Does anyone have a gpx file for the "West Country Way" offroad C2C route from Plymouth to Minehead?
I've got one that has been plotted from reading the guide book but has anyone got a tried and tested ridden version they could share?
Thanks
Alan

vaguely exciting - I've just had the guide arrive today, but hadn't started to look for gps data yet... Will keep an eye on this thread

Alan, I looked into this a while ago, and it's mostly lanes and cycle paths. This might be the one http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home ... ycle-route

I did start developing a more challenging off-road route a while back, but it's been forgotten for a while due to life taking over. Maybe I should get back on it! I've also been considering a circular route of devon, taking in Dartmoor, Exmoor, maybe the Quantocks, then the Blackdowns. Could be fun.

Gabes

Aidens EWE route goes that direction if I remember (not that Ive been on it)

mountainbaker wrote:Alan, I looked into this a while ago, and it's mostly lanes and cycle paths. This might be the one http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home ... ycle-route

Its not that one - or at least the one I'm thinking of isn't. The one I think Alan means goes straight over Dartmoor and Exmoor to Minehead. Its this WestCountry Way. Confusing though as there seem to be a bunch of different routes all called the same thing (eg this one)!

The guide comes with some mapping and route cards but I couldn't find a GPX file online with my initial search. Might have to resort to OS maps and a yellow highlighter...

That's the one. Off road over Dartmoor and Exmoor with a lot of lanes in between. I should be riding it this weekend (in the rain) with a track estimated from that guide book.

AlanG wrote:That's the one. Off road over Dartmoor and Exmoor with a lot of lanes in between. I should be riding it this weekend (in the rain) with a track estimated from that guide book.

vaguely exciting. I'm planning it for the bank holiday weekend. Will be great to hear how you found it next week, and maybe get a copy of your GPS track, or actual route, if you're recording it as you go... Do you have plans to camp/bivvy overnight?

Had planned to bivvy out but like the weather, plans can change!

vaguely exciting - that looks like it. Apart from that last extra bit at the end ;-)

Have you ridden it ?

That looks great, and the extra leg over the Quantocks to Taunton will not only provide some great trails but also ensure a train ride back to Plymouth.

On a similar idea, has any body seen a gpx for the 'fort to fort' challenge, run last year by mrb epics as a 3 day ride from Exeter over Dartmoor to Plymouth? Having scoured the net all I can find are old episodes of Fort Bouyard or routes in the Highlands!

I also have the add on to take you on to the Quantocks somewhere. From there another bit links you up with the West Country Way, along onto the South Downs Way, so you can go Plymouth to Eastbourne on it.

Not ridden it myself yet, only the SDW.

Thanks for the link to the WCW. The route I have is mostly the same. I will let you know how it is after the weekend. From Minehead we will go over the Quantocks to Taunton railway station.

There is this route I came across from Minehead to Taunton but it looks substantially further than the route in the MBRUK guide (which I can't find a gps track for) http://ridewithgps.com/routes/7522678

I bought the WCW plymouth - Taunton route and rode it with a mate 2 years ago, navigating just using the supplied route cards and maps (which they advise against ) obviously ignoring all the outdated advice about not carrying all your kit.

We took it easy, 160 miles over 4 days, could have done it in 3 but we had prebooked the train so no rush, we were so lucky with the weather and chose ace wildcamping spots by 4pm most days, chilled out and wild swimming in rivers on Dartmoor and Exmoor.
We've both done quite a few similar trips but we both agreed this one was the best by far - just wanted to let everyone know its a great route

Next month we are planning on getting a train to Taunton and doing it in reverse, then peeling off at princetown and riding home from there via Bodmin moor

I rode this at the weekend with a couple of friends and I totally agree with Cornish Neil, it is a great route. I can only think the reason it is not more popular is the difficulty in finding out about it. We followed a mixture of the GPX posted above by dlovett and one my friend put together from the guidebook. We rode 245km with 5000m climbing in two tough twelve hour days, camping out on Saturday night. The toughest section was actually Minehead to Taunton and I would think most people would be best advised to tackle this on a third day. The climb we did out of Minehead was brutal, just on the limit of rideable and there was a short sharp hike-a-bike just after Dunster but the rest of the route was pretty much pedaling all the way.
We stopped for dinner on Saturday evening at the Red Lion in Chumleigh which advertised "the best Pizza in Devon" and I don't doubt that they are right, it was excellent. They have rooms here too so if you wanted to do a lightweight trip it would be a great place to stop coming at about 110km in the lanesy section between Dartmoor and Exmoor.

Sounds interesting, thanks for the feedback Alan. Any chance of stealing your tracklog ;-)? Might have a chance to fit this in later in the year.

Alan

Can I have the route for the next render of my Garmin maps? I am changing them this week with your HTR550 modifications

Glad it's turned out to be a good route Alan. I might have a crack at it in the next few weeks as a last multiday ride before TD.

I'm planning on doing this over the coming weekend, although probably a little slower than you. How easy to follow is the route from Minehead to Taunton? I have the GPS route (above) for the main section, but was just planning on marking up 1:50,000 mapsheets printed from OSGetamap for that final section as no-one seems to have a GPS track. Reckon that'll be ok? Would like to take 1:25,000 maps but would need to carry a library worth of paper on the bike ...

This evening I'll have a GPX track for you of what we rode this weekend with some tweaks to improve it. We can't call it the WCW as it isn't the same route but a variation upon that. I was going to call it "PMT", (Plymouth-Minehead-Taunton).

AlanG wrote:I was going to call it "PMT", (Plymouth-Minehead-Taunton).

If anyone would like a GPX track of "PMT" you can PM me. Around 95% is a ridden track from the weekend. The "improvements" are untested but hopefully better than the bit they replaced. I can't take credit for this route as you will see from the lack of hike-a-bike! Most of the track plotting was done by my friend Phil Miles (so blame him if you don't like it).

Rode this route in May and have finally got round to pulling together some words and pictures on the blog...

Across the Moors

Couple of pics here more on the blog...