South Devon Cycle Touring Trip 2018: Camping & Cycling – A Unique Experience!
The following photos chronicle my nine day South Devon cycle touring trip in September 2018 which was a double-first for me as I’ve never taken my bicycle on a long trip with me before and I had also not been camping for many, many years, needless to say there was a lot of planning involved! From getting a proper lightweight suitable tent and sleeping bag to fixing up my old (but trusty) hybrid mountain bike to cope with carrying the weight of my camping gear whilst on the road and traversing the trains.
The journey started by taking a train from Surbiton to Totnes via Woking, which took about roughly 6 hours (including an hour’s delay at Exeter St. Davids), then it took a good couple of hours to ride from Totnes to Ashbourne Woods in the rain, the misty stuff which actually helped because of the crazy hills I was sweating like a pig! And once I arrived it was dark, raining and I had to set up my tent…
…and so the adventure begins…
Woking to Exeter St Davids - and 3 hours in a very uncomfortable fold away seat...Hello...Bike on the boat down to Dartmouth from Greenways, love this one!Train viaduct in Paignton - rode under this and also travelled by steam train over itSomething you seem to encounter in the countryside on bike paths a lot - crappy unfriendly bike gates...Off to explore a beach cove...Up at 6 am and it's purple over the sea...My arrival and pitch up at the Beverly Hills Holiday Park, bit different from the peace & tranquility of thw wild camping in Ashbourne Woods but it's nice to have a bit of 'Yin and yang' plus the gorgeous view to wake up too...Rain & Corn - thankfully I made sure I was very 'waterproof-able' for this trip!Breaking before the start of another long climb on the way from Ashbourne Woods to Totnes...When you see these beasts coming, time to backpedal to the nearest passing point...To give you a sense of the steepness of this hill - if I let go of the bike that will roll down hill fast!The first of two mile long windy hills on the trip - this one went to BuckfastleighFluffy clouds...That one says it all for me - bicycle touring, it reaches the places you don't normally see...The entrance to Ashbourne Woods, not much to see and very quiet - perfect!Snacking...Maybe a tiny bit cramp than what I was used too for camping but at the same time, cosy & bombproof - nothing could blow this tent away or any rain downfall, no matter how hard, could enter, big up the Vango Banshee!These little one-eyed buddies loved to try and get in your tent at night!My MSR 'Pocket Rocket' jet burner boiling up some water for dinnerMy home in the wilds for the next four nights - blisssssss! :)Finally after the ride of my life (though possibly that was upstaged by the killer 'one mile hill in the dark' in Paignton a few days later) I arrive at the wild camping grounds of Ashbourne WoodsPicturesque snap I got on the way to Paignton from TotnesBicycle friendly - drivers be careful!No matter what angle I tried to take these photos none can explian the never ending steepness of the hills down here in South Devon - it's a real work out!This photo shows you how the roads are all cut out down here in the South Devon countryside - no room for passing!This guy literary plotted up on the side of the road and made it home - he's called 'The Junglist'Great little pitch!The journey begins...Surbiton to Woking...Starting the long journey home from a rainy Paignton railway station
