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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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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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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