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Bristol to London, Kennet/Avon canal path, there and back.
| wheelnut | 11 Jul 14:49 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 5 Bike: | Im thinking of cycling the towpath in the near future , camping a few nights along the way. Have any of you ever done this route? If so, are there plenty of campsites nearby ,or oportunities for wild camping? Also, anyone fancy joining the trip? |
| twhite | 13 Jul 16:14 |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2010 Posts: 6 Bike: | hey, Just cycled (month ago) Newbury to newport. So most of journey was on route number 4. Was a beautiful ride, you're going to love it. Especially between Devizes and bath in my opinion.. but to be fair it was all good. Shame I didnt start in London though. I followed route 4 for most of it, but on occasion ignored the signs taking me away from the canal. It's possible to stay on it all the way from Newb to Bath. But where the route does take a detour it goes through some really nice villages and countryside, so either way its good. Probably faster staright down the canal though I rekon. Plenty of wild camping oportunities I think, especially once you get in to Wiltshire and berkshire. HAving said that, on my first night I slept at a campsite just past the locks in devises. I'd had enough just as I cycled past a pub with a campsite out back, an ideal combo..... and second night I made it to just past chepstow and slept in a bush at the edge of a forest by some farmland.. no-one in sight. To give you an idea of how much I enjoyed it. I've never cycled more than 40ks in a day. This trip took 220ks. I loved it so much that on thursday I leave for a 20 day trip zigzagging around the country up to john of groats. Thast all off the back of this one trip. have a gooden |
| wheelnut | 14 Jul 13:58 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 5 Bike: | Hey, thanks for reply, It sounds as good as Ive been imagining. Cheers |
| PolarJust | 15 Jul 05:25 |
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 Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hey! I'm in Hilperton near Trowbridge. If you do it, look me up and I'll bang our a few miles with you. If you're looking for a place to stay there's Marsh Farm at Hilperton (Martin Oatley) which has a campsite right on the canalside. Great site, nice and clean, and not too far from the village pub for a good carb loading session! Best of luck Just |
| wheelnut | 15 Jul 13:25 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 5 Bike: | Great stuff ,thanks. Twite, can you give me any idea of the tow path surface state? Would you say road tyres or knoblies? |
| sparkman | 15 Jul 14:33 |
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Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 1 Bike: | Watching this thread with interest. I have a Giant Defy 3 which I would like to use on exactly this route. Have fitted with 25c Maxxise Re use in the hope that they will cope with any rough bits. Opinions appreciated. |
| mbailey | 29 Jul 07:47 |
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Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 2 Bike: | I would definately not recommend this route on a road bike. I did this last year on my Hybrid with 700x35 tyres and that was bad enough. The canal path from devices to bath is variable, its hard packed stone in places, but does have some holes. It's a great ride, I did Bath to Basingstoke in a day, but not on a road bike. Stick to the A4 if you want to do it on a road bike. |
| wsl55 | 05 Aug 13:23 |
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Joined: 05 Aug 2010 Posts: 2 Bike: | I went on road bike Melksham to Bath and back. such a lovely ride. next day went from Melksham to Devizes and back. I didnt find it difficult on my road bike, but do agree that some areas are not so smooth. if you have been now, how was it for you? |
| wheelnut | 06 Aug 17:12 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 5 Bike: | Ive done the bit between Devizes and Newbury and can confirm tyres no smoother than my Schwalbe land cruisers are the way to go. Great ride though and wild camps abound. |
| Talisman | 18 Oct 15:20 |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Posts: 6 Bike: | My brother in law and I did Bristol to London, the last week of August 2010, on the K&A towpath and then alongside the Thames on the Thames Path, which is really for pedestrians, all the way. We didn't deviate anywhere away from the canal or river. we used our normal commuting hybrids and made it with no damage, albeit in hindsight we may have been lucky we didn't buckle a wheel and if we did it again we would prefer mountain bikes for peace of mind. It took 3 days, B&B at Hungerford and Windsor. Train back from Paddington, with bikes, for £9.50 inclusive. Overall, it was a lot harder than we bargained for, it turned the ride into a mini adventure, we are glad we did it, but we won't be doing it again. It was fun and felt an accomplishment. As the postings for this forum are earlier in the year, I won't go into a longer explanation, but if anyone needs more info, please shout. |
| EJT | 14 Jan 07:27 |
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Joined: 14 Jan 2011 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi all, My husband and a couple of friends are planning to do Reading to Bristol along the canal path. They think they can do this in a day, on road bikes. They are all fit but don't cycle that regularly Is this going to be possible? I think they might be underestimating the challenge as they keep saying things like "its all totally flat and with a path", "how hard can it be" etc! Thanks! |
