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Dorset’s Great Western Trail 2

This summer I find myself relocated in the English countryside far from London and with a usable trail bike, not some fraken-mutt. ‘Dorset’s good for green lanes’ I was told, but it didn’t look like it on an OS map.
As it is, I gave up on English green laning long ago, convincing myself that, certainly the southeast of the country was too congested for trail bikers to mix with ramblers, Nimbies, Just Stop Trailbikers and all the rest. I know well it’s the same limited access story – worse, in fact – with river paddling in England. A ride around adjacent mid-Wales a couple of years ago didn’t raise my hopes much either: beautiful country but more gates than Terminal 5 on a bank holiday getaway.
But we can thank the Trans Europe Trail (TET) initiative, based on the successful BDR project across the fabulous western US – some of which I’ve ridden and which may have been inspired by the legendary TAT. Supported by Adventure Spec among others, knowledgeable local volunteers across Europe have threaded together a network of TET routes which you might struggle to unravel yourself using maps. It’s all laid out on a plate and once figured out, TET releases 1000 of miles of trail biking adventures in the form on a free .gpx tracklog to stick in your digital navigation device. See the TET link above. Users send in updates and you can view this post as one. In a way it’s a bit my like route finding guidebooks. There’s also a Dorset TRF behind a private FB page (not all regional TRF groups are like this). I was happy to send a donation to TET.

A mile of track here and there seems insubstantial, but thread them all together and you’re in business, and the road sections give you a chance to recover. And compared to up north, ancient Dorset dodged the last Ice Cap and is thick with prehistoric trails most of which became today’s footpath, lanes, green or otherwise. It means there are enough footpaths and bridleways to share. I also suspect inland Dorset is helpfully overshadowed by its spectacular Jurassic Coast. Add no conurbations away from Poole/Bournemouth, no National Trails, outstanding medieval cathedrals, or even motorways. Things might be different in Devon and Cornwall.
Of course most of England won’t be like North Africa or SW USA where dirt trails can fill a day, but it’s the best we have and gets you out exploring your nearby countryside on your bike.

The Great Western Trail is one of two named TET UK sub-routes – an 800-mile loop reaching down from Wiltshire to Land’s End and back. It’s pitched at more agile trail bikes, not giant Advs.
It has a southern arm of about 60 miles from Poole to west Dorset. Being close to it, I set off from Wareham one afternoon on the 300L to see what I might find. I fully expected to encounter frequent or locked gates, road closures (TROs) and maybe even hostile natives unschooled in the legal status of green lanes. I could not have been more wrong.

I pop out of the thatch and meadow wonderland at Maiden Newton on the A356 north of Dorchester and where this ornate ancient church catches my eye. It’s now nearly 6pm; 2.5 hours to cover 40 easy, fun miles. I’m hungry so it’s either buy something or ride home. I head back 25 miles. From Maiden it looks like the same distance along the GWT to Lyme Regis on the Devon border. I can’t wait to tick that one off and maybe inch my way west with what remains of the summer.
Who knew in 2023 I’d rediscover trail riding in England after 40 odd years! Sure no track is more than 2 miles to the next road, but old tracks are thick as ascents down here, and it’s not really about what’s under your wheels, it’s where they lead you. And as we know it’s the ‘Blue Highways‘ and dirt roads where adventures and discoveries are easiest to find. More to come.

Dorset’s Great Western Trail 2