I'm going to need to get from Exeter to Winkleigh, about twenty miles northwest of Exeter, in a few weeks. I could do it by public transport, but i rather fancy doing it by bike. Can anyone tell me if it's practical (ie how hilly it is!), and what a good route would be?
The obvious route involves a lot of the A377, which might not be the most enjoyable thing on a friday evening. There are back roads that look usable once you're at Crediton, but i'm not certain that's the best way either. Any advice would be most gratefully received!
tom
-- My goal wasn't to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. -- Woz
I'm going to need to get from Exeter to Winkleigh, about twenty miles northwest of Exeter, in a few weeks. I could do it by public transport, but i rather fancy doing it by bike. Can anyone tell me if it's practical (ie how hilly it is!), and what a good route would be?
The obvious route involves a lot of the A377, which might not be the most enjoyable thing on a friday evening. There are back roads that look usable once you're at Crediton, but i'm not certain that's the best way either. Any advice would be most gratefully received!
Not an area of Devon I know well (I'm from South Devon), but it will be hilly. Devon has the sort of lumpy hills that can extract morale rapidly; never long, always steep. Looking at the map shows a few >>'s. Sometimes the lanes can be more dangerous than the A roads. In Devon hedges are high and full of rocks. Driving the back lanes requies observational skills that may take years to hone.
BTW, I rather like hills, and went out for a thrash up and down the Teign valley during England-Portugal. You will need low gears.
I'm going to need to get from Exeter to Winkleigh, about twenty miles northwest of Exeter, in a few weeks. I could do it by public transport, but i rather fancy doing it by bike. Can anyone tell me if it's practical (ie how hilly it is!), and what a good route would be?
The obvious route involves a lot of the A377, which might not be the most enjoyable thing on a friday evening. There are back roads that look usable once you're at Crediton, but i'm not certain that's the best way either. Any advice would be most gratefully received!
I was down that way recently as the Kernow & SW audax starts off on the A377 out of Exeter before turning left towards Coleford. At that point you're almost at the B3220, and A377/B3220 is certainly the way I'd go. A377 traffic was light when we did it, but that was early on a Saturday morning. I've no idea how heavy it would be on a Friday evening. Hopefully someone will chime in soon with local knowledge. It's certainly hilly all over Devon, but there's nothing remarkable before Crediton. You do have to start climbing a bit once you get there. From the looks of it the worst bit will be the climb into Winkleigh itself.