| Talisman | 25 Jan 17:02 |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Posts: 6 Bike: | I'd say they are underestimating the challenge.The stretch from Bristol to Devizes is good and last August we were averaging 12mph. My recollection of Newbury to Reading is now hazy but what does stick in my mind is the Devizes to Newbury stretch. Yes, it's flat, it would be alongside a canal, but the path is terrible and non-existent in places. On one stretch we were riding over a field. Sometimes the path is only inches wide with head high vegetation growing across the path. The worst was the tree roots which were exposed and growing across the path, reducing speed to almost nil and unbelievably bumpy. In the wet, we would have had to walk. As I say in my post above, I think we were lucky to not buckle a wheel and we are both agreed we wouldn't attempt it again on less than a MTB. We did it in a dry spell and are convinced that, if the weather had been wet, we would have had to give up on our hybrids. It took us 8 hours actual cycling just to do Bristol to Hungerford. Both of us were reasonably fit.I hope this is helpful. |
| wheelnut | 26 Jan 14:51 |
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Joined: 11 Jul 2010 Posts: 5 Bike: | Ditto to what Talisman says. |
| oldbiker | 01 Feb 14:41 |
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Joined: 31 Jan 2011 Posts: 2 Bike: | Joined: 31 Jan 2011 Posts: 1 Bike: A group of us did Bristol to Reading in October 2009 and 2010 on 1950's lightweights (27inch x 1 1/4 inch tyres) with no trouble. It would be easier to follow Sustrans route 4 signs onto quiet roads between Devizes and Pewsey.There is a Sustrans route map available,use it as a guide and you will get a good experience of the canal and a good ride. best of luck old biker |
| smithvinny | 03 Feb 14:56 |
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Joined: 03 Feb 2011 Posts: 1 Bike: | Following this with interest. I have committed to organising a charity bike ride Bristol-London over 4 days for 15 people and was planning on doing route 4 so tips above very helpful. Going to get new bike for trip as have road bike at present. Any recommendations for c£500?. |
| jp1 | 07 Feb 09:44 |
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Joined: 07 Feb 2011 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hi cyclists, some advice would be great. A crowd of us are cycling Windsor to Cardiff for charity in April this year. we have booked accommodation after the first day's cycling at Bradford on Avon, that means we all have to get from Windsor to Bath in a day. Is this a possibility - all moderately fit, some of us have cycled London to Paris over three days. We'll be in small pods of twelve or less and are planning to leave at approximately seven am. Id appreciate feedback, cheers |
| kplod | 09 Feb 09:43 |
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Joined: 09 Feb 2011 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi all, I've been following this thread for ages as I intend to ride from Newbury to Bristol during the May (Royal) Bank Holiday weekend. I'm getting worried now though as to the state of the canal paths as I have a road bike with 700c wheels. (Although I recently bought some Schwalbe Landcruisers thinking they would do the job). Please keep up the advice. Thanks. |
| Talisman | 11 Feb 15:35 |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Posts: 6 Bike: | kplod. We had 700 x 35 tyres on our hybrids, took things carefully, and had no wheel problems Bristol to Newbury. We did as "oldbiker" advises and carried the Sustrans Route 4 map, so that if we had to give up on the Devizes to Newbury stage of the K&A towpath we could take a suitable exit onto Route 4. |
| dcycling | 05 Jun 15:46 |
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Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Posts: 2 Bike: | Planning to do Bath-Reading (if not Bristol-Reading) in one day. My main question is with regards to the choice of tyres (i.e. the dominant type of path surface). Some posts recommend fitting heavy touring or CX (if not MTB) tyres. What is the main driver? Is it just shock absorption? It's all flat so I cannot see why grip would be a big issue as long as it's dry. |
| Talisman | 07 Jun 16:06 |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2010 Posts: 6 Bike: | Hi, Dcycling. It's shock absorption. The surface from Bristol to Bath is tarmac - excellent. Bath to Devizes is, for the most,fine compacted gravel - good. Devizes onwards is compacted hardcore, exposed mud (hopefully dry), and grass. Please see my January post. The worst surface is the exposed tree roots at some sections Imagine riding over a very long cattle grid which has small diameter bars with many missing. Squishy tyres, suspension and padded shorts are a wish list. But we did it on ordinary hybrid road tyres, at 40psi, which is about as hard as you can get them using a small hand pump. But it really slowed us down. To me, Bristol to Reading in a day sounds daunting but not impossible if you have a very early start and are prepared for some 10 to 11 hours actually in the saddle. Whatever, it will be fun. I hope you enjoy it. |
| dcycling | 07 Jun 16:20 |
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Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hi Talisman, many thanks for your advice. Looks like a cx bike with 32mm or 35mm tyres should be OK - starting with maybe 80 psi and lowering that at some point. Obviously it will be important to pick a day with only a small mumber of pedestrians likely to be underway. |
| Kate Alex | 09 Jul 18:42 |
