S W Coast Path Dorset to Lyme.

[Hobbs1951]

I am planning a modest tour with a few friends from Weymouth in August, down to and around Portland (viewing the Portland Stone quarries...), with a view to then continuing to Lyme, on the road: the B1357 from Wyke Regis nr Portland through Abbotsbury to West Bay.

Question is: I don't want to ride the main road (A35 into Lyme), has anyone taken the coast path into Lyme, not so concerned about it being rideable but is it walkable with the bike?

This ride is to commemorate a tour my late Father did in August 1945 when he was 16. He rode to Lyme in a day from Surrey with a friend on his F.W Evans tandem (his was a tour of the west country though).

Thanks in advance.

John.

[iviehoff]

You only have to ride about a mile of A35 at Chideock. The short section of the SWP between Eype and Seatown to avoid that is grassy and likely to be reasonably wheelable if it isn't too wet on the day.

[axel_knutt]

I've ridden the A35, and don't recall it being particularly desperate. If you're going to do more of the SWW than just the section from Eype to Chideock bear in mind that it's quite hilly too. Between Chideock and Charmouth the path goes over Golden cap, the highest point on the south coast, and the path is currently closed just to the east of Charmouth due to landslide.

[Greenbuilder]

Check out the bridleway running parallel to the north of the main road called 'Hell lane' from Symondsbury (w.Bridport) to Chideock; I rode it last year in a thunderstorm on my single speed mtb, highly recommended. If you are really keen you can track down the holloway to the north of this where the protagonist of the book 'Rogue male' hid from the nazis.
cheers
Tony