Bristol Bath Railway Path

On Saturday, a friend and I felt fit enough to walk the entire Bristol Bath Railway Path. The path is a very beautiful trail that should be done at least once in your lifetime. 
The Bristol Bath Railway Path was constructed on the bed of the former Midland Railway by Sustrans between 1979 and 1986. It is 16 miles long (24 km) and links Bristol with Bath following the old railway route. Although the Railway Path is mainly thought to be done cycling (it only takes around 1h30min by bike and the surface is tarmaced), it is also open to walkers and access is provided for disabled users.

We woke up and after preparing some sandwiches and taking some fruit for the day, off we went! We kicked off from St Phillips Road in Bristol at 10am on a very sunny day. Although it was really sunny and hot, the path mostly covered by bushes and trees, which gives a very comfortable shade to enjoy the 5-hour walk. 

DESCRIPTION
Start: St Phillips Road (Bristol)

End: Pulteney Bridge (Bath)

Lenght: 16 miles

Time: 5h

The path is well indicated in Bristol. It is very easy to find how to get there, and within the path, there are many arrows saying how many miles you have already done and how many are left to get to Bath. 
There are many other entrances to join the path at many points other than St Philips Road. So, you are allowed to pop-in/pop-out whenever you want.

There are many tunnels on the way. The first one is probably one of my favourites. As you can see on the picture, it has several scenes of the old railway on the walls. However, they are partially ruined by somebody who bought a black spray and wanted to pretend he was a graffiti artist.

There is also another tunnel really long and leaky. Pretty cool to see the "light at the end of the tunnel".

The path is mostly plain, with no steep uphills nor downhills. Very pleasant walk below the shade of trees and bushes although good trekking shoes are recommended due to the length of the path. We barely didn't stop, that's why it took us just 5h.

There are many benches along the way where you can rest although it would also be great if there were fountains to fill our water bottles and maybe more picnic-ing areas would be useful.

Wildlife, geology and flower lovers have the perfect excuse to come walk the path. But obviously, the old railway is the main attraction. Some of the former stations along the path are still popular stopping points. 

Mangotsfield Station, the spot we chose for the first stop, are the ruins of the old railway line with a special atmosphere and the station in Warmley (on the picture) is a perfect spot to have a rest, some coffee or refreshments sitting down on a terrace, or simply using the free toilets in case of need.

Some curiosities: at the beginning of the route, "Walking for Health" signs remain on the floor, an initiative which supports Bristol's diverse communities to become more active through walking. 

There are free bike pumps along the path.These where located at the Bristol Bath Railway Path very recently (read Bristol Post).

The Roman monument around 4 miles away from Bath made us laugh as well as the zebra crossing in one of the accesses to the path.

We have also come across a cat who might have been the one reported missing. However, we haven't been able to contact the owner as to retrace steps backwards to find her telephone number was too painful to even think about it. What made us smile, on the other hand, were the sentences written down on bridges: "I just lost my job. Let's go play!" LOL

There were many people cycling along the path, some of them probably too fast and too close from us. Very dangerous, especially those who were sneaking up on us...

With 10 miles behind our backs, our forces were scarce. This is where, out of nowhere, we ended up having a well-deserved drink in the Beer and Cider Festival happening that weekend in a pub called "Bird in Hand".

And there is no better reward than to check the map and see that you are already in BATH!! :)

LINKS

Bristol Bath Railway Path: http://www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk/home.shtml
Free Bike Pumps (Bristol Post): http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Free-bike-pumps-installed-Bristol/story-20859128-detail/story.html
Bird in Hand (Pub): www.bird-in-hand.co.uk