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Joined: 09 Jul 2011 Posts: 1 Bike: | i did this very ride earlier today! i set off from Bristol at 6am. Started raining pretty badly once i got up onto the Kennet and Avon and the large pot holes had basically turned into giant puddles which weren't hard to steer round, but did make things a bit slow! The scenery and houseboats make this a fun stretch. The railway (bris- bath) is better surface but a bit dull. Bradford on Avon to Devizes was a lonely stretch, felt like groundhog day scenically and the surface was awful! Was regretting my road bike and I was beyond excited when I followed the route4 signs onto the road just after the impressive Devizes locks! I lost the signs in Pewsey and got super tangled up and directionally challenged ( I have this evening discovered you can buy OS Maps with cycle routes on them- genius! If only I'd had one today!) As with most NCN routes, it is pretty convuluted but it is gorgeous. The road section from Devizes- just beyond Kintbury was my favourite part of the day (about 40miles) It was fast, peaceful and scenic! I rejoined the canal just after Marsh Benham (or something like that!) which is all signed on the 4. Was better surface than the earlier stretches of towpath- good surface and no pot holes! Sadly I had to bail in Newbury (at 2.30pm) as I was late, after my getting lost! Was gutted to not complete the whole ride to Reading... but did have a family gathering and delicious food to get to so not all lost! Eat jelly babies and bananas and keep your eyes open for the cheeky blue signs and it is a great day! Have fun! |
dawes-rider 
| 11 Jul 13:16 |
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Joined: 27 Feb 2011 Posts: 38 Bike: My Profile | all those who are thinking of doing Reading to Bath on the tow path in 1 day need to realise that its 128miles if you follow the sustrans route . hope you enjoy your 11 hours in the saddle! |
| My Latest Route: May 2013 Newark Route 64 | |
| Pinkie2002 | 12 Sep 22:14 |
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Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hello all. Again, I've been reading this with interest, my own intention to do this route late October. However, I'm having real trouble getting the route 4 map (in any detail) from Reading to Bristol. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks. :-) |
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paul&deb
| 14 Sep 16:15 |
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Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 24 Bike: My Profile | Hi, I have done a few sections of the Kennet and planning to do Bath to Reading before end of year and planning to do in one day. I will be on my cyclocross bike so its a bit of a rough ride in places but in general the paths are quite good. I can't help with maps as I use GPS but there is a great website called www.bikehike.co.uk where you can plan a route and print out, and it's free. Might not be exactly what your looking for but its easy enough to use and worth a look. Paul |
| Cyclist123 | 05 Jan 09:36 |
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Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hi, I cycled from Reading to Bristol, over 3 days, in October 2011. If anyone has any recent questions please ask. I'd recommend it strongly to anyone who is undecided. It's a beautiful journey. I stayed on the towpath almost all the way from Reading to Bristol. I only left to join Route 4 near Saltford. I did it on a Trek Hybrid 7.3fx, which was ok - I would have felt more comfortable on a mountain bike, in terms of worrying about punctures, and the going was a bit slow over the rough. It was still great fun though, and added to the sense of achievement. It was also great to have the thinner tyres when sailing into Bristol on the last stretch. The paved railway track was such a relief after 2 and half days on the towpath. If, or when I do it again I'd make sure I did the last section, Bath to Bristol in the daylight, because of the scenery. Infact I'd take much longer in general, and explore places along the way. Bradforn upon Avon and Bath deserve more than a flying visit. I did have time to see the Tithe Barn in Bradford, which is amazing. |
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iginger
| 06 Jan 11:13 |
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Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 13 Bike: My Profile | I did this ride from Bristol to Reading in two days with little or no training on a Trek 3900 MTB with Schwalbe landcruiser tires, no problem at all, my friends had skinnier tires and had a little trouble in places, but nothing serious. if you can manage to do 50miles a days i would advise doing it and stopping at the Barge Inn half way, it's a brilliant pub, great food, great people.... and a campsite, a cheap one at that, you can just turn up and stay the night without booking, it's past Devises in a little place called Honey Street. Best ride i have ever done, weather was terrible but still great fun. |
| My Latest Route: Apr 2012 Bristol to Reading Off Road | |
| Simmy | 06 Mar 08:42 |
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Joined: 06 Mar 2012 Posts: 3 Bike: | Hi, we are thinking of cycling from Windsor to Bristol using Route 4 where possible and take a leisurely four days. Can anyone recommend pubs with accommodation / B&B's along the route? Thank you in advance. |
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iginger
| 06 Mar 09:30 |
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Joined: 21 Jan 2010 Posts: 13 Bike: My Profile | this place has a campsite, we used it it's really good, great food and drink and nice campsite. http://www.the-barge-inn.com/index.php |
| My Latest Route: Apr 2012 Bristol to Reading Off Road | |
| Cyclist123 | 12 Apr 07:20 |
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Joined: 05 Jan 2012 Posts: 2 Bike: | Good Cycle friendly B and Bs are Clevedon House in Hungerford. Also the Greenhouse in Bristol, an organic BB. Both well run and friendly |
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