Tour de Manche

[roygriff21]

Wareham Quay - Directly on NCN 2 Tour de Manche UK

The €8.5 million European funded Cycle West Project ‘TOUR de MANCHE’ is a 1200km / 745 mile long cycling itinerary boasting some of the most glorious sea views, coastlines and countryside in Northern France and South West England, an epic journey through Brittany, Normandy, Jersey, Devon and Dorset. The English Channel is fast becoming a cyclist’s paradise, with excellent cycling facilities and trails through the attractive landscapes of the Emerald Coast, the ‘Pink Granite’ Coast , Mont Saint Michel Bay , the island of Jersey, the Jurassic Coast and the Dartmoor National Park. http://en.tourdemanche.com/

The ‘Tour de Manche’ was recently voted 2nd at the Fiets en Wandelbeurs 2015 (Biking & Hiking Fair - Amsterdam) for the category "Cycle Route of the Year 2015"

Just wondered if anyone has tried out this new route yet - UK side or French?

Feedback needed for next phase of development between route partners.

Roy Griffiths

[CBreeze]

I live near Bournemouth/Poole and last year set off for Lands End and so cycled this route from the Sandbanks Ferry to Exeter before deviating. I'd never heard of it until that trip when I kept seeing the signs along the route. I think anything like this is a good thing and it has a nice twist in that it is a multinational loop.

However the thing that I remember about a good part of the Dorchester to Exeter section is that it was no walk in the park - there were a couple of steep undulations in there! This is not really a negative - there is probably no avoiding it in that part of the world - it's just the thing I remember and maybe I wrongly have some expectation in my head that European/nationally funded/promoted routes are generally more easy going (like the bit around the Exe estuary). It does a do good job of keeping away from busy roads and of course you have some great countryside and coastal scenery to cycle through. Elsewhere there were one or two short off road sections where I was thinking 'i'm glad I'm not trying this on a racing bike' but they could probably be avoided quite easily with some minor detours if you wanted to.

Part of my issue with the short steep climbs may have been taking on a bit much each day - end of day 1 I camped near Axmouth then Day 2 ended in Dartmoor somewhere.

This map shows what bit I'm going on about:

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/4245019

[geocycle]

I did the French section from cherbourg to Roscoff last summer. Loved the route. Pics and brief reports are on this thread on the thorn forum http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/ind ... pic=9585.0

[BeeKeeper]

It was the British side of the route which put me off when I first looked at this last year. This may be an unjust judgement, I need to look at the route in detail but as a generality (and therefore not wholly true), I enjoy cycling in France but I don't like cycling in the UK - and it is the attitude of drivers which makes the difference.

[roygriff21]

Hi CBreeze - Thanks for the feedback and your comments - we have tried to break down the route into 9 sections on the UK side and have created a 6 day itinerary which can be seen at http://www.signpostcycling.co.uk/tour-d ... uth-poole/ with mileages that shouldn't make the odd climb too hard to cope with.

We attended the Fiets & Wandelbus (Biking & Hiking Fair) in Amsterdam recently to promote the 'Tour de Manche' route in association with Normandy & Brittany Tourism - feedback from the Dutch visitors was that they quite liked a few hills as they were so used to flat riding it actually made a nice change.

Great photos - another benefit of reaching the top of a hill!

[roygriff21]

It was the British side of the route which put me off when I first looked at this last year. This may be an unjust judgement, I need to look at the route in detail but as a generality (and therefore not wholly true), I enjoy cycling in France but I don't like cycling in the UK - and it is the attitude of drivers which makes the difference.

Hi Beekeeper

Check out our 6 day itinerary suggestion at http://www.signpostcycling.co.uk/tour-d ... uth-poole/ hopefully the mileages will suit - the route can be broken down into 9 stages if required and have all been planned using quiet country lanes or traffic-free routes.

How many miles do you like to do a day?

Roy

[roygriff21]

I did the French section from cherbourg to Roscoff last summer. Loved the route. Pics and brief reports are on this thread on the thorn forum http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/ind ... pic=9585.0

Hi Geocycle

We did part of the route last year - caught the train from Cherbourg to St Lo and then rode down to St Malo - loved Mont St Michel

Roy & Jacqui

[BeeKeeper]

It was the British side of the route which put me off when I first looked at this last year. This may be an unjust judgement, I need to look at the route in detail but as a generality (and therefore not wholly true), I enjoy cycling in France but I don't like cycling in the UK - and it is the attitude of drivers which makes the difference.

Hi Beekeeper

Check out our 6 day itinerary suggestion at http://www.signpostcycling.co.uk/tour-d ... uth-poole/ hopefully the mileages will suit - the route can be broken down into 9 stages if required and have all been planned using quiet country lanes or traffic-free routes.

How many miles do you like to do a day?

Roy

Many thanks, I'll look at those. Around 80km a day I find comfortable, less if possible! I have done 110 or so a few times but that's demanding. Of course hills make a difference, on the Velodyssy in 2013 longer days were fine, along the Pyrenees last year mileages were smaller!

[roygriff21]

It maybe that our 4 day itinerary might suit you better Beekeeper:

Plymouth > Okehampton 67km
Okehampton > Sidmouth 72km
Sidmouth > Dorchester 88km
Dorchester > Poole 57km

Do let us know how you get on.

Roy
roy@signpostcycling.co.uk

[BeeKeeper]

It maybe that our 4 day itinerary might suit you better Beekeeper:

Plymouth > Okehampton 67km
Okehampton > Sidmouth 72km
Sidmouth > Dorchester 88km
Dorchester > Poole 57km

Do let us know how you get on.

Roy
roy@signpostcycling.co.uk

Many thanks.