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MEMBERS BIKES AND TRAVELS
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A Good Guest House in Matlock Bath
This photo of
Ashdale Guest House is courtesy of TripAdvisor |
John and Val Dyke recently stayed at this Luxury B & B in Matlock Bath, Derbyshire and this is his report
Val and I have just returned from a few days away in Derbyshire, the highlight of which was the lovely ASHDALE GUEST HOUSE in Matlock Bath.
It is run by Barry and Lindy ANDREWS , ( related to Mick Andrews- M/C Champion) who simply could not do enough to make our stay comfortable.
The rooms are lovely with a full (or part) breakfast of your choosing which is ready at the time you request. There is parking for bikes or cars
under the 2 Monkey Puzzle trees or in the road outside, where hundreds of mo/bikes gather on fine Wednesday evenings or Sundays. We found it
remarkably reasonable, considering the quality of the service, and can't wait to return.(Next year?)
It is close to lots of interesting places like the Crich Tramway Museum, Heights of Abraham Cable Cars, Mining Museums and much else,
with all the magnificent Derbyshire roads and countryside to enjoy.
I just know that I shall feel happier to pre-book this guest house before we leave home next time as it will take all the guesswork out of wondering
where to stay in a strange area. These people deserve all the publicity we can give them for their attention to their guests' needs and desires.
(You can also mention us if you like - as we DID pay our bills on checking out !)
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This is a view of the road along the Gorges Superiores du Cians that Pete Fletcher and John Robinson rode last year
An excellent surface all the way and very recently resurfaced to a great extent, as you can see from the photo.
The only bumpy bit is just the very last bit after Beuil if you're coming from the north.
The quite wide road is excellent; the surface is good and follows every curve of the river next to it, and this river curves big time.
I don't think there's anything resembling a straight. There are tight flickable sections and tight sweepers, trees and cliffs. Everything.
The red cliff face is on your right the whole way down. In places the road narrows and the cliff face overhangs a bit. Makes a fast right
hand bend with oncoming traffic over the white lines, a real cheek clenching experience!
22km of biking heaven. Imposing scenery, superb surface and red rocks. We rate it as moderately difficult because of the speed you tend to
go at combined with the tightness of most of the corners. Seriously recommended. Eventually the road snakes down to the main road the N202.
There is nothing to recommend about the N202 itself except the occasional petrol station (Puget-Theniers), the interesting walled town of
Entrevaux and it's also the way to the Gorges de Dalius.
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Sometimes I think the French build roads just for the fun of it
So, where are these roads ?
Look at a map. Below is an example of a Michelin 'Region' map scale 1cm = 2km (1" = 3miles) which shows the sort of thing to look for.
More detail is available on the 'Departments' maps, scale 1cm = 1.5Km but they don't cover such a big area
Now what to look for, wiggley roads with green shading along the side indicating that it is a scenic route. At which point it must be said - when travelling watch the road not the scenery.
Red roads are between town main roads which can be (by French standards) busy, yellow ones are country roads linking small towns and villages.
The white ones are surfaced minor country roads which can be fun but for some excitment look for the white ones with red dots down them.
These should not be tackled on your own as Michelin classifies them as 'Parcours difficile ou dangereux' difficult or dangerous section of road.
The link below is to a YouTube video where you can see how you might end up in a pickle if not properly prepared, it starts of easy enough, nice sunny
day good road etc. Follow the video, watch how things change. Where would you turn back ?
Col de Tende
