Walking and cycling tourism

Mon 17 Mar 2008, 11:33

Derek - I wouldn't disagree on the surface. "CTC types", in my experience, very rarely use even tarmaced tracks: for the experienced cyclist, roads offer opportunities for faster travel unobstructed by slower users.

Where Sustrans-type routes with light, non-intrusive surfaces score is encouraging a new type of cyclist who wouldn't use the busy roads: families, teenagers, day-trippers on their first bike from Halfords. That's where a little modest levelling on a couple of tracks around here would help. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could encourage people to take a day-trip on a safe route from Oxford, spend some time (and money) in Charlbury, and get the train back? As far as I can see, Stonesfield Lane is the only missing link in that route.

Some relevant experience: I cycled across the Cotswolds on a Sustrans route this weekend (in leisurely fashion over two days!). The off-road section around Stroud was absolutely packed with families and teenagers out for a ride - much more than I see on the roads around Charlbury.

But especially relevant was a chance conversation that Anna and I had with the chairman of Cricklade's chamber of commerce. We'd stopped outside one of the shops in the town to buy our lunch, and he saw us and was interested to know what had brought us to Cricklade. So we explained that we were following the Sustrans route.

Cricklade has engaged with the CTC's "Cyclists Welcome" programme, and have the Sustrans route too. They attract different types of cyclists: the CTC are the long-distance ones, the Sustrans route gets people on a day-trip along the railway path from Swindon. Both bring business to the town: on a Sunday, apparently, it's not uncommon to see 30 cyclists arrive to refuel at the cafe which sports a "Cyclists Welcome" sign. I was about to ask "so do you get many cyclists, then?" when three tourers pulled up on the opposite side of the road - and this on a wet Saturday in March!