For this two day ride we had to get the six of us - Brian, Barbara, David, Mark, Ray and I to Bristol by train. We had bought advance train tickets for the journey with bike spaces booked on the Reading to Bristol leg – only £16.15 each with a railcard. We decided it was sensible to split up the group for the Basingstoke to Reading leg, but as a cautious bunch, everyone wanted to take an earlier train rather than chance not getting on the 8:05. As it turned out Mark and Ray and I caught the 07:08 and Brian Barbara and David caught the next one at 07:36, so we had plenty time to wait at Reading before catching the 8:59 Intercity.
We used the time for some bike maintenance and adjustments at the platform where the train normally comes in. Just as we were drinking coffees I noticed that our train was coming in at a different platform and we had to quickly get ourselves and bikes over there. The platform staff advised that the bike carriage would be at the front of the train and told us where to wait. We took our panniers off to make it easier to load the bikes. Just as the train was coming into the station, they told us that the train makeup had the bike carriage at the back of the train and helped us with the panniers to move to the other end of the platform and open up the carriage. Fortunately, the bike carriage was empty and we got the bikes in with no problem and then hurried to find our reserved seats. Although some people were sitting in our seats we did all find empty seats somewhere in the same carriage.
We got the bikes ready on the platform at Bristol TempleMeads and set off across the bridge over the Floating Harbour to the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. This is the cycling equivalent of the M25 and was busy with bikes whizzing along in both directions. The surface is smooth tarmac, so we made good progress. Shortly after passing through the Staple Hill tunnel we came to the Waiting Room Café at Warmley where we stopped for a coffee.
Suitably refreshed, we carried on along the path past the heritage railway stock at the old Bitton Station where the path leaves the town behind and follows the line of the River Avon, repeatedly crossing it on old high level bridges. At the edge of Bath it joins the riverside path into the town where we followed the NCN4 through the town centre on mainly quiet roads and pedestrianised areas. We were now 15 miles in with 25 to go and felt we should press on Bradford upon Avon for lunch rather than do any sightseeing here. Just after passing along beside the magnificent Georgian houses in Great Pulteney Street there was a short climb up to the canal towpath. This follows the left side of the canal through the countryside until crossing over to the other side at the Dundas Aqueduct where it crosses the River Avon at height. A little further on it recrosses to the other side via the Avoncliff aqueduct. The path loops back on itself here but I missed the sign and we ended up in a pub garden. Ignoring the pleading looks we carried on for the relatively short distance to Bradford upon Avon. The Canal Tavern was heaving with cyclists as we headed down the hill on the main road into the centre, where after a bit of toing and froing we stopped for lunch in the garden of the Bear Hotel.
Mark near top of the Caen Hill Locks
After lunch and a welcome drink it was back up the hill and onto the towpath again. We made relatively good progress as the canal wends its way through the countryside past a few marinas full of canal boats until we got to the bottom of the Caen Hill outside Devizes. The canal had been gradually rising to this point, but now there was a series of 28 locks with the famous 16 lock staircase in the middle of these with an elevation rise of about 70m – that all accomplished with ease. We stopped at the café near the top of the locks but as it was 5:00, they were packing up and there was no hot drinks – so we made do with ice cream. We chatted to a couple of other riders who were also doing the K&A and we has seen at various points along the way. They were looking for a B&B in Devizes as they had not booked anything. It was only a short distance to the Travelodge on the outskirts of town – 40 miles for the day. We checked in and carried our bikes up to our rooms as the only other alternative was a space in the common stairwell. After freshening up we met up down in the lobby to go into the town for an evening meal. We walked to the nearest bus stop about 200m away, keeping an eagle eye out for taxis, but no luck. We waited for about 10 minutes after the scheduled time and then decided to walk all the way. This was hard on Barbara who has been suffering from back and hip pain all year and walking is difficult. Blow me, we had only walked about 50m when the bus went past. On the way in we checked out the town centre Asda for breakfast. As Mark had a voucher for Pizza Express we decided to eat there - it is at Market Place in the main square. After eating we crossed the square to the Bear Hotel, an old coaching inn where we sampled their beers and wines before heading back – some walking and some by taxi.
In the morning whilst waiting on the others we noticed a police car in the car park, blocking in a car. It transpired that they had done an APNR check and it was not insured and were waiting on a hotel guest to claim it – it did not happen whilst we were there. It was probably not a good idea for the uninsured driver to choose that Travelodge as it was next to the County Police Headquarters! We set off for the Asda and crossed paths again with the other two cyclists that we had chatted to the previous day. Whilst most of us had breakfast, Mark had nipped into the nearby Wilkinson for some screws to fix his pannier rack – a good idea as the tracks after Devizes were very rough in places.
On the outskirts of Devizes, the NCN 4 which follows the towpath from Bath diverts onto roads as the towpath is considered as too rough for normal touring bikes. The towpath route is more scenic than the road route, so we opted to continue along it, or rather whoever was leading cycled straight past the NCN4 route marker for the road route. By the time we got close to Pewsey we were looking for a refreshment stop, a bit early for lunch but this meant going a bit off route in the hope of finding some place. Rather than drag things out we carried on and after a bit came to the Bruce Tunnel. There is no path through the tunnel instead we had to carry the bikes up the steps to the hill over the tunnel and rode down the steep slope on the other side.
Shortly after that at the crest of the canal we came to the Crofton Pumping Station on the other bank. We had visited that on a previous there and back ride from Newbury. We decided not to go across as we were feeling hungry and carried on to nearby Bedwyn where Mark went scouting for a suitable hostelry whilst the rest caught up. It was obvious from the previous day that only the best beers would do, so he visited all the pubs before we settled on the Three Tuns for lunch. There was an eclectic lunch menu to be washed down by the beers which we enjoyed in the small garden – see the photo of Barbara’s choice of a fish finger baked potato. Suitably refreshed we got back on the bikes and carried on along the towpath. This section was particularly overgrown with only a narrow clear section very close to the canal edge. Two of us had forged ahead and stopped at a cleared area at a lock where we were chatting to a couple of other riders coming from the other direction – their comment was that you needed a machete to get through. As we were talking they said that they could see the others fixing a puncture, so we rode back to help. It was not a puncture – where part of the bank had been washed out in the undergrowth, Barbara’ front wheel had slipped in the rut and she had fallen into the edge of the canal. She was remarkably sanguine about it and a bit damp but we were all concerned about her cuts caused by the bike hen she had fallen on top of it. Mark’s first aid kit came to the fore as we cleaned up the cuts and applied bandages. At this point the towpath met the NCN4 so we elected to follow that to Hungerford rather than continue on the path. Barbara was OK and was not concerned about the cuts – she said she felt fine – tough lady. It was not too far to Hungerford, but as usual away with the road running away from the watercourse that meant hills – not too bad though. At Hungerford, we decamped to the tearooms near the canal that we had visited before for coffee and cake.
Back on the bikes, we opted for the towpath again. Some of it had a good surface but other sections after Kintbury were decidedly rough although it improved the closer we got to Newbury. We cycled into Newbury through the streets to the Railway Station – 80 miles logged. Mark and Ray had phoned for a lift back to Basingstoke whilst the rest of us took the train to Reading – this was busy with merry well dressed people returning from a day at the races. The train back to Basingstoke was fairly busy with commuters. Everyone seemed to enjoy the ride tour and were keen for another. I will try for one with a smoother surface next time.