The Quantock Hills are an area of outstanding national beauty (AONB) situated north of Taunton. Most of the AONB is a beautiful ridge of woodland topped with moorland and views of the Bristol Channel to the north and Blackdowns to the south. I have thoughrly loved the two times I have visited the Quantocks and am a lot more excited to write this post so hopefully the quality will be greater than the previous one which I ran out of motivation for halfway through.
Last time I did 80km, the first Blackdowns ride, I ran out of energy towards the end of the ride so this time I thought I’d pack more food (extra sandwiches, oat cakes, sausage rolls, biscuits and some Bakewell slices) and set off into the warmth of midday. From Bampton, we follow the B3227 east. The road follows several small valleys and crosses both the Devon Somerset border and the north south water shed – we start following the Batherm which drains into the Exe then heads south to meet the sea at Exmouth then later cross the Tone which flows through Taunton to join the Parrett and then meet the sea north of Bridgewater. The B3227 is quite a nice road: the small valleys you pass through have shallow meadow sides, transitioning into a steeper sided more arable land. Deer aren’t an uncommon sight as the road gently rises and falls. You can keep a nice pace up until you reach Waterrow; the road changes from the gentle rise to a sharp descent and the quality of the road degrades. This valley is the crossing of the river Tone and as we descend down, we enter a woodland.
Over the river, the road starts to climb through the wood. The gradient may be low but the surface seems to suck speed from your wheels. The gradient picks up after we exit the woodland and the road gets windier. The fields become a clay red/purple from ploughing and as we reach the summit, rapeseed and what I believe to be silage grass down below us. These arable fields stretch on to a ridge of yellow moorland and luscious green trees in the distance. This is the first glimpse of the Quantocks. I have a sausage roll as celebration before wizzing down the other side and around a set of bends known as Devil’s elbow.
The descent is slowed in Wiveliscombe by narrower streets then halted by a set of traffic lights. We carry on through Wiveliscombe to leave the B3227 at Milverton and head off to Halse with a view of the Blackdowns and Wellington monument behind. Halse is very pretty but contrasting with old thatched cottages with BMWs and Range Rovers parked out side. I have half a sandwich, saving the 2 full ones for later, and roll out over chalk rainbows on the road. Unfortunatley my tiers remain black and we pin out to meet the Somerset Levels. The levels are an area of lowland with many quaint villages and some beautiful roads following the drainage ditches. It provides nice easy riding when the wind isn’t out and even better if you have a tail wind. This western part isn’t actually that marshy but to the east of Taunton, there are drainage ditches galore. Bishop’s Lydeard is the next town we are headed for and after the industrial land, we find a bridge over the West Somerset Railway (WSR). It is the longest stretch of heritage railway in the UK and there are currently plans to operate a service along the existing tracks to connect the national rail services at Taunton to the vintage steam and diesel trains here at the current terminus of the WSR. Next we pass under the A358 on a cycle path and then go straight on through Bishop’s Lydeard.
As we leave Bishop’s Lydeard the wooded Quantocks loom ahead and we pass the third of many trains of families out on bikes. The approach to Cothelstone climb is almost flat but I have already dropped the gears down. The hamlet its self is made up of grey stone old farm buildings and manor which grandness would be more imposing if not for the ridge behind. After passing through Cothelstone, the road starts to to steepen and turns left. There are already cars parked in every parking space and layby but the flow of cars are still a high volume: people are making the most of the nice weather on the first weekend that travel to exercise is allowed. After entering and exiting a small woods, a small break in the left hedge allows brief views back over the manor out to the Blackdowns. After the steepest section yet, the road turns to a valley that could be seen on the Cothelstones approach and enters the deciduosis woodland proper. My anticipation and changing down too soon was impacting here: I was grinding slowly up hill where I feel like I shouldn’t be. The slope carries on steeply towards a cross roads through thick forest and this is where I realise I’m not in my easiest gear. Bit anoying but theses things happen. The road levels out to a false flat and the forest thins, giving the occasional glimpse of pine wood, moorland hill top and Bristol Channel.
