The original plan for the past week was to combine my Gravelton Gravel Weekender with a few days in the New Forest afterwards but that didn’t quite go to plan. I’d booked an AirBnB for a couple of nights in the Forest of Dean and in my mind, I was then off to the New Forest Sunday PM but a routine check of my booking made me realise I’d not booked anything for Sunday night! Twat!
It actually worked out ok though because I was only 80 mins from home and it allowed me to wash all my kit and clean my bikes before setting off just after lunch on Monday.
The weekend was quite hard physically. A couple of warm days over punchy terrain was quite draining so I decided to write Monday off as a travel day and a rest. I got there just before 4pm, settled in and was at a bit of a loose end for the evening so I decided to walk to the pub next door and play some darts and have some food.
The 100m walk there was pretty sketchy though. The amount of drivers unable to slow down and pass a pedestrian safely (no pavement) was staggering. Even when they slowed, they’d roll up to your feet waiting to pass before flicking out at the last second giving you a stare that suggested I was doing something wrong. Very often drivers were so close I could touch them and when I complained to one he passed and immediately drove into the verge. LOL. Next time, I think I’ll take a golf club and hold it out 1.5m.
Despite the shit walk to the pub it was really nice. Great staff, good food and a decent dartboard which I monopolised while I was there. £6.40 for a pint of Guinness and £5.80 for a pint of Tribute though. Ouch.
Tuesday
The next day I was craving a road ride. I’d planned a 50 mile loop the previous night so after getting up and doing breakfast I left just before 11am and set off into the Forest which was only a few mins ride from where I was staying.
You know when you’re in the heart of the forest. Depsite obvious signs and cattle grids, the roads, the heathland and the ponies are a give away. It’s pretty flat too with nothing steep or too long to bother you. It was a bit windy in places but at times I didn’t see anyone else for big chunks of time.
My route headed out NW and looped around clockwise down past the Beaulieu estate, famous for it’s car museum, then I headed west back to base in nice quiet lanes. The road surfaces were ok on the whole and no dickhead drivers either. It felt like I had most of it to myself.
I was out for less than 3hrs but it felt longer and I was quite tired once I got back. I got showered, had some lunch and rested for a bit before tackling the death walk again to the pub and played some darts and had some tea.
I got back quite early and watched some football while plotting a gravel route for Wednesday.
Wednesday
Today, I’d planned a nice 65km gravel route. I’d heard good things about the New Forest trails but had zero idea where to go so took some inspiration from a friend who’d sent me a couple of routes and tried to keep it simple. The forest is quite vast and difficult to cover it all in a day so I decided to try and cover as much of the designated trails as I could locally to me which turned out to be a win!
There are a lot of trails, all signposted and quiet too .The surfaces are great. Riding there feels like a cross between the Forest of Dean on Cotswolds Gravel. It’s excellent. Even if you go a bit off-piste onto uncategorised trails, across the heathland there it’s great. A Beautiful place. At times, I felt like I could be in Scotland or Canada the trees were so big.
I was back again in under 3hours which was enough as it was a warm day after the early low-cloud and mist had burned off.
England were playing their first World cup match tonight and I was torn whether to watch it down the pub. There were a couple of TV’s there but space around them and the bar was pretty limited so I decided to buy some beers myself and have a chippy tea and watch the game on my own.
Thursday
It had a occurred to me that I hadn’t been to the coast yet despite staying so close so todays ride would take me there. I’d plotted a 50 km ride in a kind of figure-of-8 loop which took me offroad, in parts, but this was really about exploring and taking my time.
I left just after 10am and headed straight for Milford-on-Sea and the coast. It wasn’t long before I was off course follwing the route the wrong way where they crossed before I realised and had to back-track.
In Milford I tracked the coastal path which on paper is a footpath but signs there do refer to cyclists riding with care etc so it was fine. It was a misty day but quite humid. The path tracked around the edge of a nature reserve on a gravel path atop and man-made sea wall. With views over to the Isle of Wight is was great but riding through plumes of midges made it a bit uncomfortable at times as you felt you couldn’t breathe in there were so many.
I rode through Lymington as the ferry to the IoW set off and then ended up on a bridleway that tracked the estuary. All singletrack but some really deep, unrideable mud made things interesting. It was the lanes again back to the coast crossing my original route and picking up the coastal path west on the outskirts of Milford-on-Sea again.
Here the path tracked very close to the cliffs with some worrying erosion in places that I’m sure at some point will encroach on the path and make it dangerous. The mist was still pretty heavy so I couldn’t see much.
My route skirted the outskirts of New Milton and headed back on a couple of trails and byways until I reached Bashley Holiday Park where I used to come as a child back in the late 70’s, early 80’s. I decided to pop in and have a look for nostalgia purposes. I recognised the entrance and that was about it. I did ride round one of the caravan park access roads where I’m sure my family had a van but it had all changed and I left not massively keen on staying there either tbh.
I got back quite early and as it was my last afternoon there I spent a bit of extra time in the pub for some beers, food and darts again beore heading back and packing up some of my stuff. I fell asleep watching the football which was a sign the week was catching up with me. I had thought of ridinga short one early doors on Friday but that idea got canned.
Friday
I was awake quite early again due to the road noise so I decided to pack up and head back. I left about 8.30am and I was back home about 11.15am
Holiday done and dusted
My first impressions of the New Forest are good. A vast place to explore both on and offroad with plenty of stuff to do if your not cycling too.
I wasn’t impressd with the driving down there but there were enough quiet lanes and trails away from traffic and people that make me want to come back and do some more. I think someting in a group could be fun.
Where do I go next?