The Three County Special

The Three County Special is a route I put together over time linking some of my favourite trails from around the three counties well it’s technically four, Hampshire, Wiltshire, The Somerset border (Very short visit) and Dorset. This route has lots to offer from hard climbs to rolling gravel, old drove roads and single track and some unique sights to stop off and enjoy.

It’s a route that can be quite challenging at times, but there are plenty of easier sections, depending on your level of bike handling skills and fitness this might be more towards the challenging side, at just under 300 miles its a good adventure to get out for 3–5 days, experience some of the best gravel roads in Wiltshire. Wiltshire has some of the best off-road gravel roads in England, it’s a great place to explore by bike.

Starting and finishing in the new forest means you get an easy start and an easy finish, cruising through the forest on lovely maintained gravel. It’s a really long gravel finish as you make your way through the Silka trail near Warham onto the Castleman trail all the way to the new forest. But before you get to that nice finish on that perfect gravel you will be cycling down the hilly Dorset coastline where you can enjoy the beautiful views as you head towards the Purbeck coastline, feel free to drop into Lulworth cove for a swim, you might need it to cool down things get steep along here.

This is either a gravel bike adventure or a MTB adventure, either bike will serve you well, you will want at least 45mm tyres on the gravel bike and some good easy gearing. If it has been raining, some of the trails can become nice a slippery in and around Wiltshire especially.