RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted April 3, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2013 The long-awaited 'Two Tunnels' project - http://www.twotunnels.org.uk/ - finally opens to the public this coming Saturday, 6th April 2013, with a day-long event based around the new cycleway/path. Both tunnels will be illuminated during daylight hours (not sure if that means they close doors at night?), and the festival thingey is free to everyone. Another chance to walk through Combe Down Tunnel beckons (and a walk through Devonshire Tunnel for the first time ever)! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Blimey Captain, are you sure you didn't walk through it? I have a vague memory of walking through it with you? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Some details here of the work that has gone on (links to more). I think it says somewhere in that lot that the lights go off at night (and even when on don't shine up to ceiling level) to help the bats, but the tunnel is open 24 hours. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
11D Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Have to mention you can follow this new cycle path all the way to a lovely cup of tea (and well earned cake after all that cycling) at Midsomer Norton. This summer the Centre will be opening on Saturdays too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted April 3, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 3, 2013 Will there be a banker for those of us with ageing limbs and crumbling bones? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Not unless you pay them a bonus. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruffalo Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Thanks for starting this one Captain, I am loving the little quips! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 4, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2013 Doubt if I will be able to go this weekend. Massive backlog of work and also hoping to pop down to Wimborne Exhibition for a couple of hours. But I think this may well motivate me to get the bike out (for the first time in ages) and go for a ride. Hope they keep that part of the Kennet & Avon towpath more free of weeds than around Kintbury and Newbury. Tough choice when riding between getting stung by nettles or falling off into the cut. ("Eccles, I've fallen in the water,) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted April 4, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 4, 2013 Blimey Captain, are you sure you didn't walk through it? I have a vague memory of walking through it with you? No, absolutely certain about that, Tim. I walked through Combe Down Tunnel with Simon and a couple of others one lunchtime, when still at school in the mid-1970s (remember it was a last minute decision and having to rush down the hill to home to find a torch!). But Devonshire Tunnel, no - the Bath end was blocked up quite early, IIRC, so there never seemed any point... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've walked the Kennet and Avon between Bath to Bradford several times and cycled half of it in February. The path is reasonably wide and clear of vegetation though it gets lots of puddles if it rains! I see there is a cycling route marked along minor roads from Dundas Aqueduct to Midford, which with the canal and railway would make an interesting and not too strenuous triangular ride out of Bath. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 As someone who walks the area quite often, I am looking forward to do the 'round trip' out along the K&A and back via the S&D. I have to say though that I despair at the "bulldoze it all out of the way" approach taken by Sustrans both on the new part and south of Midford - any attempt at 'industrial heritage archaeological research' has gone for good. Will you be there tomorrow, Captain??? Generally speaking, the whole of the K&A towpath is pretty good all the way from Bath to Devizes, tho' the width varies in place and you do get the odd muddy patch. It is all a firm, beaten surface, only once east of Devizes does it revert to rural grass :-) But - as a walker - I do have to say that some of the cyclists are somewhat inconsiderate, verging on downright dangerous on occasions - but of course, I'm sure no-one on this list is like that! From the Dundas aqueduct you either follow the road to Monkton Combe, or take the first part of the Somerset Coal Canal to Brassknocker Basin and then the old Camerton Branch trackbed to Monkton Combe. Either way, you then have to follow the narrow lane along to Midford goods yard in order to reach the S&D. If going south, the trackbed is only permissive to Wellow, and shuts on occasional Sats during the pheasant-shooting season (Jan/Feb IIRC) - or when the landowner gets fed up with people ignoring the 'no dogs' restrictions. At Wellow you have to go by road again as far as Shoscombe, where you can then pick up the trackbed again to Radstock (look out for the remnants of Shoscombe Viaduct being convereted into a house!). It will be good if the cafe at MSN opens on Sats - I think that being closed on Sats is a missed opportunity for an organisation that needs visitors and their income. I was there on Monday - it was a Bank Holiday and Easter, yet only the shop was open - it just does not make sense to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted April 5, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2013 Will you be there tomorrow, Captain??? Regrettably I won't be able to make it, but I'm sure it will be a good day out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
11D Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 As a cyclist - might need to mention that canal tow-paths are not a right-of-way for bikes. Bit confusing, as tow-paths are open to horses and bridal-ways are open to bikes. If you have a boat, you can you get bicycle exemption (as axillary transport), otherwise bikes not permitted, just like (for example) riding on a footpath. None of the above applies to anyone cycling from Bath to see Midsomer Norton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 The K&A is a national cycle route and I believe they have some sort of exemption from the general ban on bikes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted April 5, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 5, 2013 As someone who walks the area quite often, I am looking forward to do the 'round trip' out along the K&A and back via the S&D. I have to say though that I despair at the "bulldoze it all out of the way" approach taken by Sustrans both on the new part and south of Midford - any attempt at 'industrial heritage archaeological research' has gone for good. Will you be there tomorrow, Captain??? Generally speaking, the whole of the K&A towpath is pretty good all the way from Bath to Devizes, tho' the width varies in place and you do get the odd muddy patch. It is all a firm, beaten surface, only once east of Devizes does it revert to rural grass :-) But - as a walker - I do have to say that some of the cyclists are somewhat inconsiderate, verging on downright dangerous on occasions - but of course, I'm sure no-one on this list is like that! From the Dundas aqueduct you either follow the road to Monkton Combe, or take the first part of the Somerset Coal Canal to Brassknocker Basin and then the old Camerton Branch trackbed to Monkton Combe. Either way, you then have to follow the narrow lane along to Midford goods yard in order to reach the S&D. If going south, the trackbed is only permissive to Wellow, and shuts on occasional Sats during the pheasant-shooting season (Jan/Feb IIRC) - or when the landowner gets fed up with people ignoring the 'no dogs' restrictions. At Wellow you have to go by road again as far as Shoscombe, where you can then pick up the trackbed again to Radstock (look out for the remnants of Shoscombe Viaduct being convereted into a house!). It will be good if the cafe at MSN opens on Sats - I think that being closed on Sats is a missed opportunity for an organisation that needs visitors and their income. I was there on Monday - it was a Bank Holiday and Easter, yet only the shop was open - it just does not make sense to me. Hopefully the signals at Wellow are operated correctly to indicate whether or not it is safe to use the route? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I walked the new route thru' the 'two tunnels' yesterday. Fortunately it was quiet, with few users. There has already been one accident reported in the local paper where a walker (allegedly) has suffered a broken rib after being hit by a cyclist. Several correspondents to the paper have expressed concerns about the hazards of pedestrians and speeding cyclists both trying to share such a narrow path for two-way traffic in relative gloom, especially as very few wear any sort of reflective clothing or use any lights. As usage increases in the summer, I think the problem may get worse..... But otherwise, a very useful facility, especially if you want to do a 'circular' walk outside Bath with no big hills! All that is missing now, sadly, is any form of 'interpretive display' anywhere along the route to tell you anything about any of the surviving bits of the S&D that you can see as you pass by. Not even anything at Midford station. Surely a missed opportunity? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 I also walked yesterday, through Combe Down tunnel only and down to Midford (I probably unknowingly met Chris!). I'm glad I did it once but wouldn't want to do it again just for the sake of it though I agree it opens up a lot of possibilities for longer journeys on foot or bike. I don't see it as dangerous as long as cyclists keep their speed down, and most were using lights. I wasn't very keen on the "music" piped through speakers in the central section, Psycho-style violin-scraping that probably contributed to wife and son not liking it much. At one point I belatedly realised that a series of pings wasn't part of the music but was a cyclist behind ringing the bell so we would get out of the way! It probably keeps the bats awake too. I see there's a S&D preservation group who still intend to divert the cycleway and reinstate the whole length of railway. Donning the tin hat, I'd have to say they for this part of the route they don't have a hope. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruciethefish Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Managed to pay a visit to Midford while attending 'Trainwest' last weekend, & was pleasantly surprised that the trackbed was open so I could enjoy a stroll across the viaduct. Also surprising was the continued presence of some tile flooring & the bases of the ladies & gents loos on the platform... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwin_m Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Also the stump of a lattice post signal off the north end platform ramp. Up towards Combe Down the work for the cycle track has uprooted many of the concrete bases for the signal wires, which appear to have been chucked down the slope. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted April 21, 2013 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 21, 2013 which appear to have been chucked down the slope. Nothing new under the sun, then! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Sadly yes, Sustrans seems to have followed its usual policy of buldozing unwanted items out of the way and just dumping them wherever it takes their fancy. Completely ruins any scope for 'industrial archaeology' investigations :-( The stumps of at least five of Midford's former signals can be found still in situ if you know where to look. This does NOT include the base of the former Up Inner Home bracket, which was pulled out by the contractors when doing the earlier path towards Wellow and then 'disappeared'. Sustrans told me that it had been stolen by 'scrappies' one weekend, but some years later I heard a rumour that in fact it had been acquired from the contractors by a heritage railway and now forms the base of one of their signals. Anyone who can find me the base of the old Up Distant will get a prize <G>, but I suspect that it is buried under later additions to the old 'Spoil Bank'. Much the same goes for the Down Distant now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastwestdivide Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 As a cyclist - might need to mention that canal tow-paths are not a right-of-way for bikes.... They may not be a right of way, but cyclists aren't necessarily banned - in fact, the Canal & River Trust (formerly British Waterways) website says The Canal & River Trust welcomes considerate cyclists to its towpaths and you don't need a permit to use your bike on any of our towpaths Although it's worth mentioning that the C&R Trust doesn't cover every canal in the country. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torr Giffard LSWR 1951-71 Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Aft'noon all, ...we have a considerable amount of towpath mileage within easy reach of our North Staffordshire home...much of which is almost deserted mid-week. I cycle along the towpaths at a considerate speed at such quiet times and usually stop if I meet pedestrians, or else push my cycle whilst in the vicinity of. In 30 years of adopting this approach I've had no issues whatsoever and the canalside pubs which have benefitted from my custom certainly haven't objected. Great to see the former S&D route being appreciated again...I have some lovely Ivo Peters film footage in the vicinity of Devonshire tunnel, Lyncombe vale and Coombe down tunnel. Cheers Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailWest Posted May 5, 2013 Share Posted May 5, 2013 I walked through the tunnels again last week. Found an interesting new hazard this time - large piles of horse droppings! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
two tone green Posted May 6, 2013 Share Posted May 6, 2013 Has two great days cycling from Bath Marina to Bitton and the Avon Valley Railway for an enjoyable cab ride on the 31 based there on Saturday and yesterday, Sunday, did the Two Tunnels route from the start at Bath to Midford. Well worth it on both routes and gives you some kind of idea what the drivers and firemen went through on the tunnels. The slog up from Bath is quite something for a steam loco and a long rake of heavy coaches. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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