I have spent the last six weeks cycling – twice weekly- along part of the Bath River Line out to Locksbrook and then across the Lower Bristol Road and into Twerton.
I have spoken elsewhere on this blog as to the reason why, but now I want to draw your attention to the delights of this slightly-narrow-in-places route beside the River Avon, which takes pedestrians and cyclists through the city away from traffic and pollution.
When you pass under the Victoria Suspension Bridge, there is much evidence on the opposite bank of a major housing development, and it’s good to know it will bring more people to live beside our city’s stretch of the River Avon.
However, what really pleased me is that there are notice boards on the cycle path side which refer to our city’s past industrial history.
One refers to James Dredge, the brewer who built the suspension bridge to move his beer without using a ferry, and another explores the history of the town gas works, which once stood on the site now under residential redevelopment.
I am sure he was the man who first started to build Birnbeck Pier in my home town of Weston -super-Mare – only that got washed away and the town went elsewhere.
Glad to see the Old Pier is being refurbished with the help of an HLF grant!!
It is a very pleasant riverside route – especially on a sunny May day – where pedestrians and cyclists do their best to make way and room for each other.
It’s also a way to get closer to nature and be grateful for the greenery we have in this city.
