Bridges

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Mick F
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Bridges

Post by Mick F »

I've been (trying to) ride all the roads in Cornwall, and I succeeded riding over all the road bridges over the River Tamar which forms the majority of the border between Cornwall and England. Twenty-three of them from the modern suspension bridge at Plymouth, to all the way up to beyond Bude at Youlstone where the road goes over a muddy little brook with the source just over in a field. Many of the bridges are 15th century stone-built.

To this end, I want to ride over all the bridges over the A30 between Exeter and Land's End. Underpasses are boring, so they don't count.

The A30 trunk road is the nearest thing we have in Cornwall and Devon to a motorway. The road starts at the bottom end of the M5 (junction 31) and finishes at the carpark at Land's End. I think the final ones are over the Hayle Bypass section with none further west.

From what I can make out, there are fifty bridges in all. I've already done quite a few of course, but I plan on doing them all - even if I've done them before. 120miles or so between the M5 and LE so I won't do them all in one hit! :lol:

It's going to be an on-going project.

Anyone else done this sort of thing?
Mick F. Cornwall
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Mick F
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mick F »

Picking out routes and pouring over maps.
I think my best plan is to let the train take the strain and get me to Exeter, then I can cycle all the bridges as far as this side of Okehampton, then cycle home. Probably be a 60odd or even 70 mile ride crossing and re-crossing the A30 then home.

First bridge (No1) is a foot bridge very near the M5.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.68261 ... a=!3m1!1e3
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.68197 ... 312!8i6656
Mick F. Cornwall
Mike Sales
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mike Sales »

Mick F wrote:
Anyone else done this sort of thing?


Two I have done.
All the bridges over Afon Ogwen from Penrhyn to Ogwen Cottage.
All the bridges over the South Forty Foot Drain (not a river) from Black Sluice to Guthram Gowt. One or two are private, but a bike passes unobtrusively.
I have attempted to visit all the brick built castles between Boston and Woodhall, but one is legally inaccessible. I may attempt a surreptitious raid.
Last edited by Mike Sales on 8 May 2018, 4:33pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Mick F
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mick F »

Mike Sales wrote: I may attempt a surreptitious raid.
:lol: :lol:
Just looking at bridges, and there's a few(?) which are farm crossings. May have access gates of course so I might have to surreptitiously lift my bike over just to get on the bridge.
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mike Sales »

Mick F wrote:
Mike Sales wrote: I may attempt a surreptitious raid.
:lol: :lol:
Just looking at bridges, and there's a few(?) which are farm crossings. May have access gates of course so I might have to surreptitiously lift my bike over just to get on the bridge.


I have just edited my post to add that at least one of the Forty Foot bridges is private, connecting farm lands.
One other naughty penetration was on Ynys Mon, near Aberffraw. This was on the Bodorgan Estate, which is very anti footpaths, never mind trespassers. We went down to Porth Aels, by Braich-lwyd. We found a gull nesting site, where broken eggshells and new chicks lay next to eggs cheeping, and beginning to show signs of the chick within escaping. Naturally we left pronto.
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Re: Bridges

Post by foxyrider »

My current 'thing' is collecting windmills. I've had several raids into Lincolnshire and another planned in a few weeks and have so far found something like 60. I've done similar 'raids' into East + West Yorks and Nottinghamshire - adds a little to the ride especially if it's a long 'training' ride.
Convention? what's that then?
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Re: Bridges

Post by rjb »

I've done all the bridges over the river Parrett in Somerset. Having a goal makes for a much more interesting ride and can uncover all sorts of relics. Railway lines can yield all sorts of interesting structures to view and a bit of research throws up lots of ideas for a visit. I've spent hours planning routes to view particular viaducts, bridges, stations. Even found that the next village to us has a redundant station building used as a cricket pavillion. :lol:
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Re: Bridges

Post by Cyril Haearn »

rjb wrote:I've done all the bridges over the river Parrett in Somerset. Having a goal makes for a much more interesting ride and can uncover all sorts of relics. Railway lines can yield all sorts of interesting structures to view and a bit of research throws up lots of ideas for a visit. I've spent hours planning routes to view particular viaducts, bridges, stations. Even found that the next village to us has a redundant station building used as a cricket pavillion. :lol:

Progess, people get exercise instead of sitting on the train :wink:
Churches are good, but there are so many, 200+ in Herefordshire for example
One might try to visit all (old) gaols from the outside, there are plenty of them
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Cunobelin
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Re: Bridges

Post by Cunobelin »

Sausages!!!!

Once did the Cumbria cycleway, I planned the trip to allow me to sample local variations in the Cumberland sausage
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Re: Bridges

Post by sabrutat »

A sausage tour! Genius!
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mike Sales »

foxyrider wrote:My current 'thing' is collecting windmills. I've had several raids into Lincolnshire and another planned in a few weeks and have so far found something like 60. I've done similar 'raids' into East + West Yorks and Nottinghamshire - adds a little to the ride especially if it's a long 'training' ride.

Presumably you are collecting windmills which are in working condition?
Off the top of my head, local to me, are the Sibsey Trader, the Maud Foster and Heckington, the eight sailed.
Sail-less towers are common here.
I have a facsimile map of an internal drainage area in the nineteenth century which has an incredible density of pumping mills.
Do you have a handy list of working mills?
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Mick F
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mick F »

sabrutat wrote:A sausage tour! Genius!

+1 :D

I suppose I could find all the pasty shops, but there's thousands of them.
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Re: Bridges

Post by foxyrider »

Mike Sales wrote:
foxyrider wrote:My current 'thing' is collecting windmills. I've had several raids into Lincolnshire and another planned in a few weeks and have so far found something like 60. I've done similar 'raids' into East + West Yorks and Nottinghamshire - adds a little to the ride especially if it's a long 'training' ride.

Presumably you are collecting windmills which are in working condition?
Off the top of my head, local to me, are the Sibsey Trader, the Maud Foster and Heckington, the eight sailed.
Sail-less towers are common here.
I have a facsimile map of an internal drainage area in the nineteenth century which has an incredible density of pumping mills.
Do you have a handy list of working mills?


Working, derelict - doesn't matter. I've rediscovered some which have gone from the OS maps and failed to find a few that are - all adds to the chase.

btw, atm the Sibsey is sail less as is Kirton which is a pity.
Convention? what's that then?
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Mick F
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Re: Bridges

Post by Mick F »

I spent an hour or two this morning with BikeHikeUK and screenshot the OS maps then annotated them.
I've found that there are 79 bridges between Exeter and Penzance.
Most are minor roads, some or major roads, one or two are pedestrian/cycle bridges, and a few are access roads.

Here's the first and the last.
1.jpg
B.jpg
The hardest to get at, are over Bodmin Moor as I may have to cycle between them on the A30 dual carriageway itself.
A.jpg
Mick F. Cornwall
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Re: Bridges

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Mike Sales wrote:
foxyrider wrote:My current 'thing' is collecting windmills. I've had several raids into Lincolnshire and another planned in a few weeks and have so far found something like 60. I've done similar 'raids' into East + West Yorks and Nottinghamshire - adds a little to the ride especially if it's a long 'training' ride.

Presumably you are collecting windmills which are in working condition?
Off the top of my head, local to me, are the Sibsey Trader, the Maud Foster and Heckington, the eight sailed.
Sail-less towers are common here.
I have a facsimile map of an internal drainage area in the nineteenth century which has an incredible density of pumping mills.
Do you have a handy list of working mills?

I visited the Internationale Muehlenmuseum at Gifhorn in Germany, lots of real mills of different types including the Moulin Daudet, Alphonse D wrote a book of mill stories, +1
There is even a floating mill at the museum

Interesting fact about mills
The blades of a windmill are locked when the mill is not running
The wheel of a watermill must keep turning, if part of the wheel is dry the wood soon warps
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