I'm just back from my first trip to my sister's new home in south/central Devon. I cycled about 320 km while I was there, much on the narrow lanes.
I had forgotten much of what had been said on this thread when rushing to finish planning my routes. I did a lot of the 'narrow yellow' lanes and sure enough, they
were a bit dodgy in places. I like lanes but having hedges hemming me in and towering over me got a bit much after a while. It was quite frustrating knowing that splendid views would have been available if only I could see over the damn hedge!
I wouldn't avoid the narrower lanes altogether since sometimes they are needed between wider lanes to avoid busy roads or ridiculous detours.
I have actually come back with a new appreciation for slightly wider roads and open views! I loved Devon and hope to have many more cycling holidays down there, but I will be more careful in future to avoid some of the downright crazy stuff that I encountered this time.
I did encounter quite a lot of gravel on many of the smaller roads.
This one had a bit of everything and finally defeated me... 10% becoming 15% becoming 20% and maybe even 25%; potholes; gravel; rotting vegetation; so hemmed in by hedges and overhanging trees that with my sunglasses on I couldn't even see where I was going! My heart was starting to struggle and then my rear wheel slipped and almost had me off the bike. Discretion is the better part of valour, so I jumped off before I fell off, and used my 24 inch gear to finish my ascent!
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The fact that the Street View car hadn't been able to make it up or down there should have been a clue!
I found that too. Patient, cooperative, and friendly. Just one idiot in 11 days, coming way too fast round a blind bend towards me in a very narrow lane which had the standard high hedges. The driver just managed to stop about 1 metre from me...