Travel Report: Napton to Hellidon off–road on a GS

Follow-up to CW Motorcycles off road ride, Shaftesbury to Stonehenge from Transversality - Robert O'Toole

The trail that runs from just south of Napton on the Hill to Hillindon is one of the few legal byways in Warwickshire. This morning I rode my BMW R100 GS-PD along it.

I had expected the track to be much more rough than it is. Compared to the byways that I know in Oxfordshire, it is smooth and free of the big ruts and pools caused by morons in top of the range 4×4s. This is good to see. Clearly some bikes had been down it recently, but in a sensible manner. The dry weather helped. As I have Metzeler Tourance dual-purpose tyres on, I wouldn't go off on my own in the wet. Today the only problem I had was one deep rut in which the cylinders (which stick out either side on a GS) dragged on the ground.

The route is great, passing through low rolling hills. It's open enough on both sides to get good views of the countryside, including a windmill. RSPB signs indicate that there are ground nesting birds in the fields. Next time I shall take binoculors. And the only other witnesses to me bouncing along on the beemer at 10mph – a small herd of cows and a very confused rabbit.

Robert O'Toole : 16 Jul 2005 14:35 |  Tags: Bmw Gs Motorcycle Travel Travel Travel And Motorcycles Travel Writing Writing |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem