Bristol to Bath cycle path

[Amarillo]

@SimonB @MarkVw2017

I've created a new thread to avoid hijacking the "View from/of your van" mega thread.

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There are quite a few around the Bath end of the path some mainly for caravans. Don't forget to look at the Two Tunnels Path https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/bath-two-tunnels-circuit/ which is a relatively new extension. It goes up the old S&D railway line near Sainsburys in Bath, through two well lit tunnels. You then turn left and cycle down some quiet rural lanes, ending up on the Kennet & Avon Canal and cycle back to the start near Sainsburys again. The canal boats on the Bath part have ice creams, coffee, cakes for sale and there was a bookshop when I last cycled it. It's about the same distance as the Bristol to Bath path, but much more varied and it's a circular route.​

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I've been looking at the linear route options from Bristol to Bath, and have found a site right on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
https://www.hilpertonmarshfarm.co.uk/caravans

Unfortunately it is 30 miles between that and the Baltic Wharf site, and my boys (ages 4 and 5) could only manage about half that distance. An added complication is that Mrs Amarillo now thinks that she would like to cycle the route with us.

So - the simple solution appears to be:
Camp one night at Baltic Wharf
Cycle Bristol to Bath then take the train from Oldfield back to Templemeads
Transfer to Marsh farm
Camp one night at Marsh Farm
Cycle Trowbridge to Bath then take the train from Oldfield to Trowbridge
Camp a second night at Marsh Farm

The cycle path from Trowbridge Station to Marsh Farm is nearly all traffic free, and, most importantly, flat.

It looks like we may have a plan.

 

[babble]

i can't quite work out what your program is there, but in any case the distances are so small i would say you could cycle with the family to your campsite, then you (on your own) could just cycle back and pick up the van while they wait for you.

love that cycle route between bristol and bath.

 

[ArunAlec]

@SimonB @MarkVw2017

I've created a new thread to avoid hijacking the "View from/of your van" mega thread.

​

There are quite a few around the Bath end of the path some mainly for caravans. Don't forget to look at the Two Tunnels Path https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/bath-two-tunnels-circuit/ which is a relatively new extension. It goes up the old S&D railway line near Sainsburys in Bath, through two well lit tunnels. You then turn left and cycle down some quiet rural lanes, ending up on the Kennet & Avon Canal and cycle back to the start near Sainsburys again. The canal boats on the Bath part have ice creams, coffee, cakes for sale and there was a bookshop when I last cycled it. It's about the same distance as the Bristol to Bath path, but much more varied and it's a circular route.​

​

I've been looking at the linear route options from Bristol to Bath, and have found a site right on the Kennet & Avon Canal.
https://www.hilpertonmarshfarm.co.uk/caravans

Unfortunately it is 30 miles between that and the Baltic Wharf site, and my boys (ages 4 and 5) could only manage about half that distance. An added complication is that Mrs Amarillo now thinks that she would like to cycle the route with us.

So - the simple solution appears to be:
Camp one night at Baltic Wharf
Cycle Bristol to Bath then take the train from Oldfield back to Templemeads
Transfer to Marsh farm
Camp one night at Marsh Farm
Cycle Trowbridge to Bath then take the train from Oldfield to Trowbridge
Camp a second night at Marsh Farm

The cycle path from Trowbridge Station to Marsh Farm is nearly all traffic free, and, most importantly, flat.

It looks like we may have a plan.

You’ll have to keep the children hidden ..... says it’s an adult only site!

 

[Amarillo]

i can't quite work out what your program is there, but in any case the distances are so small i would say you could cycle with the family to your campsite, then you (on your own) could just cycle back and pick up the van while they wait for you.

love that cycle route between bristol and bath.

That's what Clare suggested - but it would take me at least an hour to cycle back, then about another hour to load my bike on the van and drive back to Clare and the boys, then another hour to load the three bikes onto the van and drive on to Marsh Farm. Looking at ~3 hours, whereas the train journey back to Bristol would all be part of the adventure for the boys.

 

[SimonB]

A few pictures of the Two Tunnels circuit might tempt you. The first pictures were taken on the opening day and I had to select them so they weren't crowded. The last few on the canal were a more typical day.


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[SimonB]

A few pictures of the Two Tunnels circuit might tempt you. The first pictures were taken on the opening day and I had to select them so they weren't crowded. The last few on the canal were a more typical day.


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[Amarillo]

You’ll have to keep the children hidden ..... says it’s an adult only site!

Bugger - we'll have to disguise them as dogs! ... and train them to be well-behaved which I expect is impossible.

 

[Ting Tong]

What about Bath Marina & Caravan Park or you can day trip from your Longleat visit and park at Brassknocker basin near Limpley.

 

[Amarillo]

What about Bath Marina & Caravan Park or you can day trip from your Longleat visit and park at Brassknocker basin near Limpley.

I’m not sure we will be camping for our Longleat visit. We have near exclusive use of my parents’ holiday home on the south coast for six weeks, which is about 90 minutes from Longleat. I’m trying to work out a series of day excursions and occasional overnight excursions. The South Downs and the New Forest are both reasonably close. Chichester Harbour and Hayling Island are on the doorstep. The Isle of Wight hovercraft I coveted as a day trip as a child, but the only way we ever got there was by sailing our GP14 dinghy on a falling tide to the beach at Bembridge and returning on the following rising tide.

The GP14 has long been sold, but we have canoes, a Mirror dinghy and an Optimist which should be perfect for Ben to learn to sail. But none of which would be suitable for a family trip to the Isle of Wight - so we have a perfect excuse for my long-held childhood dream of a hovercraft excursion.

