Tarmacked towpath

[CathyC]

Can anyone here please help us. Contractors for CaRT, or maybe Sustrans, are on the brink of bringing the bulldozers in and tarmacking over the towpath in one of the the most special areas of natural beauty I have ever had the privilege to moor in.

They've already laid down a stretch of the stuff right up to the bridge for a few hundred yards just before this field. 

It's insane. CaRT seems to have handed control of the towpath over to this cycling organisation so they can turn it into a tarmac cycle lane, regardless of how it affects the look and feel of different places, without a word of consultation, or even warning, to the boaters who live and holiday on these canals, let alone other stakeholders.

I need help, the boaters here on the K&A near Aldermaston need help; those of us who love these fields.

I cannot get too involved in this for personal, health reasons. This is already making me ill.

Can anyone who can help us stop them ruining this area, especially this field, where cows can come right up to the boats, please come onto K&A Boaters East on Facebook and tell people what is going on and how we might oppose this.

I've come back onto CWF after many years away, at 4am, when I should be asleep, to put out this distress flare.

The new 'road' would not only traverse the beautiful 'cow field' it would also run right through the middle of the residential boaters' garden areas that lie to the east of it.

I've messaged Nick Brown of the NBTA and the IWA and CaRT themselves. I've even emailed Richard Parry. 

I asked him to please put this scheme on hold nationally so that a proper consultation period can be instigated with boaters, walkers, anglers and cyclists. I pointed out that people did not get into boating in order to be closer to tarmac and speeding cyclists.

I feel overwhelmed and don't know who to turn to.

They're telling people that it's not a road and that they're putting a 'natural-looking' surface material over it, but it's nonsense. It's about a metre wide and it's black tarmac with a slightly 'cracked' looking texture for grip.

I'm not going to be able to comment on this thread and am now avoiding the FB page as it's all getting me so upset. But I will probably return to the FB page at some point. And I do want people to discuss this and would much appreciate anyone already campaigning against this to come onto our FB site and help us out.

Apparently some opposition is building locally too, on a local community page, so I hope people will get together before it's too late.

Thank you for reading this. See pic

[David Mack]

It might help if you could say exactly where this is. Is it towpath side or offside? I can't think of many sections on the towpath side where cows can come right up to boats.

[frangar]

There’s a few of these cycle raceways going in at moment. Please can you say where is one is? Of course there’s no benefit for any boater as usual. 

[LadyG]

I agree that CRT are allowing tarmacking of the towpath with no regard for considerations other than access for cyclists and motorised bikes which is changing the ethos of quiet canalside leisure. Walkers are in danger of being pushed off the track.

I would like to stop this blanket policy.

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

43 minutes ago, David Mack said:

It might help if you could say exactly where this is. Is it towpath side or offside? I can't think of many sections on the towpath side where cows can come right up to boats.

 

There is a stretch between upstream of Burghfield foot bridge and up to the M4 bridge where cows can come right up to the boat, but it is more open than the photo. I also don't think it has any permanent moorings.

 

Edited to add, even for walkers some of the towpath across those meadows is not the easiest to use, tending to be rough and muddy when wet.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Tony Brooks

[Heartland]

The Sustrans Website has this wording

 

The Kennet and Avon Cycle Route is around 83 miles in length and takes you from Bath to Reading. It uses tranquil canal towpaths along the way and passes through gorgeous countryside.

The historic Kennet and Avon Canal links London with the Bristol Channel.

The canal’s impressive architecture is in keeping with the peaceful surroundings. The countryside here provides a habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna.

From this route you can reach Bristol on the 13-mile Bristol and Bath Railway Path. Together they form a part of the Severn & Thames cycle route between Gloucester and Reading.

The Kennet and Avon canal starts at Bath and, except for a few short sections near Reading, cycling is permitted alongside it (although the Network route does not follow the canal all the way). 

Long sections of the towpath have been widened and the surfaces improved.

This includes the whole length from Bath to Devizes, around Newbury, and between Thatcham and Reading. Some sections of the towpath have a rougher surface, so please take extra care.

The section between Bath and Devizes is 22 miles (of which 21 are traffic-free).

Look out for the two impressive limestone aqueducts between Bath and Bradford-on-Avon. Dundas and Avoncliff have both been fully restored to their former glory.

You should also keep an eye out for the Claverton Pumping Station. It has been restored to full working order by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust.

At Devizes, you will see the dramatic Caen Hill Locks. This is a flight of 29 locks which may be the most impressive anywhere on the UK's waterways.

The route then continues towards Reading, passing through some of Wiltshire's quietest countryside. Between Devizes and Marsh Benham, the cycle route leaves the towpath and follows quiet lanes through the Vale of Pewsey.

Here you’ll see fine views of the surrounding hills and the Pewsey White Horse.

From Marsh Benham the route is again generally along the towpath all the way into Reading.

The Kennet and Avon Cycle Route is a dream for those looking for a peaceful route.

It’s a delightful blend of gorgeous countryside and tranquil canals.

This route will enchant those who are interested in the history of the UK’s canals, and the fantastic engineering that went into building them.

 

So they advertise the positive aspect of leisure cycling and makes no mention of the rogue cyclists, scooter owners, quad bikes, electric bikes etc who use the improved surface to race along with no regard to boaters or walkers

 

Yes something needs to be done!

[LadyG]

I am of the opinion that Sustrans or any othe funder could be persuaded to lay aggregate stone paths, this would allow both cycling and walking but generally cyclists would go a bit slower. THEY CAN ALSO BE HEARD

By the way, near Wakefield scooters and motorbikes can easily access the towpath as the big slanted gate access apparatus is far too wide. Might stop a quadbike.

