It's been a while since I have written a Three Tenners blog. (The Three Tenners - me with brothers Rob and Mike.) For whatever reasons it has proved difficult to find a time slot for a trek together this year and we certainly left it late. Eventually we agreed to do something mid November - but what?
I had previously heard about the Sutrans Devon Coast to Coast Cycle route and looked it up.
While I knew the ride would appeal to my bruvs - I also knew while they owned bikes they were not regular cyclists and 100 miles on Devon's rolling hills would be a big ask. How much they thought about that I do not know - but I quickly got a "I am up for it" replies to my E Mails - so it was on!
Next the planning and logistics. The way we work - I do the courtesy of consulting my brothers via E Mail - but almost always they leave it to me to put a plan together. The usual challenge with something like this involving bikes! How to get to the start with your machine? How to get home from the finish? The Three Tenners are based in and around Exeter. The obvious solution was to use the train - but one problem - the train only goes as far as Barnstaple - 15 miles short of Ilfracombe! Eventually we settle on riding north to south with a half way stop over at Hatherleigh - 7 miles north of Dartmoor - and about as mid Devon as you can get. We need an early start to cover the distance bearing in mind it gets dark by 4.30. Mike suggested taking a taxi from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe which was a good idea and I lined it up. However when we changed the start day from Saturday to Friday I found the minibus was needed for a school run and was not available. After some chat and some bravado (naivety) we decide to add 15 miles to The Devon Coast to Coast and cycle from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe for the start.
6.48 train from Exeter gets us to Barnstaple for just after 8am. It is cold but a fine morning. We are straight onto the "Tarka Trail" heading for Ilfracombe. It is lovely - easy cycling on a defined and well marked route - and then we emerge the other side of Braunton. We are on the western fringes of Exmoor. Hills kick in big time. It is a baptism of fire. Reality dawns - this is going to be tough. Personally I am pretty confident with my riding and get on a bike most days. My brothers don't. There are a lot of f's. It becomes obvious our rate of progress means it is becoming unrealistic that we will be able to get to Ilfracombe - turn around and get to Hatherleigh on the day. What to do? Rob comes up with the genius solution - can we get a taxi back from Ilfracombe to Barnstaple? The genius was the weight of his argument - we will have cycled the whole route - just Ilfracombe to Barnstaple in reverse. This felt morally ok! Thank heavens for modern technology. I google the taxi firm I had previously contacted and call them. Yes the mini bus has finished the school run and can meet us at Ilfracombe Quay. A relief. It gets us back on track. £40.
I estimate it will take us 45 mins to get to the start. It takes us 90 minutes! As we are going down into Ilfracombe Rob gets a puncture to add frustration and concern !
Here I give a big thank you to B Line Taxis Barnstaple - https://blinetaxis.com. They were great.
Down to picturesque Ilfracombe Harbour (in the rush we forgot to take photos) - straight into the long waiting minibus and back up through the town to pick up Rob. It is then a tellingly long and windey route back to Barnstaple. Rob does a good job on the tyre fix and we are away!
The route to Bideford along the Taw and then Torridge estuaries with a stop at Instow was flat and lovely. We made good progress and spirits were high despite my bruvs saddle soreness!
There after it was some hard riding - plenty of hills but the scenery was lovely. It was cold - but it never rained. We crossed millions of autumn leaves. It was very quiet - for much of it we had Devon entirely to ourselves - although for much of the time we were a distance apart - those hills!
We got a little confused with the route around Petrockstowe as the afternoon moved on but we make Hatherleigh well despite the tough ask of a full day in the saddle. My bruvs had dug in well and were a credit to themselves. It was a great thing to do. You had to laugh - our over night stay - The Tally Ho Inn in the lovely village of Hatherleigh was on a perpendicular hill!
The Tally Ho Inn was perfect. A lovely warm room each - shower - beer - a Tally Ho burger - friendly locals. It was not a late night - but plenty of laughs. Great.
Next morning an 8.30 am getaway. Good spirits all round. Outside the pub - the route is to the top of the perpendicular hill. Black humour.
The next 15 or 20 miles was beautiful. A very quiet Saturday morning. A damp chill so typical of late autumn. Beautiful colours - beautiful scenery. It would be fair to say the route was undulating - some staggeringly beautiful deciduous woods and farmland. On occasions wood burning smoke hung in the air - almost as many squirrels as sheep. I loved this stretch.
In a while we get to Okehampton right on the northern edge of Dartmoor. A big climb out of the town gets us to the Granite Way where we follow the old railway to Meldon. We are up high now - some beautiful views of the high moor as we cross ancient viaducts. This is great stuff. The miles tick by slowly. We are on to Lydford then Mary Tavy and the lovely town of Tavistock (apparently voted one of the best places to live in the UK!) We stop in the town centre and sit in the sun. (we were spectacularly lucky with the weather) to watch and listen to a mass Morris Dancer gathering raising money for "Pudsey". Mike and I eat food - Rob eats protein bars and "jells"! There are two reoccurring complaints - Rob - "how many more f..ing hills and Mike - lets say bikers bottom! I keep reminding them the last 10 miles is down hill! We still have miles to do.
