Cheddar Gorge and the Mendips 2018
August 10-11th 2018
Day 1 - Bristol to Wedmore (via Cheddar Gorge)
54 miles, 1700 ft climbing
We left Bristol in some welcome sunshine, dodging the traffic whilst simultaneously climbing a little out of the valley of the Avon. A fairly flat section of countryside ensued, and we made good time getting over towards Chew Valley Lake, which offered great views and a lot of bird life to look at too.
Going onwards from the lake we were officially in the Mendips AONB, with Harptree Hill taking us to the top of the Mendips, where they form a sort of plateau. Noting a few familiar spots here, we pressed on to the gorge, enjoying its meandering turns through the sunset, oggling some intrepid climbers along the way! I did take a stop to enjoy the view - not so much planned, but my Garmin 1000 decided to fly off my bike halfway down the descent and I had to sprint back up to fetch it, thankfully before it had been run over! Phew.
As part of my LEJOG trip I had done this Cheddar Gorge section in reverse, - the climb up is somewhat steeper heading SW and I was carrying more (both on the bike and in baby form). However, the variety was good, and the gorge was enjoyed in a much different way when I wasn't puffing my way up it.
Once out of the gorge, we picked up some supplies in the town of Cheddar itself, then pedalled on through the rather flatter terrain to our campsite at Wedmore, which, for all the flat terrain, had enough elevation to offer us some impressive views in the dusk.
Day 2 - Wedmore to Tiverton
48 miles, 2200 ft climbing
We made a good start through what remained for a fair way fairly flat and almost fen-like scenery. Ahead of us we could see the Blackdown Hills, whilst we ourselves were cycling through intriguingly named places such as North Curry and Burrow Mump. The latter was a ruin of a church on a hill, where the baked goods we had acquired earlier were duly consumed.
Once we hit the hills we ascended quite a challenging but thankfully sheltered climb through the woods making very good time towards our endpoint in Tiverton. As this was the case, we decided to leave the bikes for a while and change dynamic with a stroll through the moor overlooking Wellington, which was made more enjoyable by the abundance of blackberries found. A picnic was also had at this point, with views across towards the Quantock hills and the Bristol Channel.
Back on the bikes we headed further SW towards Tiverton via Culmstock. Here, we stopped for cake and hot hot drink, knowing we had just a few miles to go. On setting off however, I discovered that my Garmin had sent us along a footpath rather than road, and not a particularly passable one either. Definitley not what I had wanted to discover with an imminent train to catch... Thankfully a reliable signal meant google maps was enough to get me to Tiverton Parkway station and the end point for this ride for me (in my current state I was not invited on the next bit), the last section including an unexpected but highly necessary bridge over the M5!
Day 1 - Bristol to Wedmore (via Cheddar Gorge)
54 miles, 1700 ft climbing
We left Bristol in some welcome sunshine, dodging the traffic whilst simultaneously climbing a little out of the valley of the Avon. A fairly flat section of countryside ensued, and we made good time getting over towards Chew Valley Lake, which offered great views and a lot of bird life to look at too.
Going onwards from the lake we were officially in the Mendips AONB, with Harptree Hill taking us to the top of the Mendips, where they form a sort of plateau. Noting a few familiar spots here, we pressed on to the gorge, enjoying its meandering turns through the sunset, oggling some intrepid climbers along the way! I did take a stop to enjoy the view - not so much planned, but my Garmin 1000 decided to fly off my bike halfway down the descent and I had to sprint back up to fetch it, thankfully before it had been run over! Phew.As part of my LEJOG trip I had done this Cheddar Gorge section in reverse, - the climb up is somewhat steeper heading SW and I was carrying more (both on the bike and in baby form). However, the variety was good, and the gorge was enjoyed in a much different way when I wasn't puffing my way up it.
Once out of the gorge, we picked up some supplies in the town of Cheddar itself, then pedalled on through the rather flatter terrain to our campsite at Wedmore, which, for all the flat terrain, had enough elevation to offer us some impressive views in the dusk.
Day 2 - Wedmore to Tiverton48 miles, 2200 ft climbing
We made a good start through what remained for a fair way fairly flat and almost fen-like scenery. Ahead of us we could see the Blackdown Hills, whilst we ourselves were cycling through intriguingly named places such as North Curry and Burrow Mump. The latter was a ruin of a church on a hill, where the baked goods we had acquired earlier were duly consumed.
Once we hit the hills we ascended quite a challenging but thankfully sheltered climb through the woods making very good time towards our endpoint in Tiverton. As this was the case, we decided to leave the bikes for a while and change dynamic with a stroll through the moor overlooking Wellington, which was made more enjoyable by the abundance of blackberries found. A picnic was also had at this point, with views across towards the Quantock hills and the Bristol Channel.
Back on the bikes we headed further SW towards Tiverton via Culmstock. Here, we stopped for cake and hot hot drink, knowing we had just a few miles to go. On setting off however, I discovered that my Garmin had sent us along a footpath rather than road, and not a particularly passable one either. Definitley not what I had wanted to discover with an imminent train to catch... Thankfully a reliable signal meant google maps was enough to get me to Tiverton Parkway station and the end point for this ride for me (in my current state I was not invited on the next bit), the last section including an unexpected but highly necessary bridge over the M5!
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