Guerilla urban knitting on the cycle path….

One of my interviewees lives out in Yatton and I took the opportunity to cycle to them rather than meet in town. It was about 15miles each way (though a little longer on the way back I did an accidental tour of Nailsea). My route took me through the city, Long Ashton, Backwell, Lower Claverham and onto Yatton. It featured busy roads, quiet narrow lanes and off-road cycle paths.

This morning we stationed ourselves at the Lawrence Hill intersection of the Bristol to Bath Railway Path to observe the cycle commuters heading into the city. We were there from 07.30 to 08.15 and in contrast to the weekend it was a chilly overcast morning much more in keeping with traditional April weather. Despite getting a little frozen, it was a great spot to observe the rush. We saw hundreds of cyclists; generally cycling alone, many in high-vis clothing, wearing cycle-oriented clothing (lycra, tracksuit, shorts, water/wind proof jackets – assuming people change at work), with backpacks (though a few used panniers) and riding a range of bicycles (hybrids, road, fixed, foldup, touring, mountain). Ages were also diverse; from children on the back of bikes to older cyclists but the majority were 20-40s. This portion of the route saw the majority of cyclists heading into the city rather than out of it.

Today we cycled from Bristol to Bath and back on the Railway path, a 13mile off-road smooth surfaced 3metre wide path. The route is well signposted from Castle Park; we only missed one turn before we found the main off-road section. There are benches for picnics and play areas for children, cafes in old railway buildings, information boards highlighting local history and wildlife, views out to the countryside, down to flowing rivers and dark damp tunnels. The printed brochure for the route indicates regular water fountains to fill up bottles and locality of toilets as well. We passed lots of cyclists; including families with children on their own bikes, tag-alongs and bike seats. There were also lots of walkers out enjoying the lovely summery weather.

And again with pics: