We cycled The Strawberry Line a couple of weeks ago for the first time as a family. We set our sights on Yatton to Cheddar, a 10 mile, mostly flat and mostly traffic free route. It was ambitious as we’d only ever done a few miles with the children, aged 4 and 5yrs, so bought new tow ropes and plenty of snacks. It was a huge success.

MAP & DIRECTIONS

Cycle Map & Directions – below is a fully interactive map with directions, elevation & distances. Download the plotaroute app to follow the route on your phone with a few simple steps.

We used The Strawberry Line Yatton to Cheddar map

It forms part of the National Route 26

The route is described as predominantly flat with no steep gradients and whilst I don’t disagree, some of the small hill sections were tough in the heat, especially when towing a small child yelling “I’m cycling backwards Mummy, this is great fun!”. Here’s the full route profile.

THE CYCLE

The Strawberry Line was created from a former railway trackbed which you’ll see evidence of along the way. It received its name as it was used to transport strawberries from the fields of Cheddar. The railway closed in 1965 and by 1983 volunteers from The Strawberry Line Society began work on an ambitious project aiming to create a continuous 30 mile traffic-free path from Clevedon to Shepton Mallet. Grander plans to create a 76 mile traffic free loop around Somerset can be seen here.

We parked up at Yatton train station with a loose plan to ride as far as we could, then Mike would cycle back to get the car. We merrily cycled past flat marshes and miles of path flanked with wild pink and white dogwood roses and tall grasses housing a diversity of wildlife. There are plenty of options to stop off for ice cream and lunch along the route but we stopped to eat our picnic in the shade of the apple orchards nearly half way. Thatchers have a factory where you can do a tour and taste their cider.

After a short section on the quiet road the path passes through wooded valleys and on to a tunnel through the Mendip hills which drop away alongside the path, to historic Axbridge.

We loved the 165m Shute Shelve Tunnel. There are low level lights all the way through and the daylight at the end of the tunnel so it’s not too dark. I welcomed the cold low lit space on our hot summers day and rode fast alongside a very excitable child riding at pace screaming out strange things he could see. The tunnel is home to several species of bats and rare cave spiders.

We made it all the way to Axebridge, just a mile shy of Cheddar, and sat in the very pretty square refuelling with ice creams, lemonade and jammy scones. Mike downed a double espresso and sped back to get the car which, in hindsight wasn’t exactly a great plan as he was exhausted and I had to entertain two very tired children. Next time we’d do a shorter section and return or try and find a bus back.

If you make it as far as the famous Cheddar Gorge there’s a wonderful cliff top walk plus plenty of options for refreshments.  

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• TERRAIN: The terrain is limestone dust, mostly flat with only gentle inclines and declines.
• ROADS & CROSSINGS: There were some quiet country road sections although cars didn’t always slow down. There were also some very busy crossings which required some close child management when crossing with two bikes. 
• PARKING: We parked at Yatton train station which costs about £3 for the whole day. You can also park at Winscombe Recreation Ground for free or Winscombe, Sandford & Congresbury.
• BIKE HIRE: You can hire bikes from Strawberry Line Cycles at Yatton station.
• LENGTH: 10.7 miles, 17.3 kilometres – plenty of options to shorten or lengthen
• DURATION: It took us 3.5hours to get from Yatton to Axebridge
• ELEVATION: 75m
• ACCESS: This route is suitable for bikes, wheelchairs & buggies. We saw all wheels en route. The only barriers we came across were narrow ones (pictured) to prevent wider vehicles and they were slightly too narrow for my husbands bike handles.
• DOG FRIENDLY: Yes
• PUB & CAFE OPTIONS: Community-run Strawberry Line Café, Silver Springs Fishery and Café