Round Berkshire Cycle Route

[CyclingGuy]

I have decided to re-map and publish a guide to this route launched by Berks County Council back in the '90s. Having ridden this when it was first launched it would be a shame to see it disappear as it does go through a lot of nice country side and near some very interesting places to visit.

Since the demise of the council in the early 2000's the route has largely fallen in to dis-repair with signs being removed or not being replaced when they have weathered beyond visibility. All that can be found on the internet are copies of some old brief instructions, and a few maps on various mapping services, all of which differ slightly.

I'm hoping with this guide I can preserve the route for many more years to come no matter what the state of the signage may be.

If you want to have a look at the route check out my page at - https://cyclinglabs.net/the-round-berks ... lete-guide

[mjr]

Well done! I can't see anything except a spinner on your site, but I suspect we've discussed this before.

The Round Berkshire is currently still shown and downloadable as GPX from https://cycling.waymarkedtrails.org/#ro ... 83!-1.0784 but presumably it will have to be marked as "abandoned" if the signs continue to vanish.

[CyclingGuy]

Yeah, I saw that one but it's a little different than the original in the bit south of Hungerford. The original doesn't go up Walbury hill but the one on Way Marked Trails does although the original one did have that as an optional detour.

I believe we did have a conversation about my site a few weeks ago - It's a bit weird that you're seeing what you do as nobody else is reporting anything and I can't replicate what you're seeing on any device (Windows, iOS, Mac, or Linux) that I have or with any browser.

[Pendodave]

Thanks for this.
Re the spinner - i had disabled javascript (for a bit of clandestine Telegraph reading) and got the same. Javascript reinstated, it worked fine.

[DaveReading]

Nice to see some renewed attention being paid to the Round Berks!

My cycle log reminds me I did it in 10 sections in 2013 - including cycling between home and the start/end of the nearer sections it amounted to 245 miles. These days I'd probably aim to complete it in 4-5 chunks.

I have 3 different KMLs of the route, each slightly different, but your GPX looks much more detailed. Have you seen the original brochure, published jointly by the 6 LAs that inherited Berkshire?

https://www.urbanlimits.org/wp-content/ ... le-map.pdf

[CyclingGuy]

Hi Dave,

I actually have a very faded original of that document which is what I used to help me fill in the gaps between missing signs.

I think the only deviations I made were in Windsor Great Park as some of the roads are no longer open to the public, and also at the A4 crossing in Maidenhead as I can't verify that the Guards Polo Club have still granted access through their land so I played it safe.

Glad you enjoyed the route, I might even ride it again myself this year but living more central in Reading I'll probably use the train option.

Neil

[DaveReading]

Thanks.

I'll be interested to see what alterations are necessary because of the passage of time.

Having dug out no fewer than four KML files from 2013 with variations of the route, I'm surprised at the extent of the differences between them, particularly the northern and eastern parts of the route.

Dave