I seem to remember some of this was closed a while back, anyone know how it is now please?

So far as I know, the Fishponds tunnel is still closed but a diversion is signposted.
However the fences preventing access to the tunnel have been modified so that adventurous cyclists can still use it when work is not in progress. (ie most of the time)

Shut 26 May-19 June between Saltford and Bitton. The tunnel at Staple Hill has been closed for ages and will be shut for until June apparently.

Thanks…. I’ve never cycled the Bristol end, is it pretty obvious to follow the diversions?

The diversion is madness, your best bet is to come off the path and head up Fishponds Road to Page Park in Staple Hill, then come down Teewell Hill and back on to the path. If the tunnel is open in June I’ll buy you all a bike, its a complete f***ing disaster and someone needs shooting…. 3 months over run already….

I think this blog sums it up

^brilliant.

Interestingly, there’s mention in that blog of Bristol being one of the UK’s showcase “Cycling Cities” and although he talks about the clash of cultures he confines the anti-cyclists to the suburbs..

I went to visit my stepson in Bristol last month, he lives across the road from Hamilton House in Stokes Croft and when he heard that I was gonna stick my bike on the train he gave a sinister chuckle..

‘Don’t do that’ he said..
‘you won’t be able to handle it’
‘it’s not safe, you’ll die, I wouldn’t ride a bike in Bristol.. Bristol hates cyclists’

Blimey not looking forward to riding in now 🙂 Would it be easier to come in to the centre from the North rather than the West?

Where are you coming from? Cycle path doesn’t come in from the west.

Ah yes i meant east not west. Im coming from Swindon.

Marvin – here’s a google map showing the three detour options, none of which are particularly taxing nor are they too traffic-mental outside of commuting hours. The most northerly = hard to get lost and no lanes, the middle line = small potential to get lost and that unadopted lane, the southern line = marked detour and yet still potential to get lost. I think people are kicking up a fuss over next to nothing, but there you go.

+1 wordnumb.

bitton -saltford closures gonna be a fun one… Wonder if will get the cyclists on the road signs 🙂

is this route still open? http://www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk/home.shtml

or is it another route you are all on about (i have only cycled the above route bath-bristol).

Nope it’s all been converted into a much required bus route 🙂

Raceface – yes it’s open apart from 1km in Staple Hill, the bit with the tunnel.

Doom Dude – Bitton to Saltford is only resurfacing, afaik, which shouldn’t take long.

I went to visit my stepson in Bristol last month, he lives across the road from Hamilton House in Stokes Croft and when he heard that I was gonna stick my bike on the train he gave a sinister chuckle..

Next time you go and visit your edgy stepson (living in Stokes Croft? Of course he’s edgy), pop in to Hamilton House and have a chat with the peeps at the Bristol Bike Project. Apart from it being one of the most life-affirming places on the planet, you might get a reasoned view of cycling in Bristol. It’s certainly no worse than any other city and, in places, a whole lot better.

good selection of beer too 🙂

what did you make of matey’s blog up there..?

I live less than a mile from the Staple Hill tunnel and use the path (albeit the other direction) every day.

Blog up there is pretty much spot on. Work started in I think October? And was going to be done by originally the end of the year. Then it was March, now I think it’s gone out even further. I went past the other day and it seemed like **** all had been done.

On Bristol hating cyclists, it depends. No worse or better than anywhere else I’ve ridden. Railway Path makes life a lot easier (when it’s open) though.

what did you make of matey’s blog up there..?

I used to know him when I lived in Bristol. He worked for a company near my employer and met him through Bike User Group stuff I was involved in.
He’s very militant about bikes. You could even tell that when you saw his bikes. He’s out there. Reason and sensibility were never part of his approach to cycling issues. Nice bloke.