Mendip and Dundry loops | Britain's best bike rides

A ride that offers two hill climbs in one: up steep Harptree Hill in the Mendips, or a shorter loop over Dundry Downs? Click here to view the route mapDistance 21 miles (33.8km) or 33 miles (53.1km) Classification Moderate Start/finish The Friary, just off Temple Circus gyratory, Bristol, BS1 Duration 3 ?5 hours Route NCN route 3 Map Sustrans Somerset Levels cycle map, OS Explorer 155, OS Landranger 172 Route notesHeading out of Bristol through the rolling farmland and pretty villages of the Chew valley, you have the option of a longer (33-mile) ride past Chew Valley Lake and up the steep Harptree Hill on the northern slope of the Mendips, or a shorter (21-mile) route looping back over Dundry Downs via Limeburn Hill.Terrain and gradientsExcept for a path past the lake it's all undulating country roads with tarmac surface once you get out of Bristol, so watch out for cars on bends. Harptree Hill is a real leg-burner, climbing 60m in half a mile. Limeburn Hill is just as steep on the shorter loop, levelling out slightly as you pass Chew Hill but then climbing again past Greenleigh Farm.How to get there/awayThe route is circular. Apart from Temple Meads, Parson Street and Bedminster railway stations are not far from the northern loop. CT Coaches runs buses that allow folding bikes back into Bristol from East Harptree and Dundry in the morning (one service in the afternoon via Blagdon).What to seeGreat views of the north Somerset hills, and some challenges too. On the longer route the road starts to climb after the lake. It gets steeper as you pass Beaconfield Farm. The view from Harptree Hill is fantastic as you speed back down into East Harptree. Chew Magna is an interesting village with several listed buildings, while the nearby lake, constructed only in 1956, is already a site of special scientific interest and an important haven for birdlife, with more than 260 species recorded.Watering holesThe Waldegrave Arms is a 14th-century inn with an attractive garden, serving ale and good quality food. Also in East Harptree is the Castle of Comfort (Old Bristol Road, BS40 6DD, castleofcomfort.com). This 17th-century pub, whose name derives from housing prisoners from Wells jail on their last night before being hanged at nearby Gibbets Brow, is popular for its generously portioned dishes and locally sourced ales and ciders.Dundry hosts the Winford Arms and if you want to go upmarket, try the Dundry Inn gastropub .Cycling holidaysCyclingFitnessBristolUnited Kingdomguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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