Cycling near Glastonbury

On hols next week. Planning a ride up Cheddar Gorge.

Should have another cycling opportunity, any suggestions? Needs to be 2.5hrs max.

Thanks :grinning:

Got loads mate but just taking LO swimming. More, much more later :+1:

Blackdowns are nice. Similarly Iā€™ll have look later. But FP knows the area better than I.

Where are you staying in Glastonbury?

Some drafty tower on the top of a little hill. :european_castle:

Almost ā€¦ :wink:

Here:

Ah ok, a couple of options. From Baltonsborough you could head to Glastonbury, through the town and pop over the pavement at the 90deg turn (by the market/pub), follow the road over the roundabout towards Shapwick, then to Westhay. Tou will be on a main(ish) road heading toward Cheddar direction. You go past a 90deg l/h turn and pass ā€˜Sweetsā€™ cafe, then you have a choice.

Either go straight on to Mudgely over a decent climb, or take the left turn and head towards Mark. I like that ride because itā€™s a very straight narrow lane that is flanked by renes on both sides. Lovely if no wind, a bastard if there is. You can either go on to Mark (need to turn left) or you can go straight on to a tiny village called Sand and then on to Wedmore.

Wedmore is lovely and has some nice cafes and a total 5mile drag race to Cheddar if you want that but it would be longer than 2.5hrs.

If you go to Mark, before you get there you can take a left and cut back across the lanes and head towards Mere and back to Glastonbury.

The other direction (and the ride Iā€™d take) is to head toward Langport, either via Charlton Mackeral/Somerton or through Low Ham. Yeovil would also be in easy reach but itā€™s busy. There is a lovely cafe in a converted barn in Langport,

My favourite ride in that direction is actually to go to Sherborne but it would mean driving somewhere first to keep it under 2.5hrs.

The other direction would be to head toward Shepton via West Penard (busy Road), through to Evercreech and out to Bruton and if youā€™re in a climbing mood, have a go at Alfreds Tower.

Iā€™ll try and think of more. be aware, lots of the lanes are very narrow and tend to look the same. Itā€™s like the Children of the Corn grew up and have angry tractors. :smile:

2 Likes

Thank you ā€¦ Iā€™m guessing you like cafes more than I do :rofl:

I just created this in an idle moment:

It probably bears little relation to what youā€™ve suggested :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Having paid some attention to your preferred option, Iā€™ve come up with this:

Makes me realise that creating routes from our last holiday in the Peak District was so much easier as I know it well and have a hit list of hills. Apart from Cheddar, I havenā€™t a scooby about Somerset

Iā€™ll have a look in a moment but when are you going? Because I will be in Wells from April 10th to Easter Sunday/Monday.

Weā€™re there next week, Monday to Friday, so leaving on the 8th

No rush to look, will not be doing either route before Monday pm

Both those routes look fine mate, you will experience some main roads on both of them. You are obviously faster than me as I can tell that I could not do that Cheddar ride in 2.24.

I do like cafes, the clue is in the username :smile:

1 Like

LOL - Strava is reasonably accurate at estimating my time but gets confused when Iā€™m on my heavy winter bike.

Not knowing the roads, Iā€™ll just stick with those two then. I have a100 mile sportif on the 10th so wonā€™t want to overdo it :slight_smile:

Be a bit careful at the bottom of Cheddar Gorge because the grockles are clueless. Also be aware that there will be mountain goats on the road at the top of the gorge and they ainā€™t keen on moving!

Once up the top of the Gorge you will ride for about 6 or 7kms then need to turn right to go through Priddy, you will see the turn off marked by an odd ā€˜diamondā€™ shaped boulder. After a km or so, you will turn right again at the Queen Vic pub, ride across the top and then start the descent to Wookey Hole, this is called Deer Leap and it is very steep, very bumpy and can be strewn with gravel. Donā€™t let your bike run away from you here, it really is easy to have a spill, even for locals.

1 Like

Just back so thought Iā€™d file a brief report :slight_smile:

I did the Langport route - nice but a bit too busy on the way out into Langport and that was also into a cold headwind.

Planned to head to Cheddar on Thursday but very high winds put paid to that.
We walked up Glastonbury Tor later in the afternoon, when it was supposed to be easing, and were blown flat at the top! :wind_face:

3 Likes

Just seen this thread, sorry to be late to the party

Glastonbury tor is visible from Corton Denham beacon which is a hill just north of Sherborne that I sometimes run to.

Never cycled round there though because, well, Zwift :grinning:

Good to hear itā€™s possible, shame about the weather.

MTB around Alfredā€™s tower/ penselwood is fun

1 Like

Cycling near Glastonbury sounds like a indie band name.

Iā€™m disappointed that this thread is literal, and now about a group of lads with long hair singing about the Great Resignation.

2 Likes

Glastonbury itself is really quite weird. The last time I was there was for a triathlon training weekend in about 2006, based nearby to use some of the Millfield facilities. It was run by the artist formerly known as ā€˜redbikerā€™ who I donā€™t think drops in here any more.

I recall it having a bit of a hippy vibe, in the pub one evening two girls sat next to me and whoever I was with and it turned out they were into crystal healing. That was the first time Iā€™d heard of it - now there are shops on the main street and the whole town seems to have been taken over by ā€œnon-mainstreamā€ life sciences (Iā€™m doing my best to be polite).

I was somewhat taken aback by how a slightly odd subculture has morphed into something more creepy - I guess things like social media have concentrated people with ā€œnon-mainstreamā€ beliefs into the local area. The log-book in our cottage talked about anti vax and mask protests last year, making ā€˜normalā€™ people very uncomfortable.
I guess most holidaymakers turn up expecting a quaint market town and so itā€™s even more shocking than if it was anticipated.

1 Like

Glastonbury and Totnes

1 Like

Itā€™s a fucking freakshow for freeloaders.

1 Like

:arrow_up::arrow_up::arrow_up:

:rofl::rofl::rofl: