An afternoon ride across Dorset 70km
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| Dorchester to Beer |
I passed this way a year ago and really enjoyed the Dorset countryside on NCN 2. It’s a nice quiet route albeit with a few hills particularly on the approach to Devon.
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| Hardy Monument |
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| Typical Dorset Countryside |
Set off down the Weymouth Road in Dorchester for a short distance and then took a right turn to join NCN 2. The City and the traffic were soon left behind and I was into open country. Headwind today! A bit bumpy across a farm track before getting back on the road through Martinstown and heading up the big hill towards the Hardy Monument. Need to be hardy to get up there! This is not a memorial to Thomas Hardy, the local author, but to Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (kiss me Hardy) a distant relation who captained HMS Victory at Trafalgar. It’s closed at the moment but, when open, it provides great views from its chimney top towards Portland. For every uphill there is fortunately a downhill and I cruised down and on to the Bredy bunch. Little Bredy, Long Bredy – and then Litton Cheney. Burton Bradstock would be a great name for an old Hollywood star; but I didn’t go there.
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| Charmouth Beach |
I headed North, under the A35 to Uploders, where there is a nice pub, and pedalled on North of Bridport to Dottery. Dottery sounds like a good retirement spot doesn’t it? Next up was Whitchurch Canicorum sounds like a disease or a fancy syndrome so I didn’t hang about very long and went down to Charmouth for some remedial sea air. After a good blow by the sea I was fully restored and clambered over the hill to Lyme Regis and Seaton. Ready for dinner now! As soon as I was checked in to the Beer Youth Hostel, had showered and had made up my bed I was off to the village looking for something substantial to eat.
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| Fishing Boats at Beer |
There are a few pubs and restaurants in Beer and eventually I settled on the Anchor by the harbour. Guinness, Fish and Chips with Spurs on the telly - sounds idyllic doesn’t it. Spurs were a bit lack-lustre and lost. Back at the YHA it was fairly quiet, a group of fellow cyclists were chatting in the lounge. Some youngsters on a college trip put their heads around the door, ugh; it’s full of old fogies! Cue for a bit of humour, huh I expect they expect us to sit in our sheltered bungalows, clutching our incontinence pads and dribbling - giggle- giggle. Fact is all five of us had cycled a fair distance over hilly terrain in a difficult wind and, with a combined age of over 300 the laugh was definitely on them. Found my bunk very comfortable and no snoring!
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