Any one familiar with the roman road (as marked on OS maps) between Kemble airfield (near cirencester) and the M4 (just north of bath)?

It looks perfectly ridable (though a little flat and straight), just wondering if it is?

Cheers in advance.

UH

i haven't been, but i am sure someone i know mentioned it got fairly well used by trail bikers and had suffered a little as a result.

'It looks perfectly ridable (though a little flat and straight)'…

Bloody Romans eh? 😉

I've done it a few times on a mtb. It gets churned up by tractors and 4x4s. They regrade it regularly but it varies from year to year. Don't be surprised to find yourself in knee deep ruts full of water for a few miles in places.

Cheers,

Looks like I'm riding it early tomorrow morning, so I'll give you all an update if I don't sink too deep!

I rode the bit from the B4014 back to chippenham, nothing exciting mainly a gravel road to be fair, couple of fords and some tarmac, undulates a little but nothing much.

UPDATE….

OK rode it on Saturday morning. Its fully ridable. Starts at Kemble airfield. Ends somewhere near the M4, where it turns into a road that continues it direct path into Batheaston.

Its mostly similar to a very wide canal toepath. Utterly straight, and virtually level just a few slight inclines. Surface for the most part a bit dull, the occasional rock. But there are one or two places where it mixes it up a bit, generally where it crosses a ford and the 4x4s have carved it up.

Only one more thing to add, it was utterly deserted. For nearly 40 miles I only came across one motor bike and one quad bike.

So to sum up, not really a mountain biking experience to write home about, but probably the most direct 40miles I've ever riden.

Cheers guys

That's the Fosse Way, IIRC. which runs up from Bath northeast-ish towards Leicester, as the A429/B4455. I've walked and ridden bits around Malmesbury/Easton Grey/Tetbury, and it's indeed pretty dull, really. Flat, not a lot to look at, and not much in the way of interesting pubs or tea 'n' cake stops. Got very bored riding up there, stick to the Marlborough/Pewsey Downs now.

You wanna try driving it from Ciren to Leamington 😈