Donger
Convoi Exceptionnel
- Location
- Quedgeley, Glos.
I'm in the early stages of creating a long-term plan to cycle the whole of the South coast of England. This will involve some short holiday breaks on the South coast, and several day trips, always requiring there-and-back-again bike rides of 30-60 miles at a time. I have always been fascinated by ferries, and I enjoy taking my bike on ferries on my rides whenever possible, and I'm intrigued by a section of the Hampshire coast. I would prefer to do this whole stretch in one visit
Does anyone have recent experience of riding across from the New Forest to Hayling Island? On paper, it looks possible to park up at Beaulieu and work my way across to Hayling Island via: (1) the Hythe to Southampton Blue Funnel service, (2) the Hamble to Warsash ferry (which appears to require telephoning the duty ferryman!), (3) the Gosport to Portsmouth ferry and (4) the Eastney to Hayling Island ferry. Some parts of the route look either a little uninspiring or heavily urbanised, but not enough to put me off the adventure. I would prefer to do this whole stretch of coastline in one visit rather than needing to return several times to do it in smaller segments. My current thinking is to avoid repeating the most urbanised parts by returning via the Isle of Wight, taking (5) the Hayling Island to Eastney ferry, (6) the Portsmouth to Fishbourne ferry and (7) the Yarmouth to Lymington ferry before riding back to Beaulieu.
The idea is for this to be a leisurely ride, not one that requires seat-of-your-pants breakneck sprinting to make the seven or eight ferry crossings. If I did a straight re-trace, it seems it will cost about £28 in all for eight ferries, but probably closer to £40-£50 if I return via the IOW taking seven ferries. That seems OK to me for a one-off adventure ..... but does anyone have any words of warning or have the inside track on problems I might encounter? I aim to do the ride in the Spring or Summer of 2020 and in mid week rather than at weekends.
Thanks, Donger.
Does anyone have recent experience of riding across from the New Forest to Hayling Island? On paper, it looks possible to park up at Beaulieu and work my way across to Hayling Island via: (1) the Hythe to Southampton Blue Funnel service, (2) the Hamble to Warsash ferry (which appears to require telephoning the duty ferryman!), (3) the Gosport to Portsmouth ferry and (4) the Eastney to Hayling Island ferry. Some parts of the route look either a little uninspiring or heavily urbanised, but not enough to put me off the adventure. I would prefer to do this whole stretch of coastline in one visit rather than needing to return several times to do it in smaller segments. My current thinking is to avoid repeating the most urbanised parts by returning via the Isle of Wight, taking (5) the Hayling Island to Eastney ferry, (6) the Portsmouth to Fishbourne ferry and (7) the Yarmouth to Lymington ferry before riding back to Beaulieu.
The idea is for this to be a leisurely ride, not one that requires seat-of-your-pants breakneck sprinting to make the seven or eight ferry crossings. If I did a straight re-trace, it seems it will cost about £28 in all for eight ferries, but probably closer to £40-£50 if I return via the IOW taking seven ferries. That seems OK to me for a one-off adventure ..... but does anyone have any words of warning or have the inside track on problems I might encounter? I aim to do the ride in the Spring or Summer of 2020 and in mid week rather than at weekends.
Thanks, Donger.
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