Why this ride
121 km from Sidmouth to Sidmouth, about 2 h 23 of riding. It goes by way of Lyme Regis to West Bay, Chesil and back through Lyme Regis to West Bay.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
River Sid and Chesil
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 121 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 23
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. River Sid
The river Sid is short, quick and small, rising in the hills of east Devon and running down the green valley past Sidbury and Sidford to the sea at Sidmouth, where it makes the shingle beach that the town grew around.
Read the complete River Sid write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
River Sid is where the day begins. Next is Lyme Regis to West Bay.
2. Lyme Regis to West Bay
The cliffs between Lyme Regis and West Bay are falling into the sea, and that is precisely why people come. This stretch of the Dorset coast is part of the Jurassic Coast, England's first natural World Heritage Site, and its soft clay and limestone cliffs constantly release fossils from the Jurassic seas of around two hundred million years ago. Ammonites, belemnites and the bones of marine reptiles wash out onto the beaches after every storm, and at Charmouth you will see families combing the shingle with hammers and bags at low tide.
Read the complete Lyme Regis to West Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lyme Regis to West Bay comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chesil.
3. Chesil
Twenty-nine kilometres of shingle, piled high and steep and running almost dead straight from West Bay to the Isle of Portland: Chesil Beach is one of the great natural oddities of the English coast. Behind it lies the Fleet, a long, shallow, brackish lagoon full of eelgrass and birds, and the whole system is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The pebbles grade in size along the beach, small as peas at the western end and as big as potatoes towards Portland, so precisely that smugglers landing on dark nights were said to know where they were by the feel of the stones.
Read the complete Chesil write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Chesil. Next is back through Lyme Regis to West Bay.
4. back through Lyme Regis to West Bay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Lyme Regis to West Bay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Lyme Regis to West Bay, late in the day. Next is River Sid.
5. River Sid
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete River Sid write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at River Sid. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
River Sid to Lyme Regis to West Bay
River Sid → Lyme Regis to West Bay is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Lyme Regis to West Bay to Chesil
Lyme Regis to West Bay → Chesil is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chesil to back through Lyme Regis to West Bay
Chesil → back through Lyme Regis to West Bay is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lyme Regis to West Bay to River Sid
back through Lyme Regis to West Bay → River Sid is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.