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Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 15th 08, 03:05 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Jumpinjarhead
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Posts: 1
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area


I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area. I am
also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in military
lodging facilities in the area. I am just beginning to plan so bear
with me if I ask inane questions. any tips would be
appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and drive to the Bath
area and then rent a bicycle or what?

Many thanks.


--
Jumpinjarhead
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com

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  #2  
Old December 15th 08, 07:46 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Graham Harrison[_3_]
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Posts: 173
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area


"Jumpinjarhead" wrote in
message ...

I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area. I am
also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in military
lodging facilities in the area. I am just beginning to plan so bear
with me if I ask inane questions. any tips would be
appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and drive to the Bath
area and then rent a bicycle or what?

Many thanks.


--
Jumpinjarhead
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com


Should you hire a car? No! Bath is not a car friendly city. You can
fly from the US to Bristol via Newark on Continental or into Heathrow or
Gatwick non-stop from all sorts of cities. From Bristol Airport take the
regular bus downtown http://flyer.bristolairport.co.uk/ then either the
train or local bus to Bath. If you're feeling well off take a taxi, it's
that close. From Heathrow don't go into London, take the "Rail-Air bus"
http://www.railair.com/ to Reading and then the train to Bath and from
Gatwick there is a train to Reading and an easy change to the Bath train.
The trains are run by http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ or for a
nationwide view of trains use http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ Any
sightseeing you may want to do in Bath itself is best done on foot - it's a
compact city and pretty well anything you want to see "in Bath" is walkable.

A possible place to hire the bike: http://www.bikesportandleisure.com/ I
have nothing to do with them or any knowledge of their bikes, I just happen
to know they exist. Bradford on Avon is a short train ride from Bath
(maybe 15 minutes). There must be somewhere in Bath but I've never noticed
it. These people http://www.bikeshop.uk.com/ http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/
are both in Bath and may be able to help.


  #3  
Old December 15th 08, 11:31 AM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Rob Horton
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Posts: 39
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

Jumpinjarhead wrote:
I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area. I am
also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in military
lodging facilities in the area. I am just beginning to plan so bear
with me if I ask inane questions. any tips would be
appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and drive to the Bath
area and then rent a bicycle or what?

Many thanks.


Hi, ask all the inane questions that you want to.

I live about 14 miles away from Bath and have never heard of military
lodging facilities. However, there are a large number of hotels in Bath.
I would recommend using http://www.tripadvisor.com to find somewhere to
stay. It is a very good hotel/accommodation etc. review site. I have
used it a few times to find places to stay in the UK, Belgium & Corfu.

I would hire a car. You can get the train but they cannot be relied upon
to stick to a timetable or turn up at all. The joy of a canceled train
and a bus replacement service. Most rail maintenance happens at the
weekends which can mean the total closing of trains routes. They are
also very expensive and if you want to take a bike then probably a good
idea to book a place for the bike in advance.

What do you call the Bath area? If you are staying in Bath, then most
routes you could follow out will be very hilly - which makes it more
interesting. However, there some flat alternatives. The Bristol to Bath
cycle path follows the route of an old rail line.

http://www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk/home.shtml

Another good way to get out and avoid traffic is to cycle alongside the
canals. This is a good way to visit Bradford Upon Avon. The Lock Inn
which is sited right on the canal in BUA is a unique place to eat at.

http://www.thelockinn.co.uk/

From BUA you can then follow the canal to Devizes

http://www.luphen.org.uk/public/2004/2004caenhill.htm

If you don't want to cycle to Chippenham from Bath then get the train
(despite what I said earlier) or drive and then follow the old but
currently being restored canal that essentially takes you to Lacock -
well worth a visit, even if you don't like Harry Potter. Oh, Lacock
Abbey is where the worlds first (modern photographic process) photograph
was taken.

http://www.northwilts.gov.uk/nwrr_leaflet-2.pdf

That link also shows the route that could be used to get to
Avebury/Silbury Hill from Chippenham. It is about 17 miles and mildly
off road.

http://www.sustrans.org.uk/default.a...=1096895933375

Have a look for:

"The North Wiltshire Rivers Route option connects Marlborough, Avebury,
Calne and Chippenham and is mainly traffic-free."


The best maps to get are Ordnance Survey (OS). The Landranger series is
probably the one to go for.

http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/...?section=10166

Hope that helps
  #4  
Old December 15th 08, 12:15 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
[email protected]
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Posts: 58
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On 15 Dec, 10:31, Rob Horton wrote:
I would hire a car. You can get the train but they cannot be relied upon
to stick to a timetable or turn up at all.


True, but car travel in the UK is unreliable too. Neighbour spent 5
hours trying to do a 20 min. journey last week because a junction on
the A4 was closed due to a crash. Twice I have attempted to drive
from near Heathrow to a meeting in the midlands on a Saturday morning
and given up after 3 hours failing even to leave London because of
traffic chaos.
  #5  
Old December 15th 08, 12:29 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
David Hansen
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Posts: 2,206
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:31:33 +0000 someone who may be Rob Horton
wrote this:-

I would hire a car. You can get the train but they cannot be relied upon
to stick to a timetable or turn up at all.


On Saturday someone rang I think it was Radio 5. She had been stuck
in her car for six hours on some road down south and the delays were
not being mentioned on the radio.

Things can go wrong in all forms of transport. Don't mislead our
potential guest.

