Between the Devrills and the deep blue sky
- poulterjim
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
Another Friday and another platform at Clapham Junction. This time I was off to somewhere called Tisbury in Wiltshire to tackle another route from the Bikepacking book by Laurence McJannet. Given it was still March and the clocks yet to spring forward I'd chosen one of the shorter routes, with a short train ride to get to the start.
It's good to see so many more people taking bikes on trains, but it does make me realise how few spaces there currently are: seemingly just 3 bikes per 4 or 5 carriages. Surely this needs to change? More spaces and less faff when it comes to using them. Booking in advance; printing out 5 or 6 pieces of card at the station, fixing one to the bike.....it all seems designed to discourage bike use.
The route starts at Tisbury - a rather genteel town in Wiltshire. In look (warm honey and oat coloured stone buildings) and vibe (oldish people in twinsets and red corduroy trousers) it feels a bit like the Cotswolds. And, like the Cotswolds, there's a lot of signs telling you that the land is private and you must keep out.
This was especially irritating because one of those signs was on part of the route I had dowloaded. So my route (in the links below) has a bit more road to it.
That aside it was a good, if slightly short route and massively enhanced by the sunny skies and the season. Late March and things are stirring - trees in blossom and bluebells starting to bud. It's also the season for wild garlic, which I love. So in a fit of culinary inspo I picked a bunch and stuffed it into the pocket of my rucsac. You need to watch out for Lords and Ladies though, grows among the wild garlic and looks v similar. The heart-shaped leaves in the left hand image are the ones to avoid.
Under tyre was a good mix of country lanes, forestry track and a bridle paths - nothing too gnarly - though a couple of quite steep climbs, resulting in a fair bit of hike-a-bike. After a few weeks without rain though, a lot easier than the Purbecks had been in late January. The last 20% of the day was along a ridge that had the most amazing views - you could see for miles and miles and miles. It was also amazingly windy - and the drone had a total meltdown. I ended running after it!!
I camped on the top of Brimsdown Hill at ///brands.torch.deflation. A level spot, in a beech wood, sheltered from the wind. The wild garlic experiment was only partially successful - and cooked. Next time I will blanch or fry the leaves before I add to the pasta, but it was defintely an improvement on the plain version of the pasta.
With no moon or clouds, the stars were simply amazing. To quote Brandon Flowers "rebel diamonds cut out of the sun". Along with the stars was also a loud echoing bark that reverberated across the hills throughout the night. No idea what it might be. Any ideas readers?
Anyway, weird, but clearly not dangerous, as dawn broke with it's usual ear-splitting cacophony of birds trying to find a bit of airtime, and the only injury was to my Thermarest which had sprung a leak.
What was a bit more dangerous was the fact that the powerbank I'd brought along simply didn't work. So my poor iPhone 13 was running on fumes by sunset. And, while my Coros Dura will run for days, the trade off is that the detail onscreen is minimal to say the least. I'm old enough to prefer an actual map and compass, but had neither. So my route to Warminster station to get home was restricted to following road signs rather than ancient Roman roads or ley lines.
2 trips down, another 8 if I'm to get to double figures for 2025.
Where next?
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