The Jurassic Coast and Operation Tiger

No, it's not a ride in search of dinosaurs! The Jurassic Coast is the name for a part of the southern coastline of England, most usually the stretch between Swanage and Budleigh Salterton. It also happens to be an alternative route for me when I visit my sister in Newton Poppleford, Devon. Much much better than the boring M4/M5 motorways or the caravaners favourite and speed camera strewn A303.

Leaving Swindon and traveling south through Marlborough and the tranquil greenery of Savernake forest I reached Salisbury in fairly rapid fashion. Although I had promised myself to keep the speeds sensible, sometimes temptation gets the better of me and I let the Tiger roar. This temptation is usually at it's worst on the A354 between Salisbury and Blandford Forum, on what is known as Cranbourne Chase. This road is a speed addict's dream. Some long straights and very fast sweepers all on a very good surface. It was at the end of this stretch of road that my journey could have ended before it had really begun! I was on an overtake at a highly illegal speed and didn't see the white van coming the other way until the very last moment Thank God for ABS! It saved my bacon. The Tiger is the first bike I've had with ABS and now that I've seen how it can help a rider, it's worth every penny.

My journey continued without further incident and I arrived at the small town of Swanage to photograph the start of the Jurassic Coast cliffs.




Riding westward over the Purbeck Hills this is Corfe Castle



Further west along the coast road, Weymouth and the Isle of Portland can be seen in the distance.



I decided to bypass Weymouth and ride out to Portland Bill so I could get a good photo of Chesil Beach.



Onwards and westwards on the B3157 passing through many quaint little villages where thatched cottages seem to be the norm, such as the ones in Abbotsbury.



Sidmouth was my next stop and then then finally Budleigh Salterton where the photo below was taken. The end of the 'Jurassic Coast'




DAY 2

After a good meal,a few beers and a good nights kip at my sisters I set out to ride down to Slapton Sands in south Devon. It was here that hundreds of Americans lost their lives practicing for the D-Day landings in 1944. The excerise was known as Operation Tiger

Before reaching Slapton Sands I had to negotiate the tangle of roads and streets of the Torbay area. This mess of streets resulted in a few wrong turns as I didn't have my Zumo with me and was just using an A-Z map. Unfortunately the map doesn't go into street level details and the local signage isn't very good, hence the wrong turns.

Once clear of Torbay I rode on to Dartmouth and used the Higher Ferry (one of two crossing points on the River Dart) to cross. Only £1 for motorcycles



The next ten or so miles was done at a very sedate pace as the road is very twisty and narrow but the view at the end of it over Slapton Sands is worth it.



There is a Normandy Landings Monument at the Sands but more interestingly there's also a Sherman tank recovered from the seabed and now displayed at the Torcross end of the Sands.



Up until now the weather had been kind. I was going to ride up onto Dartmoor and take some photos but the clouds gathered and the rain duely arrived so I decided that would have to wait for another day. So, it was back to my sisters for more grub and beer. The last photo is of my trusty steed outside the local village shop in Newtown Poppleford run by my sister and brother-in-law.




That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed it.