Classic British Flight Sim

With apologies to Brian

It's not quite Texas to Oklahoma. Also I don't have a pretty lady to show off, as the present Mrs Speedbird doesn't do bikes (thank heavens ). On the other hand, I don't need fancy rear view mirrors as not much comes up behind me along here! It's only an 18 mile round trip and I completed it on an ice cream and a cup of tea. But don't forget I'm nearly middle-aged I'll probably go up onto Salisbury Plain on Sunday and do something a bit more mountain-bikey

The ride's from Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire to Bath, Somerset along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath. I just did it this afternoon, making the most of the lovely autumn weather.










Ian

Lover the Scenary Ian

maybe one day I can get a piece of that

Looks like a lovely day out. thanks for that...reminds me of the old jigsaw puzzle pics of my childhood

Garry

Nice shots Ian. Good to see you out there enjoying it. Like your Kona too.

Garry Russell wrote:maybe one day I can get a piece of that

I'll be more than happy to buy you an ice cream - when you do, Garry

VEGAS wrote:Like your Kona too

Thanks, Eddie. I thought I'd be sensible and buy a second-hand Kona Kula on eBay rather than shell out for a new one. Although the paintwork is in excellent condition, when I got it home I realised it had done a lot of offroad miles and was in need of a thorough service and by the time the local Kona dealer had stripped it down and replaced all the worn bits, I paid nearly as much as if I'd bought a discounted new one anyway

But he did say that the new ones weren't nearly as good as mine is now, so that cheered me up But I love it - it feels a lot like my old Kona but it's 4 pounds lighter. I can ride it faster, further and steeper without needing rest breaks. (I still take them anyway - I just don't need to!)

Ian

If there was anything to get this old git back on a 2 wheeled pedalled contraption then you have done it Ian

What wonderful scenery, I could never tire of that.

Regards
Nigel.

Ian, those are some nice pics there.. nice

Nigel H-J wrote: I could never tire of that.

I thought it was spelt tyre .. witha "y"..

Nice shots Ian....

Your tyres look a little dusty there - was Speedbird contrailing along the towpaths??

Lovely pictures, Ian. Really makes me homesick!

Nigel²

Excellent pics, Ian. That is some very lush scenery. Wow! Those canal boats...do people live on them year round, or just on holidays?

Brian

FlyTexas wrote:Those canal boats...do people live on them year round, or just on holidays?

Hello Brian. Both. About half of the narrowboats are owned by hire companies who rent them out for holidays and the rest are privately owned. The canals are 'policed' by British Waterways who licence the boats and moorings. There are a limited number of residential moorings, but most are temporary to cater for leisure travellers. Permanent moorings are usually in marinas or on private property. But the 'policing' is pretty relaxed and most residents just move the boat a few miles along every couple of weeks and BW turn a blind eye. There are a few more permanent 'alternative' communities and you have to keep an eye out for free range kids, chickens and other domestic animals wandering about the towpath! They get hassled by BW but seem to get away with it.

There are 2000 miles of navigable canals across the UK and half the population live within 5 miles of one, so they're a popular leisure destination. They are actually a sort of museum of our industrial heritage. They were built in the early 1800s to transport freight so most of them run between city centres and docks, the beautiful countryside was irrelevant in them days!

This is a good site if you want to know more about canals http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/maps.htm

The Kennet and Avon canal was built to connect the Rivers Avon and Thames so the boats can navigate coast to coast from London to Bristol for carrying freight. The main freight on this canal was cloth from the mills in the weaving towns of Bradford-on-Avon and Trowbridge, and Bath stone from the quarries. The first picture is a stone wharf next to an aqueduct. The stone was brought down from the quarry on a gravity-powered railway and loaded on the barges by the crane which is still there. The wharf in the last pic is in Bradford-on-Avon where the bales of cloth would be loaded to be shipped to London.

The barges were powered by horse - hence the towing path. In the picture of the tunnel you can see the rope marks in the stone caused by the towrope rubbing against the soft Bath stone. This is a feature of many of the bridges around here. It's unusual to have a towpath through a tunnel. Usually the horse would be led around the tunnel and the bargee would lay on his back and propel the barge with his legs! This particular tunnel runs directly under a large house that used to be the offices of the canal company. There's a trapdoor in the middle through which the office staff and the bargees could communicate or pass stuff to each other.

The canals only lasted a few years as the railways made them obsolete and they fell into disrepair. The Kennet and Avon was rebuilt during the last twenty years by volunteers, government money and lottery funding.

The scenery is the Limpley Stoke Valley which is part of the designated 'Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty'. I've lived here for the last 25 years because I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and have lived in 6 different houses now - all within a mile of the canal

I'd better stop now or I'll go on all day!

Ian