Torrington-Hartland-Bideford Run 1st November 2025
Riders:
Jack Husaberg FE350
Gav Husqvarna FE350
Chris Beta 200RR
Micheal KTM 300 TBI
Gary KTM 300 TBI
Shaun Beta Xtrainer 300
After spending most of the summer riding solo on my mission to record every Devon Lane for the Green Road Map (762 Lanes so far!) the chance arose to join Gav on a ride in North Devon/Torridge Area taking in the great lanes around Hartland that I hadn't ridden since around 2012. We met at South Street car park in Torrington for 8:30 departing shortly after. With me leading and Gav taking up the TEC position we made our way south to the first lane of the day. This was Ashbury Lane near Stibbs Cross (GRMUID:5004) A pretty easy farm track but after rain the night before it was quite slippery!
A couple of Lanes near Langtree after this before arriving at Little Comfort Lane+Badslake lane (GRMUID 5011 4895) half way along you meet lanes coming from the left and right which are sadly now Restricted Byways. The end of badslake lane would be better the other way as we dropped down a rocky descent to the house and road at the bottom.
A few more lanes with lots of road work in between as lanes are quite sparse in this area of Devon before we reach the next one worth mentioning. This was Bason Farm-GreenHurst, Cookbury (GRMUID:5019) Another Lane with a tricky central rut and large lake of water just before the bridge in the woodland half way along. I took the right hand side through the water and some behind took the left which was quite alot deeper! Chris I believe had a little lie down along this lane! Standing water seemed to be the common theme on this day with most ruts absolutely filled. Feet didn't stay dry for long even with sealskin socks.
Heading back North slightly after this we reached North Town Lane, Milton Dameral (GRMUID:5018) This Lane marked unsuitable for motors appears to have been Tarmac at some time but well on its way to returning to nature now. Even though we had only covered 28 Miles at this point we made a quick dash to Horrelsford Garage to fill up as Shaun on the XTrainer didn't think he would have enough fuel to make it to the planned fuel stop after 75-80 miles.
The Next lane we reached was Sutcombe (GRMUID:5016) Famous as a section of the Land End Trial. The Ford looked deep but we all were across with minimal Fuss!
Not far to Old Quarry Lane on the other side of Sutcombe (GRMUID:5015). A great Long lane with a bit of everything. A rotten looking branch was hanging in the first part of the lane which I stopped to give a pull but it was still firmly attached! A large tree was down after this but had been cut just enough to allow bikes to pass. Just after the tree we met 2 horse riders. Their horses weren't keen on the bikes so they dismounted to pass but pleasantries were exchanged and we were soon both on our way!
Another short Lane at Great Dinworthy before passports at the ready to cross the Border into Cornwall and over the A39 to Gooseham where we had the rocky Climb up through (GRMUID:6344) I had a long wait at the top as someone had an off here and others struggled with grip to get moving again.
We did Bryaton Lane (GRMUID:6345) next which was opposite the exit of the last. This was a nice lane with a great twisty section through the woods. On the Road section to the next Lane we saw a very shiny 25 plate Honda Jazz that was seemingly abandoned after dropping off the tarmac road into a ditch. The Lady driver had gone to seek help at a nearby farm and was just walking back to the car as we dismounted with the farmer following. Luckily he didn't need any vehicle to tow her out as 4 of us trail riders were enough and after a little bit of pushing and pulling she was on her way again.
The Next Lane is a favourite of mine down through Marsland Wood (GRMUID:6343,5000). 2 of us were waiting at the start of the lane for the other riders to appear. I had said to Micheal who was waiting with me I would head on down to the Ford crossing to wait for the other and get a video. So I headed off down the lane. When you get to the house it's a sharp right hander and down a rocky slippery descent to the river. On this crossing of the river. One of 3! Read on to find out why I chose the far left hand line which was considerably deep! Front mudguard dipped under briefly. I dismounted and walked back to the bridge and waited No one appeared. I had no phone signal so had no choice but to cross back again and see what had happened. I took the Middle line this time which was still deep but much less than the previous line! I had to go right back to the Start of the lane where I found everyone looking at Gary's back wheel. The tyre was completely flat. He was running tubliss with a Maxxis trialmaxx rear and had a puncture. He had already tried reinflating it but the air was escaping as quick as it entered. Good job I had age on my side with better hearing it seemed than the rest as I quickly located the 2 inch gash in the tyre sidewall! Gary was prepared with a tubeless repair kit and I plugged the hole for him and amazingly it held air for the rest of the day. Very lucky. On our way again all successfully navigated the ford and I forewarned them not to take the left hand entry route!
Several great lanes followed! The TTRO it appears has not been renewed in Lopthorne wood (GRMUID:6133) so we rode this giving the collapsed culvert a wide berth and had a great climb to the exit of this Lane.
Too Many lanes to mention here really. Just before our lunch stop in Hartland we did Cutliffe Lane (GRMUID:4982) We saw our only walker of the day on this lane. Another long lane through woodland which isn't marked so helpful with the satnav here to find the correct route! We stopped in Hartland for lunch. There were slim pickings in the village shop and i choose a breakfast slice which was seemingly a tin of heinz beans and sausages emptied into a bit of pastry. Not very nice cold but it filled a hole !
Next Lane after lunch (GRMUID:4977 5029) passing Cheristow Farm. This had to be one of the longest lanes of the day with a bit of everything! Rocks mud and ruts. No vehicles Blocking the western end but after posting this lane on facebook it seems a lot of trail riders and 4x4 users have problems here with the house owners refusing to answer the door to users wanting to pass.
We started making our way North east now towards Bideford for our Fuel Stop. One lane worth mentioning is off the A39 at Lower Waytown (GRMUID:5026 4987), I'm sure the start of this lane used to be much narrower but has been opened right up now with no hedge rows to speak of! Further along there is an odd sort of rushy grass that fills the lane that only purpose seems to be to pull your feet off the pegs as you try to negotiate the central rut! Tricky going.
We stopped for fuel in Bideford after a few more lanes and shortly after leaving the fuel stop we had what can only be described as a biblical downpour! We had avoided it for most of the day but we were well and truly soaked for the last few lanes heading back to Torrington!
The last lane of the day was Thorne wood at Monkleigh (GRMUID:4996) nice Rocky lane under the wheels for the first part before turning into a grassy single rut again! Back to Torrington to load up and the sun was shining again! Great day with 102 Miles covered.
This is a really interesting and informative post.
I'd already created a run sheet from the info you sent to me earlier but this allows me to add the other riders and comments to the runs archive and overlay database.
Great run report Jack. I'm not familiar with that area at all but it sounds like a worthwhile visit sometime in the future.
Well done assisting the stranded motorist (loving thems Cornish accents I could hear to. Ha ha. Brilliant)
Tubliss - never been a fan exactly for the instance that was encountered here, slashes as opposed to punctures. You were very lucky indeed that the repair held for the rest of the day. Carrying a spare tube is advisable if running a Tubliss system, just in case, but its been Mousses all the way for me since swapping from tubes many moons ago now! Hassle free riding, AND with less spares and associated tools.
