The Last Leg!

The Fosse 2 extension from Exeter to Plymouth (NCN48) is likely to use part of the Devon Coast to Coast (NCN27) as it approaches Plymouth. The article found in the RangerNet which sources a local Tavistock paper is therefore good news.

http://www.tavistock-today.co.uk/tn/news.cfm?id=9431&headline=Almost%20there!

Comments from anyone who rides the new sections would be welcomed.

The Proposed Upgraded Path from Stockton to Southam

On 23rd March I attempted to follow the existing footpath from Stockton to Southam. After passing behind the goal of the football pitch in the playground at the Stockton end I went through a gap in a hedge and found what seemed to be a clear path heading west. The first photograph shows what seems to be a well trodden earth path. It had been dry for some days and it seemed to be possible to cycle along it but the soil is very sticky and within a short distance I had picked up enough of it to completely jam both wheels. At this point the path crossed a track leading from the A426 to a building in the middle of fields and beyond the track on the west side the path disappeared. Subsequent checking with the Google satellite facility and the OS getamap shows that the fields across which the path once went have been ploughed. The second picture is the getamap showing the path crossing the track from the A426 (in the top of the picture) then dipping slightly more southerly before regaining the original direction at the next field boundary. The third picture is a Google satellite shot and the path can be seen very faintly crossing the large odd shaped field. This, and the next to the west, are the ones which have been ploughed. It may be that the path has been rerouted by users around the edge of the fields in question. I regained the A426 (and took some time to clear the mud from my mudguards!!) and cycled into Southam to the by-pass. I located the western end of the path and discovered that the path crosses the by-pass at road level. There is a set of steps either side of the road which is in a man--made cutting and also a ramped egress from either side for wheeled traffic. Again users have to cross the road which, as far as I could tell, has a 60 mph speed limit. Visibility is reasonable.

On the Southam (west) side of the by-pass there is a kissing gate which can accomodate my folding bike but would not take a full sized bike without some acrobatics. Access into the town centre from the kissing gate is by narrow footpaths between properties.

The last two photographs show the steep sets of steps leading down to the road and the kissing gate with the road below.

The B4451 road from Southam to Harbury crosses the A425 at a roundabout on the town outskirts before heading south to Deppers Bridge and then west to Harbury. This road is not wide enough to allow for a cyclist and two cars together and clearly has a speed problem because there are a number of chicanes in the village of Deppers Bridge to reduce traffic speed. It is not a road to recommend as part of an NCN route. If the proposed path upgrade comes to fruition and the current problem of the flat crossing of the A423 Southam by-pass is resolved there are advantages in R48 passing through Southam because it is big enough to have shops and a cafe but my recommended route from Southam would be west on the minor road to Bascote Heath thence SW to Harbury. I have crossed the A423 near Ufton on a number of occasions successfully although I accept it is not ideal.