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Bridgwater 1: Quantocky surveying

Posted on 1 October 20215 October 2021 by Rob Ainsley

I lived in Bath for 13 riotous years, so there’s place in my heart for Somerset; probably a furred-up aorta. Unheralded Bridgwater entices cyclists with easy access to the Mendips, Quantocks, Levels, and even the Solar System, as a scale model strung along the canal towpath to more heralded Taunton.

Wind Down? But I’ve only just started

No planets today though. I was trying out a shortish gravel route west from town and up into the Quantocks, a compact AONB of heathland, moorland, woodland and parkland, known for its superb views. I wasn’t disappointed. I was very appointed, in fact.

It’s a long way down. I know, I cycled up here

A long gradual climb up quiet lanes west of Bridgwater got me to the Qs themselves. The lanes ran out and turned into good bridleways, then not so good bridleways, a right old mix of fine gravel, rocky tracks, smooth packed earth, tree roots and muddy paths. But it was all gravel-bikeable, or at least steel-touring-bikeable, on my trusty Spa Cycles Tourer.

All clear
Wild horses wouldn’t drag me away. Especially because they lost interest in me when they realised I had no sugar lumps

It was gloriously sunny: a super autumn day. The views were fantastic and got even better as I headed northwest, past Black Knap, Triscombe Stone, Hurley Beacon and Bicknoller Post: magnificent natural showpieces such as the North Somerset coast, Welsh hills, the broad Severn, the purple moortops, and Hinkley Point C.

Nice day for it
Drove road, but no cows use it these days. They use the tarmac lanes round about instead. I know, having squelched through the evidence.

I turned west down a long bridleway called the Great Road, which was neither great nor a road: it was a rather rubbish rock-strewn challenge that got more and more trenchlike as it went on. The last mile into Holford was a tedious push. But the rest of the ride had easily made up for it.

I wasn’t alone
C grade: New nuclear facility in the making
Water work: Reservoir at Spaxton

From Holford I took some lovely, quiet back lanes to Bridgwater via Nether Stowey and Spaxton, though Butcombe was probably top of my enjoyment list today. Not a village or a combe, but a pint of cask ale, in the West India pub near my accomm.

Somebody obviously didn’t
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