Road bike?

Do what I used to think of as the Shaftesbury TT...a circuit between Blandford (Blandford Forum if you are posh, but "There b'aint vour ov 'em, me zun.") and Shaftesbury.

Take the A350 north out of Blandford and through Iwerne Minster to Shaftesbury.

The return leg is more difficult to find...take the A30 east out of Shaftesbury, then turn right onto the B3081.

Take the second or third turning on the right (doesn't matter which) to Melbury Abbas then had south on the unclassified road passing Compton Abbas Airfield (itself well-worth a visit...you might spot a well-heeled fugitive from justice saying goodbye for ever to the UK as it's a well-known jumping off point for those who suddenly need to be anywhere but here).

You just head south on a long road through the countryside running east of the A350, and then find yourself back in Blandford.

For a bit of top fun, stay on the B3081, go through Cann Common and attack Zig-Zag Hill, Dorset's only Alpine pass! You then find yourself in the very pretty Cranbourne Chase.

Watch out at all times for slow-moving farm machinery...quite a lot of which belongs to my brother.

The whole area is littered with amazing geology and historic remains.

There are also the famous Salisbury -Shaftesbury Drove Roads, if you fancy a break from tarmac.

Best time to go is before the school holidays. Assuming no covid, the worst time to go is late August - early Sept...the time of the Great Dorset Steam Fair...no hotel beds, no camping pitches, horribly busy roads and the added excitement of a certain rural ethnic group taking anything that's not nailed down.

If you fancy the coast, stay away from the 'big name' beaches, unless you like crowds. The exception to that is Durdle Door, if you are a helicopter or ambulance enthusiast...there's always some numpty who thinks it's a bright idea to jump off the Door, and recovering the dead and wounded is a regular task for the emergency services.

You can tie in the Clouds Hill visit with the Tank Museum if that's the kind of thing you like. There are other military museums fairly close Army Aviation at Middle Wallop, Fleet Air Arm at Yeovilton, and there's the rather more peaceful Haynes Museum in Sparkford (none actually Dorset, but near enough). There's a more girly American Museum in Bath, which your wife may prefer.

Basic rule. The further west you go, the more rural it gets. Poole, Bournemouth, Wimborne, Ferndown is now just a big urban sprawl. The 'old Dorset' I remember from my childhood is now only to be seen west of Dorchester.

Dorchester Museum is good, and Maiden Castle (scene of an epic battle between the Romans and the Britons) is worth a visit too. There are also interesting earthworks etc at Child Okeford (Hod and Hambledon Hills), and Bradbury Rings, and the very spooky indeed Knowlton Church is near Bradbury Rings off the B3078 to Cranborne village (built inside an old earthworks, the devil is reputed to have stolen the bells and thrown them in the river Allen). It is regarded by some as a portal between this world and another, and people leave messages to the dead departed there. When we were teenagers, the girl who was to become my wife visited the church while on a bike ride. She had a camera with her, and took pictures throughout the ride. Her dad helped her develop the film, and while the rest of it was fine, the frames she exposed at the church were blank. Make of that what you will.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

I forgot the Royal Signals Museum at Blandford Camp...being 'signals' there is some motorcycle stuff there. Blandford Camp also has a connection with motorcycle racing...in the post-war era there was a road-race circuit there .

In 1950, a young lad by the name of Geoff Duke gave the then-new Norton Dominator twin complete with Featherbed frame its first victory there.

[catcitrus]

I have an "estate" Bible from Iwerne Minster --its massive--inherited from my mother who grew up there. I agree --my plan is to see a lot more of the UK rather than trek around Europe. I intend to spend a few weeks away, a week or so at a time , and go where my nose leads me--camping of course.

[Elmer J Fudd]

Used to be down in the area a lot in my competitive shooting days at Southern Counties (now closed for big competitions) however the caravan park is still there (Clay pigeon caravan park) they have decent facilities and some cabins. Halfway between Yeovil and Dorchester.

Handy for Cerne Abbas Giant and Yeovil tank museum, lots of badgers about too; Oh and a few of the pubs have skittle alleys at the back. Once stayed in a pub in Cattistock called Fox and Hounds, which had one, great fun.

A nice run down to Portland Bill Lighthouse, but that about it on runs from me, as I was always in the tin box when down.

[BIG BILL]

Road bike?

Do what I used to think of as the Shaftesbury TT...a circuit between Blandford (Blandford Forum if you are posh, but "There b'aint vour ov 'em, me zun.") and Shaftesbury.

Take the A350 north out of Blandford and through Iwerne Minster to Shaftesbury.

The return leg is more difficult to find...take the A30 east out of Shaftesbury, then turn right onto the B3081.

Take the second or third turning on the right (doesn't matter which) to Melbury Abbas then had south on the unclassified road passing Compton Abbas Airfield (itself well-worth a visit...you might spot a well-heeled fugitive from justice saying goodbye for ever to the UK as it's a well-known jumping off point for those who suddenly need to be anywhere but here).

You just head south on a long road through the countryside running east of the A350, and then find yourself back in Blandford.

For a bit of top fun, stay on the B3081, go through Cann Common and attack Zig-Zag Hill, Dorset's only Alpine pass! You then find yourself in the very pretty Cranbourne Chase.

Watch out at all times for slow-moving farm machinery...quite a lot of which belongs to my brother.

The whole area is littered with amazing geology and historic remains.

There are also the famous Salisbury -Shaftesbury Drove Roads, if you fancy a break from tarmac.

Best time to go is before the school holidays. Assuming no covid, the worst time to go is late August - early Sept...the time of the Great Dorset Steam Fair...no hotel beds, no camping pitches, horribly busy roads and the added excitement of a certain rural ethnic group taking anything that's not nailed down.

If you fancy the coast, stay away from the 'big name' beaches, unless you like crowds. The exception to that is Durdle Door, if you are a helicopter or ambulance enthusiast...there's always some numpty who thinks it's a bright idea to jump off the Door, and recovering the dead and wounded is a regular task for the emergency services.

You can tie in the Clouds Hill visit with the Tank Museum if that's the kind of thing you like. There are other military museums fairly close Army Aviation at Middle Wallop, Fleet Air Arm at Yeovilton, and there's the rather more peaceful Haynes Museum in Sparkford (none actually Dorset, but near enough). There's a more girly American Museum in Bath, which your wife may prefer.

Basic rule. The further west you go, the more rural it gets. Poole, Bournemouth, Wimborne, Ferndown is now just a big urban sprawl. The 'old Dorset' I remember from my childhood is now only to be seen west of Dorchester.

Dorchester Museum is good, and Maiden Castle (scene of an epic battle between the Romans and the Britons) is worth a visit too. There are also interesting earthworks etc at Child Okeford (Hod and Hambledon Hills), and Bradbury Rings, and the very spooky indeed Knowlton Church is near Bradbury Rings off the B3078 to Cranborne village (built inside an old earthworks, the devil is reputed to have stolen the bells and thrown them in the river Allen). It is regarded by some as a portal between this world and another, and people leave messages to the dead departed there. When we were teenagers, the girl who was to become my wife visited the church while on a bike ride. She had a camera with her, and took pictures throughout the ride. Her dad helped her develop the film, and while the rest of it was fine, the frames she exposed at the church were blank. Make of that what you will.

Thanks for all the replies.
It will be all road riding as the Miss'us would kill me R1200GS
I will print all these off for reference and check the digs.


Thanks again BB