Toughest Wiltshire byway?

[NeilT]

And not just tedious deep ruts and mud this one.... If you want a challenging but doable byway north of the Plain, here's a top one. Very steep ups and downs and arounds and mad side angles, but not too boggy despite the recent heavy rain. Totally ignores the contours, it was a low range crawling butt clenching ride all the way. Seemed like we'd bitten off more than we could chew from start to finish, one of those that you become committed and just have to go for it

It's about 10 kms NNE of Devizes here's the OS ref of the north end of the lane off the A4 - SU 056 702 on OS Explorer 157. Probably best to start at the north end and have good tyres!

Be warned though if it goes wrong you'll need a Chinook to get you out of there, going in a group won't help either it'll just mean you'll need more Chinooks

[Woodzie]

And not just tedious deep ruts and mud this one.... If you want a challenging but doable byway north of the Plain, here's a top one. Very steep ups and downs and arounds and mad side angles, but not too boggy despite the recent heavy rain. Totally ignores the contours, it was a low range crawling butt clenching ride all the way. Seemed like we'd bitten off more than we could chew from start to finish, one of those that you become committed and just have to go for it

It's about 10 kms NNE of Devizes here's the OS ref of the north end of the lane off the A4 - SU 056 702 on OS Explorer 157. Probably best to start at the north end and have good tyres!

Be warned though if it goes wrong you'll need a Chinook to get you out of there, going in a group won't help either it'll just mean you'll need more Chinooks

could not get your grid ref to work, Is it either of these

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

Ian,

Drop (and slightly left) down to the A4 from Yatesbury to find the lane.


Trev

[Woodzie]

This one

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

This one

I would say so

Trev

[NeilT]

This one

Thats the one, just do-able after rain with AT tyres and standard surf. If you've got all the mods and MT's, or it's been dry for a while maybe do it south to north for added challenge. There's no turning around though. The roman road going east-west at the south end was deeply rutted but ok.

[Woodzie]

Thats the one, just do-able after rain with AT tyres and standard surf. If you've got all the mods and MT's, or it's been dry for a while maybe do it south to north for added challenge. There's no turning around though. The roman road going east-west at the south end was deeply rutted but ok.

Done the roman road , havent done the other bit but was looking adoing a run that included that at christmas or in the new year . Once i get this weekend out the way i will be doing some recce's

[NeilT]

Could be beyond a standard surf on AT's by then but best of luck! I just happened to be near there, i thought i'd done it before but i'd actually gone straight up and over the hill but that's been fenced off now.

Another seriously good one we did before that was heading west from SU198766 off the A346 3kms south of Chiseldon, big very steep hill and chalky so probably ok all year, then mad humps through a hill fort's fieldsystem. Definitely worth including in a Marlborough downs circuit just a shame so many lanes round there are closed for half the year, there are loads of hilly looking byways east of Ogbourne St George that might be open but i've run out of time, i'm leaving the country, selling surf and will probably never live so close to so many great byways again.... Now i regret all those weekends when i didn't make the effort to get out .....

On the plus side i'm moving to Arabia so i'll have to get a Toy to use in the sand instead!

All the best

[kiowa]

went around that way a couple of weeks ago very good day out going again on the 19th couple of routes block off by old tarmac but just drove straight over the top and drove to the bottom of morgans mount covered about 40 miles all told well worth the trip