Edited June 16, 2023 by LadyG

[Tracy D'arth]

I fear that the K&A has already been abandoned to the CMers and that no one will care what now happens to it. Certainly CRT don't care as long as the money rolls in and they don't have to do any maintenance.

You will get loads of pretty blue signs to look at though.

[Tonka]

They are doing the same near Sneyd Wharf.

The canal needs dredging and now you will not be able to put the dredgings on the towpath

[pete.i]

I very much doubt that anyone on here is in a position to help. I was a member of the IWA for a while but I didn't see them doing much for boaters. I have owned 3 boats over a period of ten years on the canals and I could see the way the Canal and River trust was and is going IMO. I volunteered for CRT for a period of 12 years on the education side. Because of the way I interpreted the direction CRT were taking, especially with regards to boaters, I decided to leave, I now have no interaction with the Canal and River Trust. In my opinion the Canal and River Trust would love to see the canals devoid of boaters. That isn't very easy for them to implement owing to the number of people living full time in boats and boaters do pay a proportion of CRT's income. But I definetly felt that, for boaters at least, the Canal and River Trust had very little time.

 

There are other boating organisations that might, and I stress might, take up your concerns but IMO CRT just run rough shod over everything to do with boating. Personally I'm glad I'm away from it. I don't often agree with Tracy D'arth, but on this occasion that post is correct.

[MtB]

First world problems, eh?

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

I also don't think it has any permanent moorings.

 

 

Does that matter ? it is the K&A we are talking about where rules and guidelines are widely ignored.

[Mike Hurley]

Could be worse, maybe George Ward could turn up and camp in the field next to you.

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Does that matter ? it is the K&A we are talking about where rules and guidelines are widely ignored.

I was trying to suggest that if the OP does not like it, they move on, without actually saying so.

 

If they want cows almost next to the boat they should look at Burghfield Moorings (not the boat club) that is on the offside with only a track and fence between them and the cows. I am not sure about now. but when we last did the K&A there were some lovely rural moorings on the long pound (plank needed if I recall).

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Tony Brooks said:

I was trying to suggest that if the OP does not like it, they move on, without actually saying so.

 

If they want cows almost next to the boat they should look at Burghfield Moorings (not the boat club) that is on the offside with only a track and fence between them and the cows. I am not sure about now. but when we last did the K&A there were some lovely rural moorings on the long pound (plank needed if I recall).

 

And, of course there are other canals available (cows an optional extra)

 

 

 

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Does that matter ? it is the K&A we are talking about where rules and guidelines are widely ignored.

 

It's the eastern K&A, but the western habits are spreading along this way. 

 

But this is actually not yer standard stretch of canal, it is a river section I think the OP is talking about and the towpath isn't right at the water's edge, it wanders away a bit and the whole character of the stretch is more like the far end of the Thames. No moorings along it either, much of the bank being overgrown with trees. In fact when I CCed I liked mooring there except for the damned cows which were a confounded nuisance.

 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

And, of course there are other canals available (cows an optional extra)

 

or if you are really lucky, Water Buffalo right alongside.

[JaimeManero]

Im a keen cyclist and i enjoy a rare good bike lane. But over that i enjoy to respect heritage  and is not nice to destroy the canals

[CathyC]

I don't know how to answer individual posts. It's in 'cow field' above Tyle Mill Lock and is  obviously on the towpath side and well known. Regional CaRT has sent me the following email, which is good but the issue with consultation remains.

 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

6 minutes ago, CathyC said:

I don't know how to answer individual posts. It's in 'cow field' above Tyle Mill Lock and is  obviously on the towpath side and well known. Regional CaRT has sent me the following email, which is good but the issue with consultation remains.

 

 

 

I'm confused (not difficult)

 

You say it is actually happening -  They've already laid down a stretch of the stuff right up to the bridge for a few hundred yards just before this field. 

 

 C&RT say it is not happening "in this area"

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[CathyC]

I have seen engineers surveying and marking the fields, in 2021, and a guy driving through to assess them yesterday. So it needs keeping an eye on and I'd like to see the IWA, NABO, NBTA etc pressuring for greater consultation and perhaps a moratorium on further work to allow time for this.

[MtB]

1 minute ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I'm confused (not difficult)

 

You show pictures of what is actually happening - C&RT say it is not happening "in this area"

 

Are your pictures from the area in discussion ("this area") or from elsewhere on the canal system ?

 

 

Now I'm the one confused. I can't see any pictures from the OP in this thread, other than one of a cow close to the stern of a boat. No towpath construction work going on that I can spot. 

 

And in that photo you can see the "riverside footpath" some way away from the water's edge. And the boat is moored in the trees of which I wrote. 

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, MtB said:

 

 

Now I'm the one confused. I can't see any pictures from the OP in this thread, other than one of a cow close to the stern of a boat. No towpath construction work going on that I can spot. 

 

And in that photo you can see the "riverside footpath" some way away from the water's edge. And the boat is moored in the trees of which I wrote. 

 

Yes - I have already edited the reference to pictures. I thought it showed the development work, but on closer scrutiny it didn't

Edited June 16, 2023 by Alan de Enfield

[MtB]

 

Point being, I think we are discussing a canalised section of river. Not a canal. There is no towpath as canal boaters know it, only a riverside footpath across the adjoining field. This may or may not be relevant.

 

In fact for this specific section, if they put a Sustrans race track where the footpath is, it would have far less impact on boaters than on a canal. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by MtB
Add a bit.

[Tonka]

Best of it is that the councils are now taking a dim view on houses putting driveways in because of the rain will now not soak into the soil and top up the water table

But CRT are going the other way