After passing more overfilled car parks, we pop out of the woods to a surprisingly beautiful view of an emerald green valley with rounded sides, winding down to the flat lands below. Just beyond, the Bristol channel is visible with some islands with what I thought was Wales behind. We turn off onto a small lane and stop at the top for the rest of lunch (at 3 o’clock). On top one side of the valley, the view is now the Quantocks falling away to the flat lands of the levels and then the sea. What I thought was Wales turns out to be Somerset across the bay: the ‘mountains’ are actually the Mendip hills. The bay is broken by an estury – the estury if the Parrot. I wonder how long it takes water to reach the channel from Waterrow. Down at the coast, the towering cranes are visable, constucting Hinkley point C neuclear power station – Big Carl, the worlds biggest crane in the world and second (full height) to fifth (usual height) tallest structure in the South West, is clearly distinguishable.
After lunch, we descend down off the Quantocks to Hawrkridge reservoir. The hills get smaller until we are only rising and falling slightly, the ridge of the Quantocks to the left. We pass more grand houses as we draw nearer to Over Stowey. At Over Stowey, we start climbing gradually. Exiting Over Stowey, we turn to confront the ridge for a second time. The fern filled hedges funnel us steeper up through a cattle grid. We soon enter a wood which covers most of the climb. This woodland isn’t like the pervious one: the trees here are small, densely packed and very twisted. Not a single tree is straight; zig zags, cork crews and curves dominate. Each tree is covered in moss. Some branch out the whole length up creating a maze of twiggs, others wait till the top, more like an umbrella. Each is unique. This is possibly my favorite wood; Its totally astounding.
The road carries on steepening and slacking until the trees to the left start to thin and bracken is visible on the other side. The climb gives a last challenge before we enter the moorland. The road then shallows and the moor is revealed in its full beauty. This part of the Quantocks is full of shrubs and bracken; none of the open grass and heaver. The open moorland does exist on the Quantocks, indeed a hill top visible to the left is of this nature, just not on this road. And this isn’t a bad thing: both have their own beauty. The moorland is packed with people; more than usual. Everyone is enjoying the weather but I feel the moorland its self is going underappreciated; the hawthorn is in full flower (as a pose to the couple of flowers upon Exmoor) and the resident sheep laze on the side of the road, completely oblivious to the streams of cars passing by.
The woods on the right come back up to meet the road as we crest the hill and cross a cattle grid. The road plummets down hill and the road straighten out. This steep, unshaded, straight road gives an amazing decent and I’m glad I didn’t decide to climb up the 25% slopes seeing as I struggled with the 14% of Cothelstone. We pass two sand pits – to save out of control cars – and pull up in Crowcombe. We cross the A358 and descend down to cross the WSR, this time on a level crossing, and then follow the track south to the next junction. From here, we climb a gradual gradient with wall either side lined with trees. We pass a glossy black classic car and head towards Lydeard St Lawrence. From Here, the signs disappear and the terrain becomes very up and down: beautiful lanes but slow to ride. The constant stopping at sign posts and the steep narrow lanes start to bring my average down from about 23 to 21 km/h.
After stumbling through the network of lanes we hit the B3227 and cross to Milverton. Here we climb out and my belly is filled with an emptiness – I realise I haven’t eaten since lunch, a good few hours ago. I have a snack at the top with a view of the Blackdowns ahead and the Quantocks behind, taunting my lack of progress. We set off for Langford Budville and start to follow the 3/344 back to Bampton, taking a shortcut past Greenham. I start to fade quick and after descending into the Tone valley, I stop half way up the hill (I thought I was at the top) for a snack and then have to spin in lowest gear up what is barley a gradient, and carry on on the flat. Some how I manage to make it home. Next time I should bring more sugary snacks to help, rather than just starch.
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South West Xplorer 