A trip along the Jurassic Coast searching for dinosaur traces and battling the elements!
Newhaven – South Downs – Portsmouth – Isle of Wight – Bournemouth – Exeter … Brighton
427 km cycled
Early April 2024
Watch the video!
Easter finally arrived and we decided to go south. South England that is.
We all know that England is famous for being wet and windy, but with spring in the air, we were optimistic that it had more to offer!
Getting there
Our decision to travel sustainably turned into quite an adventure involving six trains and one ferry each way. Now, these trains were chosen because of their bicycle-transport option, which varied considerably from convenient roll on-roll off affairs to steep narrow stairs and swaying hooks to hang the bikes. Definitely not our best decision ever!
Rouen
To break up the long journey, we stopped in Rouen on the way out and Paris on the way back. Rouen charmed us with its medieval old town, the iconic Gros-Horloge clock, and a delicious meal that made the lay-over well worth it. If you’re in the area, stopping by is a must.
Getting there: Day two
In Dieppe, a quaint seaside town on the English Channel, Darina insisted on a thé gourmand before jumping on the ferry to Newhaven, England.
South Downs
From Newhaven, we ventured inland to explore the South Downs, only to discover that the “downs” come with plenty of “ups.” As it happened, the lowlands were waterlogged, while hilltops greeted us with fierce winds. Finding a suitable spot to pitch the tent was going to be quite the challenge.
We were directed to a gastro pub where the helpful staff rang around and sent us off to camp among the hens and ducks at a local farmhouse. No sooner had we secured our last guy line than Darina’s phone bleeps: Hi Darina. I’m down at the pub. If you haven’t found a place to stay, you are welcome to camp at my vineyard! Hospitality at its best!
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight proved to be quite the highlight. Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s beloved retreat, remains beautifully preserved and filled with her family’s personal belongings. Darina was intrigued with her bathing machine, but you’ll have to watch our video for footage of that fascinating contraption!
The storm that raged across the island made sure that we didn’t have to wait five minutes for the weather to change. Sadly, summer wasn’t part of the program!
A woman on a mission!
The southern shore of the Isle of Wight is part of the Jurassic Coast and Darina was on an eager quest to find as many dinosaur traces as possible … with a vivid imagination as her dedicated assistant. There was no convincing Kurt that the “fossils” she found were indeed dinosaur vertebrae. His quick Google search revealed that her “bones” were some 10 times larger than anything discovered to date. She was on a roll!
The Needles
As Darina’s bike computer clocked 44,444 km, we rocked up to the famous Needles sea stacks. With the wind that howled and the rain that poured down, it was no surprise that we had the place to ourselves. By the time we reached Bournemouth on the mainland, absolutely soaked to the bone, camping was out of the question. But a trip to England wouldn’t be complete without a night in a B&B, right?!
National Cycle Route Nr. 2
The National Cycle Route Number 2 running east west from Dover to St Austell is what we followed once we hit the mainland again. It was evident that it had been a wet winter, and when we ended up in swampy terrain, it never took long to find a tarmac alternative!
A blast from the past!
Our bridesmaid, Claire had the red carpet out for us in Dorchester, where we spent the night reminiscing about that special day on a beach in Costa Rica, and getting to know her son, Ty. Being holiday season, our bestman, Liam and their eldest son, Ruan, were off galavanting!
Tough inclines
The rolling hills of the south coast were often so steep we were reduced to pushing our bikes. Actually, a local historian consoled us with the fact that when King George was travelling from London to Exeter, he had to dismount so that his horse-drawn carriage could make it up the hill outside Axminster!
Axminster
What comes to mind when you hear the word: Axminster? Well, Darina knew it was famous for something… and lo and behold… it’s the carpets! And not just any old carpet. Carpets fit for kings and queens. Little did we know back then, but we had even marvelled at one in Queen Victoria’s Osbourne House!
Last leg
What kept Kurt going en route was the promise of a nice big ale at the end of the day. And as soon as we got to Exeter, he made sure to get his priorities in order!
Brighton
From Exeter, it was just two trains back to Brighton, where we soaked up the sights and admired the abundant graffiti decorating the city’s walls. And in the royal residence, we even got an Axminster carpet thrown in for good measure!
Food
Of course, we enjoyed the full English breakfast (without beans!), fish & chips and all the other local staples like chicken tikka masala and lasagne! What’s more impressive though is the huge variety of ales and beer, at least for Kurt.
Accommodation
Long gone are the days of cheap B&Bs, but we always managed to find a room or a place to pitch the tent. Easter season can be busy, but as long as you ask around, you’ll always find shelter for the night. When winds hit 96kmph on the Isle of Wight, for example, we were delighted with this cosy little pod on the Isle of Wight.
Conclusion
South England does have its charm, and the steep inclines coupled with headwind on a westbound route are nothing short of a workout!
We would recommend this stretch more for a summer trip, but you’d have to seriously twist our arms to take six trains and a ferry again!
