Max and Russell take advantage of the unusual lack of tourists flocking to Stonehenge and enjoy a peaceful ride around Salisbury Plain in Wilthire
From historic monuments to snaking singletrack lined with wild lowers, this picturesque area of the South brings a ride with a difference
Now that we’re allowed out, albeit not too far from home, with limited numbers of people and maintaining social distance, we’ve decided to take a short journey to somewhere with some fun and crowd-free riding. And with the summer solstice nearly upon us, Russell and I agree that Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire is the ideal candidate. Usually around this time of year, the area would see an influx of around 10,000 people, coming to watch the solstice at Stonehenge. With the old tradition on hold, we’re making the most of the unusually empty roads and trails. It may not be noisy in terms of drumming and chanting, but the Ministry of Defence owns a lot of the land here for military training, so it’s not uncommon to hear the odd tank rumbling by or a Chinook thundering overhead.
Going downtown
The ride starts off from the northern edge of Salisbury, a medieval cathedral city, famous for its 13th century cathedral with a 123-metre spire. First off, we pass Old Sarum, the Iron Age hillfort and location of the original cathedral and castle, which stood high on the motte. With attractions such as these still closed, we continue on our way, enjoying a singletrack trail down the hillside towards the city below. Due to the lack of footfall the foliage has started to swallow up the path, but this just adds
to the fun as we squeeze through a sea of green, with the big, white-flowering heads of cow parsley sticking up and trying to snatch at our bars.
At the far end of the verdant tunnel we join a cycle path, which usefully guides us along the River Avon and right into the heart of Salisbury. With a few twists and turns, a cruise down a deserted high street and a quick detour to the ornate cathedral, we’re soon crossing the river, leaving the city behind and pushing on through Harnham, where there’s an old chalk pit, which looks like a fun playground for the locals. Because the schools are closed, it’s full of kids, so we leave them to it. We pass through the strip of woodland here, which looks to offer some interesting little tracks, before starting the climb up out of the valley. Leaving the houses behind us, we join a slither of dirt singletrack, which cuts between the bright green grass, flanked by colourful wildflowers. It’s followed by a loose, stony climb heading up the byway. This once-wide track has now shrunk, because the trees on either side have grown, and we plunge into another tunnel of bright green leaves, which results in an engaging and demanding climb. After the gradient eases we cruise past a deserted campsite and a silent racecourse before peeling off the byway to head back down the hillside.
The white flowers and fragrant hum of wild garlic bombards our senses as the trail narrows once more, to offer a fantastic and fast descent down through a tunnel of trees where soft light penetrates the overhead canopy of leaves, producing a beautiful dappled shade. It’s a fun and fast descent but requires pulling on the brakes a bit sharply as it spits you out onto the A30 at the end. It would be nice to wash the dust from our mouths at the pub here in Barford St Martin, but with everywhere closed we’re on a self-sufficient ride today, so instead we make do with some tepid water flavoured with hints of plastic and dust before cracking on, climbing back up to the northern side of the valley.
Where the demons dwell
A nice singletrack climb between the trees shelters us from the hot sun as we grind our way upwards. At the end of this cool and fragrant tunnel we break from the cover of the trees and cross through the middle of a barley field, where a sea of delicate bristles gently ripples in the breeze. Farstretching views across the rolling hills now start to materialise, with different fields contributing their own colours to the patchwork-quilt landscape. It’s only when we bump into another rider as we enter Grovely Wood that we realise we haven’t seen anyone since leaving Salisbury.
This is open-access woodland, with numerous tempting singletrack trails disappearing off the main tracks, but cyclists are expected to remain on the bridleways and signed trails – a shame for such a large and quiet wood. We join a permissive track through the forest, popping out on the northern side, back into bright, hot sunshine with
AT THE END OF THIS COOL, FRAGRANT TUNNEL WE BREAK FROM THE COVER OF THE TREES AND CROSS A BARLEY FIELD, WHEREAS EA OF DELICATE BRISTLES GENTLY RIPPLES IN THE BREEZE
a fast and fun run across the grassy field before plummeting down a rough rutted track to the waiting village below. It’s getting increasingly cruel as we pass more closed pubs, but onwards and upwards we must go, parched by the midday sun.
The steep climb with a rut on either side ensures we keep our pace and attention on the trail to avoid a slow-speed wobble that would draw us into the wheel-stopping ruts. At the top, a field with swathes of bright-yellow rape greats us, along with some inquisitive pigs who rush over to congratulate our successful climb and grunt their approval of our King of the Mountain effort. With some easier miles ahead for both our legs and heads, it’s just a straight line along firm farm tracks, which guide us forwards on our pilgrimage to Stonehenge. To get closer to the stones you have to cross the A303, which isn’t too difficult for us today with the current reduction in traffic, but normally wouldn’t be advisable. Thankfully, Cycling UK are in negotiations with the National Trust and cyclists are now able to push their bikes across the open-access land to connect to the next byway, so you don’t have to negotiate the busy road.
Stonehenge was built around 4,500 years ago, so it has many different meanings to many different people, yet it’s still not really understood what it was created for. A masterpiece of engineering in its time, construction would’ve taken huge efforts by hundreds of well-organised people, using only simple tools and technologies. As a wonder of the world, this iconic British symbol and highly spiritual site draws a strong crowd, especially at solstice times. Today though, Russell and I can see the stones in all their glory, with no tourists clustered around. After stopping to admire them, we continue along the wide, sweeping byway to the hamlet of Lake, home of the musician Sting. Well, to one of his houses. A short tarmac grind means we now have a fun descent back down a slither of trail among the vegetation, before popping out and over a rickety wooden footbridge to cross the temptingly clear water of the Avon. On this side of the valley there’s the option of avoiding an overgrown, technical trail, but we’re keen to give it a go, so we climb out of the village before peeling off-road onto tight, wiggly, overgrown singletrack. After emerging at the far end, itching and scratching but still grinning, a steep descent down some steps awaits us. If this doesn’t sound appealing you could ride this bridleway in reverse, walking up the steps and rejoining the route by the factory on the hill.
Royal raceway
After making our way back up onto the ridge and cruising past rows of pig pens, the day is finally drawing to a close, but the fun isn’t over yet. At a track crossing in the trees, we join a section of the long-distance Monarch’s Way footpath, the escape route taken by King Charles II in 1651 after his defeat in the Battle of Worcester. It runs from Worcester to Brighton via Bristol, but this section is also a bridleway, and a glorious little weaving singletrack one at that. As fun as it is, we force ourselves to stop and admire a glorious field of blue flax flowers that stretches out before us. Once Russell has snapped a few pictures, we finish the day rolling down the eerily quiet road in Old Sarum to finish the day. It’s been a ride we’ll both remember, with quiet trails and deserted towns. The countryside has never felt more alive though. It’s certainly been an unusual spring, but what a way to welcome in the summer – on a bike and cycling some lovely trails with nature’s beauty to inspire and uplift the spirit.