boboneleg Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 I had a free day today so I decided to take a ride down to the Stonehenge byways as English heritage is threatening to close them again. The weather was decent when I set off but the roads were still soaking from last night so I took it steady on some of the back roads. Once I got down to Tilshead I turned left to get onto the byway that runs around the back of Westdown Camp , everything was open on Salisbury Plain as there is no live firing for the next couple of weeks. I use this site to check the status before visiting....... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salisbury-plain-training-area-spta-firing-times You can see Westdown Camp in the background here................ the byways on the Plain are well marked, this is how it should be done I dropped off the byway by the Great Bustard Inn and rode down to Airman's Corner. From there I took the A303 to get to the Stonehenge byways and sure enough the whole stretch of the A303 had bollards all the way along and the gates were shut across the byways. No photos I'm afraid as it was impossible to stop. At this point there was a lot of muttering inside my helmet but I set off for the Woodhenge turning to see if I could get in that way....... That'll be a NO then I carried on down to Larkhill and got the same result........... On the post here there was a copy of the TRO (traffic regulation order) so I took a while to read it. It seems that the byways (and some roads) were shut for the winter solstice and to be fair I had seen quite a lot of 'travellers' vehicles parked up nearby. I think the authorities were worried that some might use the solstice as an excuse to park up on the byways and then stay there. But I shall definitely keeping an eye on the situation as I have a feeling that English heritage will use any excuse to get their way and close them permanently. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 That's too bad everything was closed. Looks like a nice ride still. The low dull light makes the blue on your bike look very sharp! So at least you are looking good getting nowhere..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 The weather was still holding out for the moment so I decided to head north and then west to head around the perimeter path . I had real trouble finding my way in until I relised that a housing estate had been built on the byway Thanks for putting that sign up mate but I think you'd have trouble seeing that from the road I rattled along up the path, a lot of the top surface had been worn away by all the rain we've had and there were some big holes here and there to keep you on your toes. On a smaller bike I would be on the left hand track but today I was sticking firmly on the right side as the wet chalk, mud and some of those puddles would not have been a good idea ......... The o/e tyres on the T700 are fine on the gravel but had I attempted to ride the other track on them I would definitely have ended up on my arse This was a handy stop, I was dying to go so I stopped for a while. You can see one of the mock villages in the background that the army boys like to play in................. Then the heavens opened and it's bit exposed up there so I headed to my exit as quick as I could.......... What do you do if it's chucking it down and you want to stop somewhere to eat your sandwiches in the dry ? You find a nice uninhabited bus shelter It rained all the way back home but my gear kept me dry inside and it's good to ride in the wet from time to time and it improves your riding skills 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Some great photos! Your sandwich on the other hand looks...... well squashed..... Hope no one ever gets shot in that outhouse, looks like it is right on the boarder line of the range...... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 My sandwich was definitely squashed but strangely it seemed to taste better . 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Fallsalot Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Glad you got out Bob sure makes me feel better when i do. Weathers been crap here all day and looks the same for tomorrow however thursday looks like there might be a chance for me to get out, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTreme Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Excellent Bob.......can't say I'm too keen on that weather though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Love those dirt roads, I am surprised to see such a big distance of easy non tarmac that I would be happy to go on the big gs in the UK. Seems like entities in charge of stuff always try to take more things away from the people than they should. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboneleg Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 1 minute ago, Pedro said: Love those dirt roads, I am surprised to see such a big distance of easy non tarmac that I would be happy to go on the big gs in the UK. Seems like entities in charge of stuff always try to take more things away from the people than they should. The gravel roads on the Plain would be perfect for your GS, firing and bombing permitting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedro Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 1 minute ago, boboneleg said: The gravel roads on the Plain would be perfect for your GS, firing and bombing permitting that's something that really takes an hardcore rider 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tym Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 I love that bike. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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