A Studland (mudland) sortie

Mud, not so glorious, mud

I'm planning to try a do a few more trips than the five I managed last year - but the relentless rain in January has been a bit of a blocker. So seeing a few dry days in the long range forecast was all I needed to book a return from CLJ to Branksome - and do route No.4 in the Bikepacking book by Laurence McJannet.

SW Trains get a lot of stick these days for prices and punctuality, but I have to say that £27 return seems pretty reasonable to me. It's just over 2 hours direct - about the same as the drive (on a good day). And it left on time from a very rainy London and arrived on schedule at Branksome. It's a pretty small station, but only a few km from the Sandbanks chain ferry over to Studland and the route.

Importantly for a winter trip it was pretty short 65km - or thereabouts. A doable distance over 2 days given that the sunrise in late Jan is about 07.35 and sunset at 16.55. And with plenty of exit points if the weather turned really grim.

I should also add that I wanted to tweak the route to bivvy at a place I'd heard about -Chapman's Pool. Below are the GPX routes for both days - but please read on for a bit more info on a few of the issues I had.

t309123509_studland sortie day 1.gpx

Download GPX • 156KB

t309123433_studland sortie day2.gpx

Download GPX • 145KB

And most of those were down to mud. While the weather for both days was dry and even sunny; it turns out that the preceding 4 weeks of pretty much solid rain meant that irrespective of the sun, the ground was saturated - especially in the valleys and low ground. In fact, in lots of places the bridleways had become essentially streams. Combine that with a heavy laden bike and a pair of boots with minimal tread......You get the picture. Middle age man impersonating Bambi on ice.

My Coros tells me that I barely managed an average of 10kph. That 65km was more than enough I can tell you. Some of the hills were so slippery that cycling was out of the question - and even hike-a-bike a real challenge.

But it wasn't all bad - the route is great. Varied and plenty of fantastic views as you cycle along ridgelines, of the Channel, Poole Harbour and imposing bulk of Corfe Castle. Originally built by William the Conquerer and besieged more than once - it's like something out of Game of Thrones.

After getting to Swyre Head and then on to Kingston, I made a detour from the route in the book, to bivvy at Chapman's Pool. I took the most direct route down - which was a mistake. Although much of it is a metalled surface capable of taking cars, signs loudly proclaim 'NO CYCLING'. All the gates are locked, so the bike needed to be lifted over stiles or gates. Many of these were lovingly festooned with barbed wire. By the time I got down to the sea my joie de vivre was as punctured as my jacket. If you go down - take the route I took back up.

A deck with a view

But it's worth the pain - a really amazing place. The boat house has a flat and dry deck in front of it - ideal for a bivvy bag and Thermarest.

So that's where I parked up for the night, watching the sun sink to the west and listening to the restless murmuring of the tide as it waxed and waned.

A dry but cold night was perfectly bearable: at 3℃ I was actually a bit too warm in long johns etc.

But with a non-flexible return train ticket booked for the 14.11, my plan to slip and slide another 35 odd km offroad was patently unworkable, having moved out at 08.27. So I opted to forgo the dog leg to Old Harry Rocks and stuck to the roads after Nine Barrow Down. I've been there before and they are pretty spectacular, so if you've not been, try and stick to the route.

But the time I saved allowed me to grab a coffee at the Sandy Saltpig. They do a great flat white and kindly agreed to keep an eye on my bike while I popped over to Fort Henry. This is basically a huge concrete bunker built in 1943 to allow the top top brass (i.e. King George, Eisenhower and Churchill) observe Exercise Smash - the live ammo dress rehearsal for D-Day 6 weeks later. That's quite some piece of preparation. From there the road to the ferry is flat and then it's something of a climb from Sandbanks to Branksombe. But I'd saved so much time that I was about 55 minutes early for my train. The station is a bit grim - no staff and no facilities. Except...in the car park. There I was delighted to find The Blue Frog. A coffee trailer that served up a truly great egg and bacon sarnie. The couple behind the counter were as warm as the food. But sadly I didn't get to try Theo's Greatest Hot Chocolate Ever. Allegedly 'as close as you can get to snogging an angel while still breathing'! Maybe next time.

So that's it - first trip of 2025. Roll on the next.

A final thanks goes to John Lewis at Home in Branksome. On the train down I discovered that my iPhone charging cable wasn't working. A critical issue given that I use the phone not only to record most of the video I shoot but also to check my route. This shop is barely 5 minutes from the station - and they allowed me to park my bike in the foyer while I grabbed and paid for a new one upstairs. Good service and a loyal customer for that reason.

Watch the video and tell me what you think.