Cycling UK Forum

Any good tips for sources?

A question prompted by a point on the devon Cornwall thread.

Am aware of cemetaries.

On the Dunwich Dynamo a couple of years ago I did run very low. Kept a lookout and luckily spotted a tap outside someone's driveway garage. So used it. Middle of the night of course so I didn't think it a good idea to ring the doorbell to ask, though of course if the water was metered I was technically stealing.

On another long ride, also parched, I wandered around a small industrial estate until I found a tap.

Took a risk but no ill effects.

Another point - anything from a tap is going to be mains water isn't it and so by definition drinkable?

On tour I use large bottles but still quite often run low.

So, any hot tips for snaffling tap water?

Sweep wrote:Any good tips for sources?

I have begged water from farmyard taps.

Mike Sales wrote:

Sweep wrote:Any good tips for sources?

I have begged water from farmyard taps.

I was going to say stables,there's a couple I'm aware of that have outside taps.
Alternatively a third bottle mount,which is a good idea if you're riding through the night even if you leave the third bottle empty filling up somewhere before dark.

More for when you're away from dense civilisation but last year I picked up an MSR Trailshot water filter and absolutely love it - being able to drink from literally any source is very liberating! Under £40, small, very lightweight and filters seem to last for ages.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Sweep wrote:Another point - anything from a tap is going to be mains water isn't it and so by definition drinkable?

I would say NO - more to be on the safe side than as a certain statement!

I'm pretty sure a farmer (or whoever) could rig up a tank fed by streams/runoff/rainwater and fit a pipe with a tap on the end. If the pipe's long enough you might assume that it is mains.

Meanwhile (as no one else has said it yet):
churchyards are the classic. Many have an outside tap for flower watering
(but see caveat above!)

elPedro666 wrote:More for when you're away from dense civilisation but last year I picked up an MSR Trailshot water filter and absolutely love it - being able to drink from literally any source is very liberating! Under £40, small, very lightweight and filters seem to last for ages.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Can you elaborate on where you have used this, please?

Sweep wrote:So, any hot tips for snaffling tap water?

Yes! Churchyards and asking people!
Anything else has its risks especially in rural areas.

In Spain many of the mountain towns and villages have wonderful water fountains, the same in the Tirol region of Austria/Italy. One village had a fancy dispenser that gave the option of still or lightly sparkling for about 3c a liter. People came in cars and filled up crates of bottles.

It's a sad sign of progress when the more "developed" countries have removed their public water fountains.

I'm aware of one in Nijmegen (NL) that seems to have a volume/time limit. Take a liter and it stops working. There's a couple I know of in Belgium/NL on main cycling routes.

HobbesOnTour wrote:

elPedro666 wrote:More for when you're away from dense civilisation but last year I picked up an MSR Trailshot water filter and absolutely love it - being able to drink from literally any source is very liberating! Under £40, small, very lightweight and filters seem to last for ages.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Can you elaborate on where you have used this, please?

Personally it's mostly been Welsh streams which, barring dead sheep, have probably been fairly potable anyway! Up in the Lakes last weekend I was kicking myself for not taking it, especially as the churchyard we tried didn't have a tap. I'd happily drop it into lake, river or stream, waterbutt or big enough puddle. In theory you would be safe even in a canal or duckpond, but I think I'd struggle with that psychologically!

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Sometimes public gardens, nature reserves, and that sort of thing have outdoor taps. A little caution is required, as they are sometimes water that is just for watering.

At least in the East of England, rural villages sometimes have a village hall that with public toilets, playing fields, etc. They sometimes have outside taps or drinking fountains.

Drinking water is mapped on OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/51.54571/-0.17585

It sometimes takes a little work to find it in a search, but it's visible on the map.

I've also used Pubs, Cafes and Campsites.
I include the likes of McDonalds under cafes for water stops, just go in and ask "can you please fill this with tap water". They're also handy for free WiFi if you need to check up on anything online.
If you're cheeky then you can always fill your water bottles at a campsite and then wild camp around a mile away ......
One thing I liked about travelling through Romania was every village had its own well/tap so it was easy to fill up just before you decided to stop for a wild camp.
I've also seen a few in Belgium/NL on main cycling routes.

YMMV .........

elPedro666 wrote:Personally it's mostly been Welsh streams which, barring dead sheep, have probably been fairly potable anyway! Up in the Lakes last weekend I was kicking myself for not taking it, especially as the churchyard we tried didn't have a tap. I'd happily drop it into lake, river or stream, waterbutt or big enough puddle. In theory you would be safe even in a canal or duckpond, but I think I'd struggle with that psychologically!

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Thanks!

Vorpal wrote:Drinking water is mapped on OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/51.54571/-0.17585

It sometimes takes a little work to find it in a search, but it's visible on the map.

Ooo! That could be useful ... <tries it> ... are there many in the UK??

Quick test only shows one in Oxfordshire:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?qu ... 98/-1.2237

elPedro666 wrote:

HobbesOnTour wrote:

elPedro666 wrote:More for when you're away from dense civilisation but last year I picked up an MSR Trailshot water filter and absolutely love it - being able to drink from literally any source is very liberating! Under £40, small, very lightweight and filters seem to last for ages.
I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my CLT-L09 using hovercraft full of eels.

Can you elaborate on where you have used this, please?

Personally it's mostly been Welsh streams which, barring dead sheep, have probably been fairly potable anyway! Up in the Lakes last weekend I was kicking myself for not taking it, especially as the churchyard we tried didn't have a tap. I'd happily drop it into lake, river or stream, waterbutt or big enough puddle. In theory you would be safe even in a canal or duckpond, but I think I'd struggle with that psychologically!

I was given a water-to-go by work - it's been used in puddles in Africa and streams in Asia.

You need to keep an eye on the filter as it needs changing every X litres - but you have to take a mental note of how many you've used it for.

https://www.watertogo.eu/how-it-works/

mattheus wrote:

Vorpal wrote:Drinking water is mapped on OpenStreetMap https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/51.54571/-0.17585

It sometimes takes a little work to find it in a search, but it's visible on the map.

Ooo! That could be useful ... <tries it> ... are there many in the UK??

Quick test only shows one in Oxfordshire:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?qu ... 98/-1.2237

As I said, it sometimes takes a little work to find them in search. I don't think that they are consistently categorized by county. Essex turns up nothing, for example, but if I put in a specific town, it usually turns some up.

Putting 'drinking water oxford' for example finds more than 'drinking water oxfordshire'
https://www.openstreetmap.org/search?qu ... 3/-1.26993

'drinking water Essex' gets no results, but 'drinking water East England' turns up results in Essex.

Also, anyone can add stuff to OpenStreetMap. So if you know of public drinking water in your area, you can add it.

Ah, OK.

So does OSM not have a search by keyword+area facility?

(a bit "Search Nearby" in gmaps, I suppose).