Video: Is this the best motorcycle road in the South West?

Some days you just get lucky. You find yourself riding an incredible motorcycle road, and it feels like you’ve got it all to yourself. That’s what happened when we rode a Triumph Bonneville in Cornwall along the glorious 13-mile stretch of B3306 from St Ives to St Just.

This snaking stretch of Tarmac is regularly cited as being among the best motorcycle roads in the UK and we can understand why. It’s peppered with tight, twisting turns and sweeping bends that take you through leafy country lanes, picturesque villages and even the odd farm yard.

Watch out for tractors

As a result, concentration levels need to be kept high, particularly through the sections of narrow country lanes to ensure you avoid any walkers, animals, tractors or tourist coaches that could be lurking around each blind bend.

But it’s when the road opens up into panoramic views of the Cornish countryside falling into the sea that you realise why the B3306 is so special. With excellent vision of the road ahead, you can relax your concentration, burst open the throttle and feel the exhilaration of riding through one of the most beautiful views in the UK.

Thirteen miles isn’t a long way and as soon as you get to St Just you’ll want to turn back and ride the road again. If you’re stomach’s rumbling, be sure to stop at The Square café on Market Square. They serve incredible pizza and you can park your bike right outside.

Make an early start

We filmed the video embedded at the top of this page one late afternoon in August and we saw hardly any traffic, but personal experience has shown we got very lucky. If you want to guarantee an uninterrupted riding experience of this wonderful road, you’ll need to make an early start, particularly in summer. Later in day you’ll find yourself trundling behind a fair amount of tourist traffic.

The best road in the South West?

Moto Compass is partly based in Cornwall, so we are biased, and this stretch of the B3306 is our favourite road in the South West. However, there are parts of Dartmoor, and a wonderful stretch of the A39 in Devon that many would argue are just as enjoyable, if not more so. All we would say, is that when we ride the road on a summer evening, and we’re lucky enough to experience the natural wonder that is a Cornish sunset, there is nowhere else on earth we would rather be.