NCN54 Branston Locks Diversion

Approach to the school based on a wide shared path.

Although most of the National Forest cycling network is based in rural settings there are several built up areas including Burton, Swadlincote and Coalville.  All of these places have seen significant growth over recent years and one area of Burton is going through a particularly significant change which has had a major effect on the National Cycle Network (NCN).

The Branston Locks development is a large mix of industrial and residential development which covers a large section of land between Tatenhill and Shobnall, bordering the A38 and including the Trent and Mersey Canal.  NCN 54 formerly passed through this area as a quiet track called Anglessey Street.  Access to this lane has now been obstructed  by the development and an alternative route has been sought after by ourselves for some time.

Jim signing new entry from Shobnall Road to Callister Way

We discussed several routes around the development and finally had clearance to start signing a route earlier this year.  It is proposed for this route to have proper signage provided by Staffordshire County Council but until this is done we have signed it as best we can with our adhesive signs.

When the Branston Locks development is completed it should feature a number of different cycling and walking routes which could be adopted as NCN54 and hopefully this might follow the Trent and Mersey canal.

The route that has been replaced was good as it was flat, direct and in quite a peaceful rural setting, despite it's proximity to the A38 as it approached the Albion pub.  Whilst the alternative route goes through more built up areas, the vast majority of it is off-road on shared paths.  There are also a few eateries, shops and pubs on the route and it passes close to Branston Water Park.  Though it does intersect some busy roads most of the crossing points are Toucan crossings.

The initial route planning was done by our ranger Jim and after some discussion with one of our Network managers we agreed on a slight tweak.  The signing was done in 2 stages due to a shortage of signs and the need for a second look at one of the key areas within Branston village.

Description of the route (West to East - Tatenhill to Shobnall)

End of cycle route sign despite brand new path to Tatenhill

From Tatenhill, the route makes the most of a new path to John Taylor Free School which starts approximately 300 yards from the junction in Tatenhill.  For some reason this path is not signed as shared and not quite 3 metres wide even though it is clearly a safer alternative to the adjacent road.  The egress from the path in direction of Tatenhill is not ideal, which might be a reason for this.

At the end of the new path the route into Tatenhill is road based.

At the school there is a wide Toucan crossing which now carries the route safely across the road.  The route then follows a shared path through the car park and drop off zone, past the rugby club entrance and along Branston Road then onto Tatenhill Lane.  This shared path is continuous all the way to the Bridge Inn at the Trent and Mersey canal.  Clearly, during school run times, this area will be busy but should be quiet outside of the peak times.

At this point it is necessary to cross over the road and continue down Tatenhill Lane.  This leads to a dead end at the A38 and is relatively quiet though there is a new housing development under construction in this area.  Passage under the A38 is made via a shared path tunnel and there is a link to the nearby Branston Water Park.  The tunnel features some barriers to deter motor vehicles which may be tricky for certain bikes.

Hopefully the future route will feature a nice wide canal towpath

Once through the tunnel the route is on road but through the residential area around Branston Main Street before crossing the main road via a Toucan Crossing at Rykneld Primary School.  After another tricky barrier the route continues onto The Parkway - the main road into Burton from the A38 Branston exit.  At the junction by the Carvery restaurant and adjacent Steakhouse the route crosses the Parkway via a double Toucan crossing and subsequent further Toucan over First Avenue before continuing.

Safe passage under the A38 but mind the barriers.

New signage near canal-side Bridge Inn

The crossing at First Avenue features the most ridiculous cyclist dismount signs (aimed at deterring cyclists from cycling along the rarely used footpath along First Avenue).  They are around the size of a bank card but placed aloft a dedicated post - a completely unnecessary but no doubt significant on-cost to cycling infrastructure.  The picture below shows this, but you may struggle to see it.

Award for the most pointless dismount sign

One part of the new link which gave us cause for concern is the crossing at the roundabout of Second Avenue, near the Corner House and Holiday Inn Express.  Although there is a refuge and it is slightly away from the roundabout, there is no lighted crossing and the roundabout is busy with a 40mph speed limit.  During our check of the signing there were roadworks in place here with the inevitable cyclist dismount signage!

Once over this road the shared path continues along Parkway, crossing Third and Fourth Avenue before a relatively long section to Callister Way roundabout.  Whilst the path is wide, there are sections of vegetation which protrude significantly in some places.

Vegetation narrowing the path!.

At Callister Way the route turns away from Parkway and heads over the Trent and Mersey Canal and through an area yet to be developed, onto an off-road section which rejoins the old section of NCN 54 on the other side of the A38 from the Albion pub close to the Marstons brewery.

The new route will take slightly longer than the old route, perhaps around 20-25 minutes without stopping but does feature a lot more in terms of refreshments and facilities.

We will continue to monitor the new route and also intend to look at routes around Burton next year amongst several other areas.  We'll also be keeping an eye on how the Branston Locks development progresses and ensure that the infrastructure is of NCN standard.

Bikes on Trains - the debate goes on.

The subject of cycling is one of many debated daily through many social media channels.  Social media certainly provides an outlet for debate; often for frustrations and occasionally some praise!

One recurring theme is about being able to take bikes on trains.  This is often debated on the Facebook page for the National Cycle Network but a recent tweet certainly ignited the debate once more and I feel compelled, albeit with delay, to comment on the events.

We've discussed the issues with taking bikes on trains on this blog.  My experience of taking my bike from Burton to Stafford was ok but there were a few issues even on a short journey as the blog item explains.

Another blog post recently discussed mobility cycling and the fact that bikes are a mobility aid and vital to people who may not be able to walk long distances.