 

[Ting Tong]

I remember going on that hovercraft with my auntie Olive who lived in Southsea in about 1972. All I remember was disappearing between the huge waves on the way back. Amazing it’s still going: I think they made them somewhere near Lee on Solent. Sounds like you’ll have a nice summer.

 

[Amarillo]

I remember going on that hovercraft with my auntie Olive who lived in Southsea in about 1972. All I remember was disappearing between the huge waves on the way back. Amazing it’s still going: I think they made them somewhere near Lee on Solent. Sounds like you’ll have a nice summer.

We sometimes park at the eastern end of the Southsea promenade. The boys cycle along the promenade to watch the hovercraft “take off” and “land” while I follow along on foot with Meg.

Hovercraft are another great British invention which haven’t had the success they deserve.

 

[SimonB]

If you are looking for safe cycle routes in the West Country @Amarillo , have you tried the Brean Down Way?
https://greenwaysandcycleroutes.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/leaflet.pdf Diamond Farm at Brean is in the middle of the route. They offer a camping field next to the River Axe and an off road cycle route to Weston super Mare. The route ends at Weston Pier, but the beach there is good for sandcastles, etc.
The path goes the other way too, ending at Brean, but the last mile is on the road past Warren Farm where we all stayed a few years ago for Calis on the Farm.

 

[Amarillo]

If you are looking for safe cycle routes in the West Country @Amarillo , have you tried the Brean Down Way?
https://greenwaysandcycleroutes.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/leaflet.pdf Diamond Farm at Brean is in the middle of the route. They offer a camping field next to the River Axe and an off road cycle route to Weston super Mare. The route ends at Weston Pier, but the beach there is good for sandcastles, etc.
The path goes the other way too, ending at Brean, but the last mile is on the road past Warren Farm where we all stayed a few years ago for Calis on the Farm.

The video of it looks lovely. I do need to get to North Somerset and Bridgewater sometime to get Thorn to service my bike, confining me to my Brompton. That trail looks like it may be a good proposition.

 

[Loz]

We find that cycle route can be a bit of a motorway at peak times and also the baltic wharf site is permanently full.

Why not try the C&CC site Devizes on the Kennet and Avon you could cycle along the canal path to Bradford on Avon and on further to Bath.
Lively site with nice pubs along the way.

 

[Amarillo]

We find that cycle route can be a bit of a motorway at peak times and also the baltic wharf site is permanently full.

Why not try the C&CC site Devizes on the Kennet and Avon you could cycle along the canal path to Bradford on Avon and on further to Bath.
Lively site with nice pubs along the way.

Google Maps is telling me that I visited that site on 4 April 2016 between 12.50 and 15.28. I didn’t. I spent that time at the Three Magpies over the road after a short trip along the canal with my brother in his newly acquired narrowboat.

A good suggestion and one I’ll look into. We are members of the C&CC so that helps.

 

[Magic Bus]

We recently stayed at the Bath Marina site and did a ride along the Bath to Bristol path on our Bromptons. It took a bit of finding to get onto the path. The canal side path next to the site goes underneath the railway path, but they don’t really join up. Once we found the path we headed west as far as Warmley station waiting room tea rooms. About 8 miles from Bath. It was a Sunday afternoon and the path was quite busy but no so bad that we ever had to stop. On the return trip we carried on past the site and into the centre of Bath to have a bit of a look around. It was quite busy at the Bath end and there was a bit of conflict with some pedestrians who took exception to me ringing my bell!

There was a mixture of all types of riders on the path from out and out speed merchants to families enjoying an afternoon out. I’d like to return and ride all the way to Bristol, and possibly do a bit of the Avon Cycleway too. There’s another railway path going south from Bath called the 2 tunnels route and I’d like to explore that too.



This is our afternoon tea at Warmley.

 

[SimonB]

The Two Tunnels route can be a 13 mile circular route https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-...Rs0Lqlxr_WrbjyI6d_UURU7NQfM9F-OhoCypIQAvD_BwE
You cycle back to Bath along the Kennet & Avon Canal. A number of the narrowboats moored along the route have become small cafes, ice cream shops and so on. There is also a very nice canal side pub, the George Inn at Bathampton, if you need a full meal. The ride through Sydney Gardens is very nice.

 

[Big Ted]

I can second the 2 tunnels.
There is a small section through the centre of Bath where there’s a mix of cycle paths/lanes on main roads. I wouldn’t want to do these sections with small kids.
The upside for me is the cool breeze on a hot summers day as you pass through the long tunnel.

 

[Amarillo]

I can second the 2 tunnels.
There is a small section through the centre of Bath where there’s a mix of cycle paths/lanes on main roads. I wouldn’t want to do these sections with small kids.
The upside for me is the cool breeze on a hot summers day as you pass through the long tunnel.

We did Wellow to Bath and back, including the two tunnels, with boys 4 & 5. Dogs (including dogs on leads) are not permitted on a long section, so if like us you have a dog trotting alongside be prepared to risk action for trespass or take your dog and any accompanying children on the country lanes.

 

[SimonB]

I can second the 2 tunnels.
There is a small section through the centre of Bath where there’s a mix of cycle paths/lanes on main roads. I wouldn’t want to do these sections with small kids.
The upside for me is the cool breeze on a hot summers day as you pass through the long tunnel.

I used the pedestrian crossings to get over the road from the last lock on the canal. Then walked over the Halfpenny Bridge to the other side of the river by the station and then the start of the path from the Bath end.

 

[Waggonner]

Nice campsite between Bath and Bristol very near the cycle path - Knight's folly at Bitton. Stayed a couple of nights - cycled to Bath one day, taking in the 2 tunnels as well, and then cycled to Bristol the next day. Excellent weekend.