North Dorset Trailway – Riding Through History On The Dorset and Somerset Joint Railway

Gravel Cycling the North Dorset Trailway | Spetisbury to Sturminster Newton and Back!

Join us as we recreate one of our earliest gravel rides along the full length of the North Dorset Trailway from Spetisbury through Blandford and all the way to Sturminster Newton, before looping back again. This scenic route takes us through beautiful countryside, peaceful woodland, and historic towns, all on a well-maintained and mostly traffic-free path, perfect for gravel bikes.

This ride is extra special as Julie continues to push her limits for taking on longer rides whilst overcoming the lasting effects of chemotherapy. Her determination and resilience are nothing short of inspiring.

Whether you’re planning your own ride or just love a good cycling adventure, come along for the journey!

🚴‍♂️ Route: Spetisbury – Blandford – Sturminster Newton
🛣 Distance: Approx 60 miles

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#GravelCycling #NorthDorsetTrailway #CyclingUK #BikeAdventure #WomenRideStrong #CyclingInspiration #GravelRide #DorsetCycling

Help us fuel the rides ☕. – https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wheelersatlarge

Julie is riding her @LivCyclingWorld Invite with @elitewheelscycles wheels
Mike is riding a @RideGiantBicycles Revolt with @elitewheelscycles wheels

Gear We Use…
MagicShine code: ​wheeler15 – https://magicshine.com/products/
Wahoo/GoPro/Light Front Mount: https://amzn.to/3BHeVYU
Stans Race Sealant: https://amzn.to/3n2zTKV
Dyna Plug: https://amzn.to/2WTslzj
Coloured Bar Tape: https://amzn.to/2WUlRjY
Parma Violets: https://amzn.to/3DL88fZ

Strava:
https://www.strava.com/athletes/31550629
https://www.strava.com/athletes/31550485

