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dangeek
DavidTMB
@Alex_B
Over the May weekend I'm riding down to Lyme Regis in Dorset.
This is the third time I've done it - I'll be working at the Fossil Festival, so if you are in the area, drop in. It's cool.
However, the route I take hops out of London by using the train to Windsor and then heading out towards Woking, Swallowfield, skirting Basingstoke and then a night in the YHA at Cholderton before heading southwest again. Last year I stayed in Salisbury which was lovely, but the YHA there has closed.
From there I go through Wilton, Tisbury, Gillingham, Sherborne, skirt Beaminster and then into Lyme Regis. It's a gloriaous route with some amazing lanes and views. The traffic was pretty kind to me once I got clear of the Windsor area and there's an amazing pub in Swallowfield for lunch. Once you get out around and beyond Salisbury, every succeeding village seems to be competing to be more scenic than the next.
A couple of 80 mile days means that you're not too shagged at the end of the day and it's easy to get somewhere nice pretty quickly.
I did the whole thing with a pair of 8l Alpkit drybags strapped to a Tortec Ultralite rack carrying a pair of trousers, lightweight wool jumper and Converse trainers (for the evening), spare pair of shorts, baselayer and socks (for day 2) and a washkit. Carried a waterproof strapped to Carradice Barley and some food and tools. All up the set up was pretty light, easy to ride and I'd really not need anything else for a four or five day tour if I was hostelling.
A trip like this is a really good way to clear your head and if you go mid-week it's usually pretty easy to get accommodation.