I headed to Cornwall over the Easter weekend to ride the Camel Trail in full from Wenfordbridge inland to Padstow on the coast. It’s a disused railway that’s been converted into a family-friendly trail for cyclists, hikers and horse riders.
00:00 – Intro
00:17 – Camel Trail
05:56 – How busy is the trail?
07:20 – Politics of shared paths
11:15 – Tips for direction
12:53 – Who is the trail for?
13:11 – Which section?
14:04 – Outro
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13 Comments
Walkers in Britain should always walk on the righthand side, into oncoming traffic, so they can see what is approaching. As a cyclist, remain on the lefthand side, even though a trail is not a road, treat it as such. Dog walkers get me, with dogs off lead. I had 20 on my local trail.
So Green, so Lush! Can you ride a UK legal E-Bike on the Camel Trail. From Canada.
Gloucester to Sharpness alongside the canal.
In Edmonton Canada. All travel is on the right side of the shared paths. Pass on the left. Bikers slow down and ring your bell when passing walkers. That’s basically from the city of Edmonton guide to shared path and off lease Dog Parks. In off leash dog parks, dogs rule! Then walkers and us bikers are at the bottom of the pole. We all manage to get along but sometimes you have to shake your head in disbelief. I keep my bear bells on the bike so you can always hear the jingling from afar, you would be surprised how many people turn around when they hear the bell from way back. It lets them know someone coming but doesn’t Startle them. Check out City of Edmonton bike paths. We claim the largest urban park in North America. Our river valley is about 60km long and for every km of paved trails there are 5km of double gravel or single track trails. National Triathlons and Bicycle Road Races are held in our river valley annually.
I feel your frustration with the shared use paths. It's very much like that here too. One thing I've found that has helped some of the time, is the bell from Timber. It's meant for mountain bikers, and to just passively ring as they bump along. It works as long as your trail isn't very smooth though, and pedestrians seem to not mind it, like I'm just a passing goat with a bell around her neck. And it has a lever so you can silence it when the trail is empty. I keep a normal bring-bring style bell on my bike too, it has a happy kid's bike sound, that most people react well to.
I agree with you about shared paths, sub optimal for both walkers and us cyclists. Traffic free route near me is the jubilee river between Maidenhead and Windsor, it's beautiful.
Some of the pedestrians can be more dangerous than cars, on the busy touristy days theyre mostly just territorial and envious apes moseying along with their families, but when its colder or dark, the sparse type of pedestrian can be criminal, and I have had a gun brandished at me for startling a guy.
I was in Cornwall in December (walking, not cycling this time). I walked quite a bit down near Penzance and the are around St. Austell/Lostwithiel. While the Southwest Coast path is definitely not bikeable, I was surprised by the area around St. Austell. You can actually take the Clay Trail north and the Clay and Coast trail south- both were actually quite nice and pretty quiet. A lot of good rail connections as well. The Cornwall Council interactive map is really helpful too.
Of course, that was December. Coming from upstate NY, it felt spring-like to me! I don't think I'd enjoy the Cornwall crowds in the summer.
The great network is paths is one of the main reasons I keep on traveling back across the pond to the UK. Maybe at some point I'll have to bring a bike.
Looks great! Thanks for the vid 😁
bath to bristol trail is great, never gone the whole way but planning to in a couple of months! i did not realise the unused railway path was a common site for trails, thought it was only this specific trail lol, very cool!
Interesting what you say about public response to cyclists and bell/no bell. I ride on Derbyshire trails (Tissington/High Peak/ Monsal), The Upper Don Trail through Penistone and the TPT South Yorkshire (various routes). I find most people are really good at making room and often thank me for using my bell. I do find it disconcerting when other cyclists don't use their bells and don't let you know until they're practically on top of you. I prefer the winter and riding in the week as I love getting the trails to myself. I recommend all of the above if people are in those areas.
Trails are best avoided on weekends and bank holidays. We often do the ones in the Peak District – Tissington/High Peak and Monsal trails. They can get very busy with walkers. Most move out of the way if you ring your bell, but many families insist on walking 6 abreast, usually with a dog off the lead, which can make it tiresome waiting for them to get organised and out of the way.
I often walk my dog along the canal, so experience it from the walker’s point of view too. I don’t mind cyclists, as long as they ring their bell in plenty of time and slow down a bit. Gravel bikers are the worst, in my experience.
I cycle slowly. I hold back and use my bell. On passing I always say thank you. Every day i am facing aggression from grown men. Yesterday a man leaned in to me called and called me a f** twat. Often they will poke their elbows out and they carry sticks. The aggression happens every day here in Swansea Bay, and I am not alone.