100 Climbs Route: Day 4, Tavistock to Lynton

In August 2018, three Cycling UK members - Dominic Millar, Graham Salisbury and James Findlater – cycled a 3,300-mile, 29-day route around Britain to take on all 100 hills featured in Simon Warren’s book ‘100 Greatest Cycling Climbs’. This route plots day four of the journey, 102 miles from Tavistock to Lynton, taking in the climbs of Widecombe, Dartmeet, Rundlestone and Challacombe.

If you’ve slept soundly, you’re in for something of a rude awakening as that glorious five-mile descent into Tavistock yesterday will have to be revisited, this time upwards. There’s some brief respite as you head through Rundlestone and Two Bridges, then another 20% killer coming out of Dartmeet up to Yar Tor. At least you should be greeted kindly by the Dartmoor ponies at the top.

Dartmoor’s final challenge lies on the road out of Widecombe-in-the-Moor. Simon Warren calls this “the jewel in Dartmoor’s Crown” and it’s an awesome, merciless hill that climbs more than 500 feet in less than a mile. Chris Boardman once did it in 4 minutes 10 seconds – you’ll be forgiven if you take a little longer.

From here you head north, around the edge of the moor and cross Devon up to Barnstaple and then the coastal village of Croyde. Head past the first turning into Woolacombe – you'll be coming up that in a little while – and enter the village from it’s eastern end. This means you can climb back out southwards, past the caravan parks, on Challacombe Hill. Hitting 25% in places, this is no relaxing seaside experience with most bike-mounted visitors reduced to pushing.

That’s the feature challenges done for the day, though. So from here it’s just a case of meandering eastwards through the valleys until you reach Lynton.