Bournemouth to Shoreham

[heatonrider]

I am looking to visit a friend nr Brighton in Shoreham. I am thinking of getting a train (from Manchester) to Bournemouth and then cycling there (and back to get the train home). Has anyone experience of cycling the coast line between the two? Thinking it will take me two days and would look to camp over night. thanks

[mumbojumbo]

Much of the coast is built up and I would leave train at Reading and cycle through chalk down land.

Thanks John

[heatonrider]

thanks .. its an idea .. will look in to that as well

[Traction_man]

I am looking to visit a friend nr Brighton in Shoreham. I am thinking of getting a train (from Manchester) to Bournemouth and then cycling there (and back to get the train home). Has anyone experience of cycling the coast line between the two? Thinking it will take me two days and would look to camp over night. thanks

you could pick up King Alfred's Way, somewhere around Winchester, heading there via the New Forest from Bournemouth--https://www.cyclinguk.org/king-alfreds-way--which passes near Shoreham.

or you could hop off the train at Winchester instead, and join the KAW and go directly from there--Cross Country trains from Man Picc to Bournemouth call at Winchester.

cheers,

Keith

[PT1029]

If you leave the train at Reading, there is a segregated cycle route that runs close/mirrors the A33. I have used it twice, but not for a few years. Generally pleasant, a bit hard to find in the city centre (probably easier now I have a phone with maps on it).
Vere west on route 23 to then cross over the M4 west of junction 11, rather than via junction 11 itself. A bit more business park/industrial estate now I think than when I last did it.
Once over the M4 you are in the country lanes.

[jgurney]

Did you have a particular reason for going to Bournemouth first? Assuming you are starting from there, the key route decision is whether to go via the Isle of Wight (via the Lymington -Yarmouth and Ryde - Portmouth ferries), the Hythe ferry, or inland around Southampton Water. With the settled, most of the rest of the routing will be fine detail. With the inland or Hythe Ferry routes, the mid-point of the journey will be in the suburban area between Southampton and Fareham, where camping might be hard to find. If you took the Isle of Wight route, it would be camping on the Isle and getting a ferry from Ryde to Portsmouth next morning. Even with the IoW route, there would be a lot of riding through seaside suburbia (Boscombe, Littlehampton, Worthing, etc), which may or may not appeal.

If you do change to getting off the train inland, I suggest Basingstoke rather than Reading, for a route taking in more of the Downs. However doing that would mean you would not see the sea until you reached Shoreham, so quite different from the original coastal ride.

[ossie]

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[slowster]

Get the train to Winchester, then ride the South Downs Way to Shoreham. Two days will allow you to go at a relaxed pace loaded with camping kit on an off-road route which contains some tough hills. The coastal views and scenery will also be far better than riding along the almost continuously urbanised coast itself.

https://southdownsway.org/

[tomsumner49]

If you do want to go from Bournemouth ncn2 gives an outline route you could modify to suit. The route from Bournemouth to the Hythe ferry is quite nice, no experience of riding east of there though. As others have said it is fairly built up along that stretch of coast.

https://cycle.travel/route/summary/149267

[heatonrider]

Thanks all. Massively helpful. Will take all that on board. Bournemouth was purely because there is a direct train from Manchester! I also found this http://www.cyclingfromguildford.co.uk/ which is a real good resource for a northerner who has no idea about the south!! Also www.puttenhambarn.uk/index.html.

It looks like going across country is the best.

[Marcus Aurelius]

If I were you I’d head out from Bournemouth, on the coast road ( head to Southbourne along East Undercliff drive ) then go to Milford on sea, via Christchurch, then Barton on sea, then head for Lymington. Then I’d say go to Beaulieu, in towards Southampton via Ipley, Marchwood and Totton. When you reach Southampton, cross the Itchen Bridge, towards Woolston, then head for Sarisbury Green, on to Fareham. Then head for Portsmouth ( but don’t go to Portsmouth ) head out to Havant, via Portchester. From Havant, head out to Chichester via Bosham Nutbourne, and Fishbourne, using the new cycle lanes which you pick up from behind Havant Railway station. Once you get to Chichester, use the Chichester to Bognor Regis cycle way, when you reach Bognor, stay on the cycle route / lanes along the seafront, head out towards Littlehampton, using the new cycle lane infrastructure, then it’s a straight run from Littlehampton to Shoreham, via Goring and Worthing A load of the route is now segregated cycle infrastructure. I often to and fro between Southampton and Bournemouth, and Southampton and Brighton, and this would be the two routes glued together, but you’re not going right out to Brighton.

[mattheus]

Thanks all. Massively helpful. Will take all that on board. Bournemouth was purely because there is a direct train from Manchester!

As I live on that train line, I guessed your reason :- P

I'd agree with those above: de-training at Reading and a cross-country route should work fine. Any number of lanes threading between the larger towns if you stay north of Portsmouth. I have a nice route from Reading down to Portsdown Hill if you want to overlook Portsmouth harbour and it's spire thingy.
Or if your train does stop at Basingstoke, that gets you slightly quicker into the countryside, but not a lot.

Ironically, the nicest coastal riding is probably immediately WEST of Bournemouth - do you know anyone in West Dorset, or Devon??

[mjr]

Thanks all. Massively helpful. Will take all that on board. Bournemouth was purely because there is a direct train from Manchester!

As I live on that train line, I guessed your reason :- P

I'd agree with those above: de-training at Reading and a cross-country route should work fine. [...]

I'd take the NCN 422 Reading to Ascot, then head south through Windlesham to Woking to pick up the NCN 223 Downs Link to Shoreham.

[bikes4two]

By way of a change, maybe you could factor is Lymington to Cowes, transit the Isle of Wight and then either Fishbourne to Portsmouth or Ryde to Porstmouth on the fast cat.

A few years back I did this in the reverse direction, Portsmouth to Lyme Regis via the I-o-W, to avoid the massive built up areas either side of Southampton. Lovely scenery but an extended journey-time.

[Marcus Aurelius]

to avoid the massive built up areas either side of Southampton Lovely scenery but an extended journey-time.

What “massive built up areas”? There’s no need to trek out to the Isle of Wight. Any (slightly) built up areas are easy to avoid, by using the well known and advertised cycle routes / lanes that have been put in.



The Bournemouth to Southampton bit.



And Southampton to Shoreham ( just stop at Shoreham before you get to Brighton ). No “massive built up areas” loads of cycle infrastructure, nice scenery, and no need for the Isle of Wight. The Southampton to Brighton route had me starting at Brighton and ending in Southampton, but it’s exactly the same route in reverse.