We are now on the Drake's Trail and after we clear Tavistock we settle down again. Again lovely scenery - good riding - but yes to be kind - undulating! We pass over Horrabridge and eventually make Yelverton. The boys are tired. (understand the Coast to Coast route is not the crow flies route - it is set to take you off road on to established paths and tracks or on the quietest roads possible. I think riders do use road bikes.That would not be my recommendation - but you do not need full on mountain bikes).
We get to Yelverton for the promised 10 mile downhill stretch. It shows the extent we have climbed. It really is a gentle downhill - interesting if you did Coast to Coast starting in Plymouth!
Again we pass through some lovely scenery but gradually we make more human contact - with dog walkers and runners. Eventually we start to hit urbanisation and we have to cross roads. We have to cut under Saltram House Estate but I make a rash wrong turn and drag my brothers up the hill to the house. (at least we see the house!). They needed that like a hole in the head after 90 odd miles - sorry bruvs! We are soon back on track following the River Plym before we cross it and eventually head for the Hoe for the finish. We pass around the enticing Barbican - all those lovely eateries to get to the Hoe at 5 - just in time as the light was lost.
A quick photo - The Three Tenners have done it! We have to get back to the station as we have our bikes booked on the 5.55. Through sheer bad planning (or was it the hills?!) there is no time for a pub. We settle on cans of Tribute and Directors from the Spar - ha!
We enjoy the train ride back. Tired, relieved - but most of all chuffed. The beer goes down well! The bottoms and legs will soon recover. We are already laughing about the hills and start speculating about the next thing.
It was a great thing to do - especially good to do it with my brothers. I am proud of them - we are proud of each other. 100 miles + on tough terrain without being hardened cyclists and dare I mention age! Well done bruvs.
At Exeter we have to go our own ways. My daughter and son in law Phil are typically thoughtful. They have made a wonderful Thai Green Curry - perfect. Phil has some real ales in. A hot shower and a slow wind down. Thank you so much. A great couple of days.
I had previously heard about the Sutrans Devon Coast to Coast Cycle route and looked it up.
The Devon Coast to Coast Cycle Route is a 99 miles (159 km) waymarked route from Ilfracombe in north Devon to Plymouth in south Devon.
Created by Sustrans, the sustainable travel charity, the cycleway runs for over half its length on off-road routes along disused railway lines. The route is part of the National Cycle Network and is designated Route 27. It includes the Tarka Trail, the Granite Way and Drake's Trail, all off-road, plus generally quiet country lanes and bridleways.[3] 71 miles (114 km) of the route are designated traffic-free, with at least one section between Braunton and Meeth being 30 miles (48 km) long.[2]
Towns that can be visited along the way include Tavistock, Okehampton, Bideford and Barnstaple.
The route is normally cycled in two or three days.
While I knew the ride would appeal to my bruvs - I also knew while they owned bikes they were not regular cyclists and 100 miles on Devon's rolling hills would be a big ask. How much they thought about that I do not know - but I quickly got a "I am up for it" replies to my E Mails - so it was on!
Next the planning and logistics. The way we work - I do the courtesy of consulting my brothers via E Mail - but almost always they leave it to me to put a plan together. The usual challenge with something like this involving bikes! How to get to the start with your machine? How to get home from the finish? The Three Tenners are based in and around Exeter. The obvious solution was to use the train - but one problem - the train only goes as far as Barnstaple - 15 miles short of Ilfracombe! Eventually we settle on riding north to south with a half way stop over at Hatherleigh - 7 miles north of Dartmoor - and about as mid Devon as you can get. We need an early start to cover the distance bearing in mind it gets dark by 4.30. Mike suggested taking a taxi from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe which was a good idea and I lined it up. However when we changed the start day from Saturday to Friday I found the minibus was needed for a school run and was not available. After some chat and some bravado (naivety) we decide to add 15 miles to The Devon Coast to Coast and cycle from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe for the start.
6.48 train from Exeter gets us to Barnstaple for just after 8am. It is cold but a fine morning. We are straight onto the "Tarka Trail" heading for Ilfracombe. It is lovely - easy cycling on a defined and well marked route - and then we emerge the other side of Braunton. We are on the western fringes of Exmoor. Hills kick in big time. It is a baptism of fire. Reality dawns - this is going to be tough. Personally I am pretty confident with my riding and get on a bike most days. My brothers don't. There are a lot of f's. It becomes obvious our rate of progress means it is becoming unrealistic that we will be able to get to Ilfracombe - turn around and get to Hatherleigh on the day. What to do? Rob comes up with the genius solution - can we get a taxi back from Ilfracombe to Barnstaple? The genius was the weight of his argument - we will have cycled the whole route - just Ilfracombe to Barnstaple in reverse. This felt morally ok! Thank heavens for modern technology. I google the taxi firm I had previously contacted and call them. Yes the mini bus has finished the school run and can meet us at Ilfracombe Quay. A relief. It gets us back on track. £40.
