CTC Oxfordshire – New Forest Weekend

7 – 9 October 2011

CTC Oxfordshire are planning a weekend away to the New Forest in early October based in the town of Lymington. A choice of day rides through the Forest is planned for both Saturday and Sunday. Lymington is under 2 hours from South Oxfordshire by car and about 2 hours by train from Oxford. Riders are welcome to join us for the whole or part of the weekend. Details are yet to be finalised, but hopefully the following will give you a flavour of the weekend’s activities.

On Saturday there will be a choice of 28- mile and 50-mile rides. Both rides will start about 10am from Lymington (connecting with the 7:43 train from Oxford) and will head out eastwards towards Beaulieu before turning westwards to Brockenhurst and looping northwestwards through the New Forest and back to Lymington. The 28-mile ride (led by Steve) is designed to be a leisurely ride at a pace of about 11mph, with plenty of stops to admire the scenery and points of interest along the way. We’ll stop for coffee in Beaulieu village and have a late lunch in Brockenhurst, aiming to get back to Lymington by 4pm. The 50-mile ride (led by Richard Morris, Oxford City) will be at a faster pace, for those used to spending a longer day in the saddle and will be mainly on quiet lanes. Coffee will be at Brockenhurst (16m), lunch at Burley (33m) and home by 4.30pm.

The New Forest is well-known for its gentle cycling trails along forestry tracks and both rides will take in sections of track to give a true flavour of the forest. The tracks are well-draining, sand and gravel and not technically difficult. A hybrid or touring bike is recommended, a MTB isn’t necessary but a road bike with skinny tyres wouldn’t be suitable.

On Sunday, riders will have the choice of riding the famous Gridiron 100km Randonneé run by CTC Bournemouth, or a shorter day ride of 30-40 miles led by Richard. The Gridiron, so called because of the number of cattle grids en route, starts from Boldre about 3 miles north of Lymington. Entry costs £5 in advance or £10 on the day. There is a choice of start time, so please liaise with Steve if you’d like to ride with the group.

The shorter Sunday ride will include more of the New Forest tracks, leaving Lymington northwest, through Sway to Burley for coffee (16m), then east to Brockenhurst for lunch (25m), returning to Lymington 2.30-3.00pm.

Of course, if you would like to do more or less riding for part of the weekend then that’s fine; there is plenty of fine cycling (or walking) to enjoy and a range of local attractions including: the St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery in Lymington, the National Motor Museum at CTC Oxfordshire Beaulieu, Buckler’s Hard Maritime village (Museum), ferry services to Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight, and nearby Hurst Castle.

For those arriving on Friday evening, we’ll rendezvous at a local pub for drinks and a meal. On Saturday evening, we’ll make a reservation in a restaurant in Lymington – please let Steve know if you’d like to be included.

Lymington is a year-round tourist centre and there is a wide range of accommodation in the town and in surrounding villages. The attached accommodation list gives a selection of B&Bs and one hotel which have rooms available for the Friday and Saturday nights (as of Sunday 4th September). The Solent View campsite is located about 1½ miles west of town about ½ mile from the sea. In addition to a large campground, there are two static caravans and a log cabin available that could be let for the weekend (2 nights minimum stay) if people would like to stay together.

There are two very useful websites. More information on Lymington and the surrounding area is available at: http://www.lymington.org. The Official New Forest Visitor’s website is at: http://www.thenewforest.co.uk.

This will be a busy weekend owing to the Gridiron Audax, so early booking is recommended. Please could you book your own accommodation, and let me know where you will be staying, so that I can keep tabs on availability, etc.

Hope you can join us for the weekend.

Steve Swanton
01235 764257
email: steveswanton@easynet.co.uk