Why this ride
400 km from Sidmouth to Sidmouth, about 7 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of Chesil, Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point, Lyme Regis to West Bay and Portland Harbour Shore. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
River Sid and Portland Harbour Shore
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 400 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 22
- 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 Chesil.
2. 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
Chesil comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point.
3. Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
This is where the geology lesson becomes a spectacle: Lulworth Cove, an almost perfect circle bitten out of soft clays behind a narrow gap in the harder limestone, and Durdle Door just to the west, an arch of Portland stone standing in clear green water. The Lulworth Crumple, where the rock layers have been bent nearly vertical by the same forces that raised the Alps, is visible at Stair Hole.
Read the complete Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point. Next is Lyme Regis to West Bay.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Portland Harbour Shore.
5. Portland Harbour Shore
Portland Harbour is one of the largest man made harbours in the world, enclosed by breakwaters built in the nineteenth century, partly by convict labour, from Portland stone quarried on the island above. For over a century it was a major Royal Navy base, and today it is a centre for sailing, windsurfing and kite surfing; the sailing events of the 2012 London Olympics were held here. The shore between Weymouth and Portland, with Chesil Beach stretching away to the west, is a fascinating place to explore.
Read the complete Portland Harbour Shore write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Portland Harbour Shore sits at 200 km, about halfway. Next is back through Lyme Regis to West Bay.
6. 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 comes up about 239 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point.
7. back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 302 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point. Next is back through Chesil.
8. back through Chesil
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Chesil, late in the day. Next is River Sid.
9. 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
The route ends here after 400 km.
Leg by leg
River Sid to Chesil
River Sid → Chesil is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chesil to Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
Chesil → Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point to Lyme Regis to West Bay
Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point → Lyme Regis to West Bay is 63 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Lyme Regis to West Bay to Portland Harbour Shore
Lyme Regis to West Bay → Portland Harbour Shore is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Portland Harbour Shore to back through Lyme Regis to West Bay
Portland Harbour Shore → back through Lyme Regis to West Bay is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Lyme Regis to West Bay to back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
back through Lyme Regis to West Bay → back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point is 63 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point to back through Chesil
back through Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point → back through Chesil is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chesil to River Sid
back through Chesil → River Sid is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.