I estimate it will take us 45 mins to get to the start. It takes us 90 minutes! As we are going down into Ilfracombe Rob gets a puncture to add frustration and concern !
Here I give a big thank you to B Line Taxis Barnstaple - https://blinetaxis.com. They were great.
Down to picturesque Ilfracombe Harbour (in the rush we forgot to take photos) - straight into the long waiting minibus and back up through the town to pick up Rob. It is then a tellingly long and windey route back to Barnstaple. Rob does a good job on the tyre fix and we are away!
The route to Bideford along the Taw and then Torridge estuaries with a stop at Instow was flat and lovely. We made good progress and spirits were high despite my bruvs saddle soreness!
There after it was some hard riding - plenty of hills but the scenery was lovely. It was cold - but it never rained. We crossed millions of autumn leaves. It was very quiet - for much of it we had Devon entirely to ourselves - although for much of the time we were a distance apart - those hills!
Rob & Mike arrive!
We got a little confused with the route around Petrockstowe as the afternoon moved on but we make Hatherleigh well despite the tough ask of a full day in the saddle. My bruvs had dug in well and were a credit to themselves. It was a great thing to do. You had to laugh - our over night stay - The Tally Ho Inn in the lovely village of Hatherleigh was on a perpendicular hill!
The Tally Ho Inn was perfect. A lovely warm room each - shower - beer - a Tally Ho burger - friendly locals. It was not a late night - but plenty of laughs. Great.
Next morning an 8.30 am getaway. Good spirits all round. Outside the pub - the route is to the top of the perpendicular hill. Black humour.
The next 15 or 20 miles was beautiful. A very quiet Saturday morning. A damp chill so typical of late autumn. Beautiful colours - beautiful scenery. It would be fair to say the route was undulating - some staggeringly beautiful deciduous woods and farmland. On occasions wood burning smoke hung in the air - almost as many squirrels as sheep. I loved this stretch.
In a while we get to Okehampton right on the northern edge of Dartmoor. A big climb out of the town gets us to the Granite Way where we follow the old railway to Meldon. We are up high now - some beautiful views of the high moor as we cross ancient viaducts. This is great stuff. The miles tick by slowly. We are on to Lydford then Mary Tavy and the lovely town of Tavistock (apparently voted one of the best places to live in the UK!) We stop in the town centre and sit in the sun. (we were spectacularly lucky with the weather) to watch and listen to a mass Morris Dancer gathering raising money for "Pudsey". Mike and I eat food - Rob eats protein bars and "jells"! There are two reoccurring complaints - Rob - "how many more f..ing hills and Mike - lets say bikers bottom! I keep reminding them the last 10 miles is down hill! We still have miles to do.
We are now on the Drake's Trail and after we clear Tavistock we settle down again. Again lovely scenery - good riding - but yes to be kind - undulating! We pass over Horrabridge and eventually make Yelverton. The boys are tired. (understand the Coast to Coast route is not the crow flies route - it is set to take you off road on to established paths and tracks or on the quietest roads possible. I think riders do use road bikes.That would not be my recommendation - but you do not need full on mountain bikes).
We get to Yelverton for the promised 10 mile downhill stretch. It shows the extent we have climbed. It really is a gentle downhill - interesting if you did Coast to Coast starting in Plymouth!
Again we pass through some lovely scenery but gradually we make more human contact - with dog walkers and runners. Eventually we start to hit urbanisation and we have to cross roads. We have to cut under Saltram House Estate but I make a rash wrong turn and drag my brothers up the hill to the house. (at least we see the house!). They needed that like a hole in the head after 90 odd miles - sorry bruvs! We are soon back on track following the River Plym before we cross it and eventually head for the Hoe for the finish. We pass around the enticing Barbican - all those lovely eateries to get to the Hoe at 5 - just in time as the light was lost.
A quick photo - The Three Tenners have done it! We have to get back to the station as we have our bikes booked on the 5.55. Through sheer bad planning (or was it the hills?!) there is no time for a pub. We settle on cans of Tribute and Directors from the Spar - ha!
We enjoy the train ride back. Tired, relieved - but most of all chuffed. The beer goes down well! The bottoms and legs will soon recover. We are already laughing about the hills and start speculating about the next thing.
It was a great thing to do - especially good to do it with my brothers. I am proud of them - we are proud of each other. 100 miles + on tough terrain without being hardened cyclists and dare I mention age! Well done bruvs.
At Exeter we have to go our own ways. My daughter and son in law Phil are typically thoughtful. They have made a wonderful Thai Green Curry - perfect. Phil has some real ales in. A hot shower and a slow wind down. Thank you so much. A great couple of days.
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| Mike setting out Barnstaple |
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| and Rob |
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| Hitting the hills at Nomansland |
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| scenes on route |
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| scruff bags |
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| Tally Ho Inn Hatherleigh at the end of a long day |
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| R Okement - Okehampton |
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| Morris Dancers Tavistock |
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| We make the finish as it gets dark over Plymouth Sound |
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| Cheers on the way home! |
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