One item that certainly provoked response on Facebook was when LNER (who operate the East Coast Mainline from Kings Cross to Leeds, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh amongst other places) announced the arrival of the new Azuma train.  The Azuma has been brought in to replace an ageing fleet of diesel 125 trains and electric 225 trains.  A similar thing happened on the GWR network from Paddington to South West destinations too.

Whilst the new trains are an improvement in many aspects it is noted that in terms of cycling space they lack the spacious facilities of the 125 which had a large guard's van and the 225 which had a large driving van trailer.

As the poster shows, there is only space for 4 bikes on a 10 coach train and 2 on a 5 coach train on the Azuma.

The type of storage adopted typically used now requires the user to lift the bike up and suspend the bike from a hook mounted high.  This is mainly due to spatial economy.

125s have provided good bike storage since the 1970s

The problem with this is that it is not often easy to fit bikes when fully loaded with panniers (for those travelling long distances) and there is certainly no space for other adapted bikes or tandems.  Whilst I'm not particularly strong I'm fit and able to hang my bike.  Unfortunately not everyone is.  I mentioned above about bikes being a useful mobility aid but not everyone capable of riding a bike is physically capable of lifting a bike.

When browsing Twitter fairly recently my attention as drawn to an issue involving Cross Country trains.  A passenger had tweeted to ask about help to hang the bike as they knew they were not physically strong enough.  It is also not easy to locate someone to help hang the bike on the train and it can be very tricky when a train is crowded, which they often are.  The final response from Cross Country as shown is extraordinarily disappointing in a number of ways and does not inspire confidence, especially as Cross Country are the only operator from Burton on Trent.  Whilst Health and Safety are paramount, the tone of the response is poor. 

It's not all doom and gloom though, as Scot Rail are making some alterations to some older trains on the West Highland Line which is a popular tourist line and popular with cyclists.  More information can be read by clicking here.

It is difficult to see any significant improvement forthcoming on the railway network in the near future but the lobbying needs to continue and hopefully longer term the picture will change.

Paths for Everyone - a new perspective - review of Sustrans GC Conference

In September the Sustrans Volunteer Group Coordinators conferences took place in York and Reading.  I took the chance to go to the northern event in my home city of York.  These events are very useful for networking and I'd not had the chance to do this with volunteers from Yorkshire and the North East much.

Micklegate Bar - York

The event took place a short walk from York Station so it saved me the anxiety of trying to book my bike onto the train.  In order to make the trip as cost effective as possible I'd booked split tickets from Burton to Chesterfield and Chesterfield to York due to subsidies through Yorkshire. The reservation system was on the blink but fortunately this didn't cause a problem. Thankfully the train was on time and delivered me to York in a relaxed state on a nice late summer day.

The event itself was well attended with rangers mainly from the north, including Merseyside, Leeds, Tyneside, Northumberland and Scotland.

The notable part of the presentations was a talk by Xavier Brice, CEO of Sustrans.  One of the main themes was to show how important the volunteers are to an organisation like Sustrans and several examples were given.  Mention was made of the recent £21 million given to Sustrans to develop parts of the National Cycle Network and some of the adverse feedback given.  Whilst it is only a small fraction of the amount needed for the whole network it is still a significant figure.

The theme that everybody wanted to hear about was the update on the upgrade of the National Cycle Network - known as Paths for Everyone.    There was an update on standards required going forward and also some discussion on potential de-classification of sections that are classified as poor.  I'm sure there will be more on this particular subject going forward.

The latest update on paths for everyone can be found here.

The other part of Paths for Everyone is ensuring that the network is accessible for all and this involves the removal of barriers from the routes.  There are 16000 in total, so this is a significant challenge.  The first of the workshops attended dug a little deeper into this topic and provided some new perspectives.

A local company called Get Cycling had been invited to show some mobility bikes, whilst a member of the ramblers association brought a tramper along.  The introduction to the workshop was given by Jim who explained the aims of Get Cycling and in particular his own personal story of wanting to be able to take his son cycling but needing adapted equipment to be able to do so.  You can learn a lot more about Get Cycling by clicking here.

The bikes are bought in places like the Netherlands and Germany and refurbished and sold at lower prices than new.  One of the key points that Jim made which really resonated with me was that the speciality bikes are seen as very niche in the UK but in those countries with more developed cycling infrastructure they are much more common place.  Whereas in the UK they would be used mainly for infrequent leisure trips, in other places they are part of everyday life and a necessary part of getting around.

We were encouraged to use the bikes and the tramper to get an idea of how they handle and we were given an insight into adaptations specifically made for certain disabilities.  The point was also made about bikes being an important aid to mobility in general - and how poor infrastructure and barriers in particular can be critical - not all users can lift bikes over obstacles.

The day also featured discussions on successful led rides, attracting funding for small projects and the day ended with a nice social walk around York.

Back in Swadlincote, fresh with inspiration I revisited an area of concern on one of the new developments that will be part of NCN 63 in the future as the network is completed.  I had noticed the installations of some inappropriate barriers and reported this to the planning department at South Derbyshire District Council.  The barriers were so close together that it was only possible to get a bike through - even a normal sized wheelchair or a double buggy would have struggled to pass.  To be fair, although the barriers are still there, they have been amended and are not so ridiculous tight.  The funny part, as the picture shows, is that one set of the barriers are easily passable to the side.

See how close the barriers were!

Whilst the issue has been resolved to some extent it is concerning that new sections of NCN created through development feature these obstacles that are clearly not in the new vision.  Clearly, some form of best design practice needs to be communicated and implemented in order for the NCN to truly be considered as paths for everyone.