Frome Vauchurch Parish Churchyard (a) Frome Vauchurch Parish Churchyard (a). Photo: Basher Eyre / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Open the interactive map → Map of NCN 26 - Portbury Dock

Official route · Sustrans

NCN 26 - Portbury Dock

154.9 km 1354 m climbing About 2 days 14% off road Road cycling Mid & South Wales

The route runs south from Clevedon through the Mendip Hills before dropping onto the Somerset Levels and then climbing again into the hills of Dorset.

Most of the surface is road, with around a seventh of the distance on other surfaces. The line reaches Glastonbury at roughly the halfway point, then works through a long sequence of small settlements, Burton, Chelwell, West Chelborough, Higher Wraxall, Cattistock, before descending to the Dorset coast at Weymouth and Castletown.

The figures

Distance154.9 km
Climbing1354 m
Off road21 km, about 14% of the route
Riding timeabout 9 hours, roughly 2 days at a moderate pace
RegionMid & South Wales
Route fromSustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Glastonbury is the main resupply point before the route thins out through Dorset. The stretch between Stoford and Cattistock passes through several small settlements but they are spaced far enough apart to plan for. Weymouth is the last substantial place on the line.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

Plan this route → Download the GPX

Other route guides

NCN 26 - Portbury Dock is an official route from Sustrans (their website).