I’ve done four runs to Plymouth for the Santander ferry this year – and only messed the timings up once, so had to take the A38 from Exeter. For the other three trips, I revisited my favourite roads across Dartmoor and the surrounding countryside. Definitely the best way to start any trip to Spain…

 

This route brings together the best bits of two runs (okay, reversing one of them to get back to the city). I’ve been relatively lucky with the traffic each time – only a few camper vans to pass and not many cars or cyclists to overtake. Even though I’ve mostly been riding these roads on a Sunday. As the one run for the Wednesday ferry showed, they’re  even quieter if you can ride them midweek.

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There’s a special romance to riding on Dartmoor. Climbing up above the trees, the views are epic – huge expanses of moorland falling away reveal the wooded countryside stretching in to the distance, sprinkled with neat fields and studded with villages. And stretching out in front of you an invitingly undulating ribbon of tarmac.

 

It’s hard to beat the riding round here. It’s nearly good enough to make you wonder why you’d bother taking the ferry to Spain. Nearly… but that’s another story! If you just have an afternoon near Exeter, this is an ideal way to spend it.