Strawberry line warning

[honesty]

Just cycled down the strawberry line and back to Taunton. A warning for anyone else think about doing the strawberry line any time soon, the shute shelve tunnel is closed for works and the diversion goes over the top on frankly crap paths (the one down to Axbridge from kings wood car park is wood chipping and 2 foot wide).

Best option at the moment seems to be doing the a38 to Winscombe.

EDIT : Graham : Note that the EDIT button is available to you !

[Heltor Chasca]

Good info. Thank you. Washing your bike now? [emoji6]I am.

[honesty]

Sitting in a pub have Sunday roast actually... the rain washed the bike well enough

[Phil Fouracre]

Am I being thick? Axminster! Surely Axbridge, or, have I misunderstood?

[honesty]

Am I being thick? Axminster! Surely Axbridge, or, have I misunderstood?

Yes, axbridge. Whoops.

[martinn]

I found this out last week, but didn't get round to posting, sorry.
I refused the trail out from the car park and did the A38 to Axbridge. Not a great choice as I had the Tandem with my 8 year old on the back.
The rest of the diversion was pretty bad, slick tyres were "challenging" on the wet mud/ grass

If you try to go all the way to the end of the Strawberry line the route is also diverted after you leave Axminster. I don't know where that route went but I used local knowledge (guesswork ), to get back on the main road to reach the center of Cheddar.

Martin

[honesty]

I found this out last week, but didn't get round to posting, sorry.
I refused the trail out from the car park and did the A38 to Axbridge. Not a great choice as I had the Tandem with my 8 year old on the back.
The rest of the diversion was pretty bad, slick tyres were "challenging" on the wet mud/ grass

If you try to go all the way to the end of the Strawberry line the route is also diverted after you leave Axminster. I don't know where that route went but I used local knowledge (guesswork ), to get back on the main road to reach the center of Cheddar.

Martin

Going north to south the diversion does the following: rough farm track. Grass field. Temporary gravel path up hill. Stony/gravel trail into the car park. Wood chipped path (and you have to duck a 4 foot tree trunk almost immediately as well). Pavement down the side of the A38.

Yes I'd forgotten the other diversion! It goes up onto the tarmac path around the reservoir. It's actually not that bad at that point.

[whoof]

It's a bit of a detour but if I don't want to use the Strawberry Line or the A38 I often use the route below around Wavering Down

[wjhall]

If you are prepared to take a broad-minded view of 500 m of the A38 pavement, there is a minor road route from Winscombe up past Winscombe church that is rather shorter than going round the end of Crook's Peak, and a quieter road than the one along its south side (although that route is picturesque). Rejoins the A38 near the NT Kings Wood car park.

Thought the reason the tunnel was open in June was that the work had been done....

WJH

[Redvee]

It would appear the detour will be in place for much longer. From today's Bristol Post.

Part of a popular cycle path will remain closed for the foreseeable future after Bristol Water works were delayed by bats.

The Strawberry Line Cycle Way has been diverted near Winscombe in North Somerset, which means cyclists and pedestrians are unable to pass through the Shute Shelve Tunnel.

The diversion forms part of the Southern Resilience Scheme which Bristol Water hopes will reinforce the water supply to 280,000 customers in the region.

The work has been going on for more than a year now, and due to a delay caused by winged mammals the water company has decided to maintain the diversion.

In a statement, the company said: “We are aware of the significance of the tunnel to the local area and our intention had been to reopen the tunnel for the summer period.

“Unfortunately our work has been delayed and, following discussions with the Strawberry Line Management Committee and North Somerset Council, the tunnel will remain on its temporary diversion until further notice.”

Bristol Water explained the delay had been caused by a rock fall when the work first began in October 2016.

Work was suspended while an investigation was carried out and the company created a safe working plan.

However, after the initial setback the work were suspended again because of bats roosting in the tunnel.

The statement continues: “We have made significant improvements to the safety netting to ensure the tunnel’s ongoing safety once our work has been completed.

“Unfortunately our work on the safety netting had to be suspended due to the presence of roosting bats.

“We have worked with Natural England and North Somerset Council on measures to prevent bats from roosting in the tunnel whilst works were on-going, but these measures have not been effective.”

The environmental issues led the company to decide to complete as much of the work as possible before the bats began their hibernation cycle in October 2017.

The company is also trying to protect the stalagmites and stalactites in the tunnel, as well as cave spiders.

The statement concludes: “The Strawberry Line and tunnel habitats are important sites for bats and many other species of flora and fauna; therefore, we are endeavouring to minimise our impact on the natural environment.

“We wish to leave it in a condition that is as good, if not better, as when we started.”

[Heltor Chasca]

Useful. Thanks @Redvee

[honesty]

Pretty shocking really. They wouldn’t be able to get away with a year long closure if it were a road...

[PDQ Mobile]

It all sounds a bit batty to me!