Blandford
Added on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
This is one of the most pleasant parts of England to zig-zag across, with stunning scenery, loads of accommodation, old fashioned inns and a spectacular coastline to boot. Sadly busy with traffic in summer, this route is perfect for a cruiser, or touring sort of motorcycle.
The Route
Blandford - Dorchester - Beaminster - Bridport - Weymouth
Starting point on this one is Blandford Forum, which as you might have guessed from its name has a history stretching back to the Roman era. It makes a good base for a week long exploration of the area if you have the time.
From Blandford take the A354 signed for Dorchester, which is marked clearly off the ring road. This is a fairly fast, sweeping sort of road, generally busy with traffic at all times, but with some interesting curvy corners if you manage to get a quieter time of day. After about 20 miles, the A354 joins the A35, for a bit of dual carriageway before Dorchester.
When you reach Dorchester, you can either pop into the town centre for a break, or take the ring road, still on the A35, following the signs for Bridport. There are a succession of roundabouts to negotiate, with the Bridport road being just after Maiden Castle.
That ancient fortification by the way is well worth a look if you ever want to see how the Iron Age Celts built what to them, would have been a city, just out of earth and wood - amazing what you can do without a JCB…
From the outskirts of Dorchester, the A35 rises across the downs and runs near straight Westwards. There’s a good reason for this, it is part of an ancient Roman road and just a few miles along, you turn right, signed for Compton Valence and West Compton, along a narrow, single-tracker. As the telegraph poles along your left will testify. This is another - more atmospheric - stretch of Roman highway engineering. It also offers some outstanding views Southwards across the downs.
Watch for the right turn for Compton Valence, then right again for the village of Maiden Newton. Go carefully now, as high hedges make this narrow road little more than a farmtrack in places. A steep drop into Maiden Newton brings you to a junction, here you take a left onto the A356, signed for Beaminster and Crewkerne. This is a twisty section, with plenty to keep you interested, but watch out for agricultural machinery.
A left turn onto the B3163 takes you down a fantastic section of steep, twisting tarmac, then into Beaminster. Lovely little town for a breather, then pick up the A3066, which leads South to Bridport. Again, this has a stunning downhill section, where a glimpse between the trees lets you look for miles across the Downs, so take things easy and do the tourist bit.
Bridport is another good choice to set up a base camp for a holiday in this neck of the woods, with a market on Wednesday and Saturday. But after a break, take the B3157 coast road signed for Weymouth. This road has it all; loads of bends, crests, scenic views of Chesil Beach and a stomach churning drop into the village of Abbotsbury - you’ll love it.
Keep an eye out for holidaymakers however, some of whom will simply stop without warning to admire the sea view. Slow down as you near Weymouth which is a busy Channel Port, plus well known holiday destination. There’s a picturesque old town area (Brewer’s Quay) near the harbour, which can be found easily if you follow the brown tourist signs - it’s also much more accessible by bike, than car..
Journey’s end then, down to the sea once more. Time to relax, fill up with fuel and turn around to do it all again.
Police File
insidebikes roving reporter actually saw a small pack of sports bike riders being pulled by a Patrol car on the Bridport-Weymouth coast road, whilst out filming this feature. Summer 2000 also saw a crackdown on ‘tourist drink driving’ across the West Country too.
Gatso cameras are relentlessly spreading on busy arterial routes, like the A35 and A354, in this part of the world, so use your head and save your ’spirited’ riding for the odd sections of back roads which are relatively quiet and have a decent surface. Fact is, there’s so much holiday traffic in this area that setting a 40mph average on any Sunday probably counts as a Cannonball Run.
Pitstops
You can hardly move 500 yards in Devon before passing a small establishment selling cream teas and lashings of lemonade, plus there are seemingly hundreds of chippies, cafes and restaurants. A trip out to West Bay near Bridport, sampling the Harbour Cafe, or the Old Watch House is worth the slight detour too.