as you can see Julia’s dressed for speed but um we’re actually going to recreate a route or a ride that we did right back at the start when we first got our gravel bikes it’s not necessarily going to be a fast route or a fast ride it’s just something that we did a few years back when we first got our gravel bikes we haven’t been that way for a long time so we thought we’d do it again as you can see I am not dressed for speed and um we’re carrying extras i believe the new word created by GCN for carrying stuff on your bike is gubbins obviously not a new word but a new word in cycling let’s say yeah yeah so I know we try and keep um you know everything positive as we can on the channel we just ride bikes and sort of get get on with it and it all looks like you know sunshine and roses I suppose from the outside but yeah since Julie’s diagnosis and cancer treatment she has been left with lasting issues and yeah cycling is not always as easy as you might think and um yeah sometimes these issues are quite debilitating and it was of course one of the reasons why I decided to retire not just because all of a sudden you realize life is quite short but you know she needs help from time to time so this is one of those occasions and um local councils why do you issue a radar key and then padlock the toilets yeah what’s the point in that anyway there we go waitro to the rescue this time yeah definitely a car came down the hill all right see these oh hello Swan there yeah you see these they’re called cutwaters and um they face upstream if I remember on the way back I’ll show you something strange just down the road all right we are going to climb onto the North Dorset Trailway here all right car coming here we are ghost station of Specsbury yeah they always keep it really tidy they do it’s nice good morning Wheelers at Large we’re out again it’s so easy to forget just how amazing this looks in the summer amazing it’s beautiful by the way it’s not morning anymore yeah so we’re on our gravel bikes today but actually you could easily road ride a road bike along here with 28 or 30 mil tires but it’s just whether you’d want to or not i was going to say add some music over this Mike but the sound of the gravel and the birds I don’t think you need to yeah so we’re heading towards Blandford and when this was a railway it used to go through Bamford up to Steritz and Newton these days it’s been redesated as the North Dorset Trailway it is pretty much uninterrupted all the way from Spbury there to ser Newton we will have to get on the road at Blandford just for a mile or so got our own little picnic today and I think Mike just said I’m left with a few issues and I can’t have too much fats or oils and uh pastries things like that not really very good for me so it’s better to eat my own food that I know I’ll be all right on yeah so I believe this here wasn’t actually a station it was just a halt and a couple of times a year they used to stop there to pick up the uh the borders at the local boarding school and I think actually that kept going right to the end so this is the end of this section of the railway we got to turn down and get on the road but um yeah it’s not very far at all okay let’s go yeah we do have to cross the Bford bypass at the roundabout but being a roundabout most people are slowing down as they get to it okay so here’s the railway bridge it would have come across from over the river there and uh we’re going to head that way and rejoin the trailway where the station used to be yeah some nice little presentation boards tells you a little bit about the history shall I go on then it’s a bit rudy but hey bit of an adventure station court so this would have been the original railway station flats and housing now and uh there we go little bit of track left in place there and we’re back on the North Dorset Trailway yeehaw got to make a noise in the tunnel oh listen to the birds Mike i just spot that with a u-ha didn’t I you did [Music] we’re going to deviate from the uh railway again a little bit here but um you can actually see the embankment where it was and then we’ll rejoin it again in a minute no worries no worries enjoy your ride thanks and you Don’t eat the flies and don’t touch the fence it’s electrified that now for some reason I very much like this view i don’t know what it is yeah okay there’s a slightly modern house over there with panels on the roof but yeah though that church in that background in this setting we have come away from the railway slightly but you can see the embankment in front of us there that’s where the railway would have gone and we’re going to go around here and rejoin it yes this is ster paint i mean okay there’s a few sort of 60s and 70s places squeezed in between but it’s just fabulous little place isn’t it right we’re just about to get into what is my favorite part of the trailway silver birches yeah the silver birch tree tunnel this is the silver birch tree tunnel deled sunlight birds singing trail ahead cool beautiful so nice foot bridge obviously replaces the original rail bridge you still see the foundations on either side of the river where the original bridge was Chilling Stone Station all run by volunteers they’ve even got working locomotives looks like they’ve extended the track slightly as well yeah looks like they’re extending the track a bit further that’s new since the last time we came down here that’s for sure so we’re just deviating through Bear Marsh Farm but looking up there at the embankment there is rail so actually they’ve extended it quite some way it said nesting barn owls do not disturb yeah oh I’ve got something in my head in my helmet it’s all right it come out I think yeah it’s come out little hitchhiker yeah it’s come out I think unless it’s you know settled in there it’s not making any more noise see she’s just come along and said “I’m really hungry.” But I know she’s been eating fries i’m not sure what the issue is here i don’t think you can live on flies they’re not very tasty either so lovely hia [Music] hia and here we go so that’s Newton so this is the station i believe there was a goodsy yard here there’s our picnic tuna salad wrap of course being dry and dusty it looks like we’re going to get some mud in our coffee yeah that’s not looking great is it i might have to fix that green lights’s on so hopefully it’s working honestly paparazzi they do anything to get photos of us that was a nice little stop from that nice picnic uh yeah um ah that seems a bit keen there’s the revolt with coffee drink and a frame bag for you know picnic yeah it’s that time of year and that bikes are very dusty definitely back to um waxing and the chains obviously yeah hopefully just give them a a quick wipe off run the chains through a clean rag get the dust off them there you go no water required there’s at least two helicopters up there one’s a police helicopter another one’s a search and rescue helicopter and there was three police cars and a police van in Sturminster Newton they’re definitely looking for somebody now now there is a prison just up the road from um Sturman Newton so who knows maybe there’s been a prison break i was able to use my radar key at Stman Newton though oh good there wasn’t an absconded prisoner in there was there i didn’t see anyone oh I always remember this hill coming back from work it was just too early in the ride to be ready for it i don’t know yeah it’s just too hard too soon see it’s not the getting up here it’s the um traction oh see traction thank you oh there it is there it is there it is i’m guessing that was some sort of railway hut yeah it’s just posts isn’t it prefabbed with concrete panels in between there he is i couldn’t see it could you see it oh okay yeah we’ll compare it to the one that’s still standing up the road here all right here we go now I believe tramps do actually live in this one oh yeah it’s got the same preformed posts with concrete panels in between something else I’d like to draw your attention to is this tree now I’m assuming those tires must have been on there for a very very long time yeah that is the unmistakable shape of a Spitfire i don’t know if I could get that it’s too far away but right so we’ve had a closer look at the planes one is a modernday twin seater the Spitfire is rolling around the other plane and you know pulling maneuvers and what have you so I’m guessing there’s some sort of filming or airto-air photography going on yeah that’s crazy thank you thank you oh yeah get get a load of that weed oh that’s a nice smell i’m feeling happier already [Applause] she gives me all these excuses oh I’m feeling a bit sluggish oh I’m not going very far oh I’m a bit tired and then she comes flying past me goes “Boo!” and rides away honestly I fall for it every time if you’ve watched this far into the video thank you for watching us click the like button join us for the next one yeah a long time since we’ve been up the North Detailway that was good fun oh it’s always easy to forget just how nice these roots are okay here we go so as you can see this one got cut waters on both sides the flow of the water quite obviously going downstream towards the sea so you have cut waters this side which makes absolute sense cuz it’s protecting the bridge so if when the water gets high it deflects it round okay so why has this one been built with cut waters the other side as well we’re far too far in land for it to be tidal so yeah anyway there you go a little anomaly whites Mill or White Mill not sure part of the Kingston Lacy estate i think it looks symmetrical and therefore it’s fine in my book yep transported for life