Had to go from Barnstaple to Minehead today with the truck, not as easy as one thinks.
Haven't been down that way for donkey's, so from my and colleague's memory Porlock Hill is/was weight/length limited which scratched the A39 route.
The alternative i took was fine until i encountered another restricted route which wasn't signed until well committed down the road...that's not unusual though.
Residents and drivers in Bampton, Morebath and Upton on the B3190 had an unusual sight today, but the driver's i encountered were mostly forgiving..;)
Does anyone know the HGV situation A39 route Minehead to Barnstaple, particularly the Porlock Hill restrictions.
The Minehead dealer assures me it still causes chaos when something large tries to negotiate.
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I'm a bit out of touch with the area these days but I think you're supposed to forget both the coast road and the old A361 (now B3227 I think) Taunton via Wiveliscombe and Bampton route and go the long way round instead, via Taunton and the North Devon link road off the M5.
The last time they saw anything bigger than a tractor at Upton was Clarence Gadd's 29-seater Bedford OB coach, the 'Haddon Queen' - and that was 50 years ago...
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Took a Mk1 Escort up Porlock Hill in the 70's. Had 4 up +luggage for 2 week holiday. Had to do it in two trips by dropping 2 people and some luggage off at bottom, dropped wife and some luggage at top, then back down for the other two and more luggage!
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In the mid sixties, as a small boy, I vividly recall sitting in the front seat of my dad's Morris Minor as we rounded the sharp bend near the bottom of Porlock hill.
Even now I can feel my stomach turn over as I contemplated the impossible gradient ahead that appeared very nearly vertical.
The Morris chugged happily upwards to the plateau where many had their bonnets up with steam emanating from many orifices.
In the great scheme of things just a few years ago- in the progress of the motor car eons.
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I came utterly and comprehensively unstuck here whilst driving a coach a few years back. I'd never been to the area before and the tour itinerary stated that I was to drive into Minehead down Porlock Hill. The hotel manager said that all the coach drivers did the day out in reverse, ie Minehead then up Porlock Hill back to Ilfracombe. So, naiively I did as he suggested. The coach did fairly well, though it had an automatic gearbox and I had to stop a couple of times, put the handbrake on and rev the engine to the max then release the handbrake to get the thing moving again. Sadly, just as I rounded the last corner it simply refused to go any further. I had to ask the 40-odd (mainly elderly) passengers to get off and walk the last remaining couple of hundred yards. I was very very embarrassed, and very very annoyed with the hotel manager. And also myself for taking his word as gospel...
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Ah BW, you've confirmed i did the right thing in not going for the Porlock route, wouldn't have fancied the descent even if allowed, meeting someone on those bends may have meant a bit of reversing, and doubt if there'd have been enough traction.
If your coach couldn't make it, then doubt my thing would either...trouble is as you found out getting an opinion from someone who drives a comparable vehicle that has negotiated the route is not easy.
Think MH is right, the official route for something big may well be back to the M5 and return along the top via Taunton, a considerable journey.
I had taken the 361 back as far as Tiverton, and truned left up the A396, unfortunately when you reach the staggered junction for Bampton there is a sign that informs you that Dunster is restricted to 32ft length and 18 ton limit...bit late by then.
Luckily a decent stick in a Xtrail pulled up and told me i could get through the B road i mentioned in the OP, judging by the steep hills noted on my map for that route i wouldn't have dared commit meself without local advice.
As the other poster's have reminded us this route really does take it out of a vehicle.
As an aside the automated manual in my truck really isn't up to hard hill climbing, even in manual override which i use all the time the changes are just not fast enough to cope with the deceleration on 1 in 7 or worse hills, coupled with a modern Diesel that has zero low speed lugging ability it's not a good combination...as is often the case old school stuff would eat such hills with ease...maybe not Porlock itself though..;)
Was your coach gearbox an automated manual BW?
Question for car drivers here...
Do drivers of automated manual cars find similar problems if they try and negotiate very steep hills?
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Question for car drivers here... Do drivers of automated manual cars find similar problems if they try and negotiate very steep hills?
Going up Porlock Hill I find once you are out of 2nd gear down into 1st, best to leave it there until all the bends are out of the way.
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Years ago I rode up Porlock hill in the rearmost row of seats of a Ford Transit minibus.
That was quite an experience, like it was about to tip on its back.
That was before I got into Land Rover RTV trialling, so Porlock would seem tame now!
There's another slightly scary bit of the A39 'Atlantic Highway' after one climbs the very steep hill eastwards out of Lynmouth, where the road makes a semi-circular kink around a little cove, where there's a steep drop to the sea that must be not far short of 1000 feet!
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Yes, and if you take the real coast road out of Lynton, via the Valley of Rocks and Woody Bay towards Parracombe you'll be right on the edge of some real drops. I did that road for the first time - going east so on the cliff edge against traffic coming the other way - as a learner in my father's Austin Cambridge. All I learned was to try and keep my trousers clean. I did the Col du Turini a bit ago and it wasn't as scary.
When I was a youngster we used to stand at the bottom of Porlock Hill and watch the drivers who took a look at the first right-hander and decided they didn't need first gear. Then we'd watch 'em rolling back...
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