They are also very expensive


Though cheaper than a car in most instances. Nobody is more
optimistic than a motorist working out the running cost of a car.

Should the guest wish to use the train there are two sorts of ticket
they could use. Pre-booked are the cheapest, but are restricted to a
particular train. I suspect that is precisely the sort of ticket
most visitors coming to the UK by aeroplane use. There are also turn
up and go tickets, more expensive but flexible. One of the sites
already mentioned allows people to see the prices for themselves.

Trains in the area run far more frequently than the visitor may
expect.

and if you want to take a bike


Something the OP excluded.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54
  #6  
Old December 15th 08, 12:31 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
David Hansen
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Posts: 2,206
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On Sun, 14 Dec 2008 20:05:48 -0600 someone who may be Jumpinjarhead
wrote this:-

I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area.


You could perhaps explain what sort of holiday you are after. A slow
potter around the area staying in a different place each night, a
series of day trips, something sporty?



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54
  #7  
Old December 15th 08, 12:46 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Richard Fairhurst[_2_]
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Posts: 7
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On Dec 15, 2:05*am, Jumpinjarhead Jumpinjarhead.3kg...@no-
mx.forums.travel.com wrote:
I am a Yank and want to take a cycling holiday in the Bath area. *I am
also retired Marine Colonel so I would also be interested in military
lodging facilities in the area. *I am just beginning to plan so bear
with me if I ask inane questions. *any tips would be
appreciated--should I rent a car at the airport and drive to the Bath
area and then rent a bicycle or what?


Easiest way to get to Bath from Heathrow, by a country mile, is to get
the Rail-Air bus to Reading and then the train from there - there's no
way I'd even consider hiring a car and hacking up the M4 when there's
a regular 125mph train that does the same job. The only difficult bit
is finding where the Rail-Air bus departs at Heathrow! More details
he

http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/Content.aspx?id=1695

If you want to reassure yourself about how punctual the trains are, or
aren't, this is the current departure board for Bath station:

http://www.livedepartureboards.co.uk...ary.aspx?T=BTH


Meanwhile, this map shows you some of the waymarked cycle routes
around and about Bath:

http://www.opencyclemap.org/?zoom=11...82&layers=B000

and, of course, if you want to plan your own routes then there are
thousands of opportunities - just get a couple of local OS Landranger
maps.

My personal recommendation would be to head east and follow the two
parallel routes marked with the number 4 (requires a hybrid, some
sections aren't suitable for a road bike) - some marvellous cycling,
all on country lanes or off-road paths. Take a couple of days to do
the circuit and book yourself a room in a country pub.

Richard
  #8  
Old December 15th 08, 01:20 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
didds
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Posts: 102
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On 15 Dec, 11:15, wrote:
On 15 Dec, 10:31, Rob Horton *wrote:

I would hire a car. You can get the train but they cannot be relied upon
to stick to a timetable or turn up at all.


True, but car travel in the UK is unreliable too.


*Neighbour spent 5 hours trying to do a 20 min. journey last week because a junction on
the A4 was closed due to a crash.


Twice in the space of a couple of weeks an accident on the M4 (Bristol-
London motorway) closed the motorway all day. the resultant traffic
chaos turned my normal 1 hr commute from north Bristol to Devizes into
over 3 hours the frist time... the seoncd time I spent 40 minutes
covering 1 mile, so gave up and drove back to work (in 3 minutes) and
didn;t leave until 9 pm.

The bottom line is, generally whatever traffic option you choose will
NORMALLY be OK. But once this overcrowded islnd with its increaing
reliance on vehiclar transport hiccups it can take a long time to get
sorted. The point about rail works at weekends is a valid one, but
these should be advertised in advance on the rail networks' websites,
or phone them (not that feasible from north america I acknowledge).

I really wouldn;t suggest driving into bath - at best you'll face
quite high parking charges all day etc. Having a car WILL porovide
you with more felxibility, but whether you'd be able to hire one with
a bike carrier I duuno... better maybe to hitre a large car (estate -
station wagon) that you could keep the bike inside (more secure
also?).

Carrying bikes on trains is a nightmare - you can;t always book a bike
in advance and you could be left waiting for the next train oif the
one you want/need is already "full" for bike purposes. Its a rubbish
system frankly.

If you are in the bath/bristol rea there uis a velodrome at Newport
that I belive (never been there) you can book a slot at and hire a
track bike if you fancy a bit of Chris Hoy like activity!

Whatever you do, enjoy your holiday :-)

didds
  #9  
Old December 15th 08, 01:24 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
didds
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Posts: 102
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On 15 Dec, 11:46, Richard Fairhurst wrote:
My personal recommendation would be to head east and follow the two
parallel routes marked with the number 4 (requires a hybrid, some
sections aren't suitable for a road bike)


be aware that the 4 route east of devizes leaves the canal footpath in
sections (onto roads) as the footpath would be a challenging MTB ride
at times.

cheers

didds
  #10  
Old December 15th 08, 01:32 PM posted to uk.rec.cycling
Richard Fairhurst[_2_]
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Posts: 7
Default Tips for cycling holiday in Bath area

On Dec 15, 12:24*pm, didds wrote:
be aware that the 4 route east of devizes leaves the canal footpath in
sections (onto roads) as the footpath would be a challenging MTB ride
at times.


Indeed. Similarly, the northern 'braid' (the Three Rivers route) has a
few sections on country lanes. They're all fairly quiet roads though.

Richard
 




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