Two Tunnels Shared Path
Newsletter - April 2006
Green Park Retrospective
Many of you will know that when various organisations 'Made a stand' for steam at Green Park Station in Bath, we did the same for the path. We handed out a couple of thousand information leaflets over two days and spoke with a great many people, the vast majority of whom were excited by news of our project and indeed glad to see this proposal to make something of the line's remains. We'd would like to thank the event organisers, who found space for us at a time when they were preoccupied with the chances that loco would actually find solid ground ...
One particular activity we undertook there was to gather signatures of support from members of the public. We were astonished to collect very nearly six hundred of these - at times people were queueing up to sign up! We weren't gathering names and addresses, but looking for indications of the way that people envisaged using the path - hence the accompanying pie chart. The 'Red' slice includes a rather wider spread of responses than the text can indicate ... several people understandably putting 'Trainspotting' as a popular choice of activity along the Midford to Bath stretch ...
Web Site Statistics
We're able to keep an eye on visitor numbers to the Two Tunnels web site courtesy of a excellent service from Statcounter. The site itself took its present form in January, and here's a graph of visitor numbers since that date. Thanks to Nigel Bryant for noticing that the 'Statcounter' site would produce this colourful graph. Update: you can now view live statistics yourself
You'll notice that:
- The numbers are pretty healthy
- People find this idea interesting, and some of the visitors sign up to the Google Group. The daily count of 40 or so new visitors is rather swamped by the size of the peak resulting from our pages in the Bath Chronicle. Then of course there are the 170+ members of the support group who tend to revisit the site themselves. We feel that the site can do more for us though: if we all play our part in publicising it we'll greatly increase the number of people prepared to back this idea.
- The numbers are pretty volatile
- Publicity results in a shower of visitors to our site. We could do with more of both. If you have a web site or blog of your own and can give us a link, that really helps. If you put our web site address in your email signature, that encourages anyone to whom you send email to find out about the project.
Visiting the Path?
Until June, you'll need to be even more energetic than usual. Wessex Water (with whom Sustrans will be negotiating to use Combe Down Tunnel) are in the process of laying a pipeline between Tucking Mill and Midford, in part along the railway trackbed, and this has intermittently closed the footpaths past the reservoir at Tucking Mill. Some of 'Sustrans' new path surface has had an unexpectedly short life ... The alternative route is described by two of our committee as 'Challenging'. (Another unsigned alternative route is to keep on the South side of the railway as you descend from Combe Down to the lane to Midford ... this involves you in rather less hill climbing ...)
Also, The 'Hope and Anchor' at Midford has the builders in as they improve the garden area - but are open all the while.
Our Two Major Partners - B&NES and Sustrans
There's news here on both fronts. I attended B&NES's April 'Joint Liaison Group' meeting, made a very brief presentation and distributed a bunch of our leaflets. We'd already noticed at Green Park that our leaflets don't end up on the floor, and it was good to see that the leaflets walked out of the room with the people.
Our chair, Frank Tompson, is booked to make a short presentation to the council's 'Planning Transport and Environment Overview & Scrutiny Panel' on Monday next. It has to be said that as the council is a big organisation, it will be a little while before the parts that matter to us are familiar with the idea of this path, and the need for it, but we've made a good start with several supporters among the councillors - including the leader - and we are making further progress here.
Meanwhile Sustrans have some news of their own, as they have the lottery people in to assess various projects, hence my request to the group for evidence to back up our assertion that the path's time is finally here. They've also been undertaking a certain amount of preparatory property negotiation, on which we await news.
The T-Shirt
I'm wearing it, but it's a white one at the moment.
Seriously, our design team is investigating a design which will happily print on a dark substrate, and includes sensible things like our web site address, so watch this space (or that torso ...)
Our Support Group
This has shown encouraging growth. We now number almost 180 people and it's pleasing to see the quality of posts to the group, as well as its tolerance of the occasional accident. Not all groups of this size sustain a good culture, and the listowners appreciate email groups that can be trusted. If you're a member - thanks for joining. If you'd like to join, see the link in the menu to the left.
The big surprise though was sending a request for evidence of support for the path for Sustrans and receiving a shower of over 70 replies from all sorts of people: here's just a handful of them:
This would be brilliant for all sorts of reasons - any walking or cycling around Bath on the flat or with /gentle/ inclines has to be a good thing and it encourages people (including me!) to get out and about. It makes good use of the old railway track and improves the environment, keeping it tidy and beneficial to all. Good luck with the project - keeping my fingers crossed.
As a daily commuting and leisure cyclist I have first hand experience of the immense value of car -free routes to the community. Apart from 2 well used routes, Bath is in fact desperately short of such facilities. I sincerely hope the efforts to obtain funding are a success.
As a mother of two small boys it is of some concern that when they become more independent and will want to make journeys by bicycle, car-free routes for this are very scarce in Bath. (this is also the only reason why I rarely cycle myself). I hope the application for the (very small, in comparison to road budgets) funding is successful.
Our neighbours with small children who have just learnt to ride their bikes have also found the cycle track a great addition to Midford.
Ever since they (who ever?) filled in the Devonshire portal and blocked off the rest I've hoping that someone would have the vision the re-open them once again. As a nipper we would often walk/ride through and enjoy the views of the Midford Valley from the other side.
When Wessex Water kindly opened the Combe Down tunnel a couple of years ago for a charity walk, there was massive local interest and support for its reopening for walkers and cycling.
I am a resident of Midford and I live alongside the old railway line. The Sustrans work completed so far has been an unqualified success and is being used by ever increasing numbers of people, both local and visitors.
The project was handled very well by Sustrans with substantial input from local residents and the Parish Council, extending the path through the two tunnels would increase the popularity of the route even further to the benefit of all. I am wholeheartedly in favour of it.
It is frankly a great idea and, from my perspective, it would open up a wealth of destinations for me as I cycle from my home in Oldfield Park, Bath with my 3-year-old daughter on board. I would be able to reach places to the south of Bath that are currently beyond my ability due to the size of the intervening hills.
As a mother of two active boys I think it's a great idea to have safe cycle routes for them to explore. Add to this the excitement of tunnels and railway history and I'm sure we'll be regular visitors.
Good luck with efforts to secure funding.
As Shoscombe residents ... we congratulate Sustrans on its all achievements thus far and wish you every success in opening up the Two Tunnels Path. We look forward to using it on a regular basis!
Here's a page with everyone's responses, anonymised, in order of receipt: a real morale booster, and quality evidence for the support the path will find and the use that it will receive - thanks for this!
Contact: ignore the strikethrough - here's our email address:
Tel (Ansaphone): (+44) 1225 723 490
Two Tunnels: Made in Bath.