Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

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Lilyf
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Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Lilyf »

Spotted on another site……..
There is a six month feasibility study into the viability of a walking and cycling route between Arnside and Grange-over-Sands - which would go across the Kent Estuary Viaduct.
For all those who would like to avoid having to ride or walk the ‘long way round’ then have a look at the attached link and find the section about ‘Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail’
You will find a short survey, with the closing date of 4th Feb, where you can voice your opinions.
I, for one, would welcome the ‘shorter route’.
https://www.morecambebay.org.uk/what-we ... ou-in-2022
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Paulatic
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Paulatic »

I’d of thought all the survey work has already been done and the desire established. An earlier thread viewtopic.php?p=1231156&hilit=Arnside+Viaduct#p1231156 suggests an access problem holding up any development.
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Lilyf
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Lilyf »

Ah, thank you Paulatic.
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by eileithyia »

No there is a further to push to get this seriously taken on and a route provided.
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David2504
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by David2504 »

Great idea. Should also have one on the Levens viaduct between Clark and Ulverston. Have previously completed the survey.
schneewehe
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by schneewehe »

Are there any news about the possibility to cross the river on the viadukt? Would be an interesting option for my next LEJOG in May '24.
rjb
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by rjb »

schneewehe wrote: 17 Dec 2023, 1:33pm Are there any news about the possibility to cross the river on the viadukt? Would be an interesting option for my next LEJOG in May '24.
Good luck with that. Down here in North Somerset we are still waiting for a short section of track to open at the Tutshill sluice crossing of the river Yeo. It's been dragging on for over 40 years despite now being 99% complete. :(
The local nimby farmer finds a new excuse to prevent it opening whenever it's about to go live.
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cycleruk
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by cycleruk »

schneewehe wrote: 17 Dec 2023, 1:33pm Are there any news about the possibility to cross the river on the viadukt? Would be an interesting option for my next LEJOG in May '24.
Sorry but highly unlikely. There is the option of using the train to get across the river.
Stations at Carnforth, Silverdale or Arnside over to Grange Over Sands etc.
Then a leisurely ride up north, through the Lakes. :)
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Cugel
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Cugel »

cycleruk wrote: 18 Dec 2023, 3:52pm
schneewehe wrote: 17 Dec 2023, 1:33pm Are there any news about the possibility to cross the river on the viadukt? Would be an interesting option for my next LEJOG in May '24.
Sorry but highly unlikely. There is the option of using the train to get across the river.
Stations at Carnforth, Silverdale or Arnside over to Grange Over Sands etc.
Then a leisurely ride up north, through the Lakes. :)
Indeed.

But why would anyone want to shorten the journey from Arnside to Grange or vice-versa? I must have gone the several and various wonderful ways from and to those places, a hundred times or more, and never felt the need to be a crow.

Perhaps those hankering for the bridge route are those strange folk who want to go from anywhere to anywhere else in a dead straight line, for reasons I can never fathom. Some of them call it "art"! If personal helicopters become available, they'll all be getting one then crashing into each other as they try to fly dead straight. "Get out of my flight path!"

On the other hand, perhaps several Arnsiders have pressing daily tasks to complete in Grange, with the Grangers similarly compelled to go to Arnside toot sweet to labour and sweat? They could just swap the tasks or perhaps retire.

Perhaps the would-be crows don't like the A6? One can avoid it easily enough, though. It increases the miles even more but also the pleasures of cycling them.
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geocycle
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by geocycle »

An Arnside viaduct path would be great and would link south lakes to the Arnside-Silverdale AONB. The lobbying is ongoing and may eventually come to fruition but we are talking several years. The alternative is not bad for those comfortable with longer distances: Arnside, Milnthorpe, across the flats to Leven's Hall, under the A590 to Levens village then pick up the NCR across the Lyth Valley. For a LEJOG I'd probably stick further east unless I had an urge to see the lakes and do Kirkstone.
rareposter
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by rareposter »

Cugel wrote: 18 Dec 2023, 9:48pm But why would anyone want to shorten the journey from Arnside to Grange or vice-versa? I must have gone the several and various wonderful ways from and to those places, a hundred times or more, and never felt the need to be a crow.
Because not everybody has all day to do a cycle tour and not everybody wants to rely on the one train an hour from Arnside to Grange (or vice-versa) which costs £3 for a 5 minute journey.

It was being talked about back in the days when I lived up there (15+ years ago now), hope something comes of it soon.
Last edited by rareposter on 19 Dec 2023, 3:59pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Cugel
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Cugel »

rareposter wrote: 19 Dec 2023, 3:29pm
Cugel wrote: 18 Dec 2023, 9:48pm But why would anyone want to shorten the journey from Arnside to Grange or vice-versa? I must have gone the several and various wonderful ways from and to those places, a hundred times or more, and never felt the need to be a crow.
Because not everybody has all day to do a cycle tour and not everybody wants to rely on the one train an hour from Arnside to Silverdale (or vice-versa) which costs £2.80 for a 5 minute journey.

It was being talked about back in the days when I lived up there (15+ years ago now), hope something comes of it soon.
What other places would you like a straight line route to and from? I suppose - any pair of places you might want to go to/from . Soon we will just pave over everywhere, perhaps with "cycling and walking infrastructure" that's just one big tarmac covering for the whole of Blighty. No pesky deviations, although everywhere will look like everywhere else.

An extreme case, perhaps. But why should we humans think that being able to go from any A to any B in a straight line and as fast as possible is some sort of natural right? Such desires have made much of the world a concrete & tarmac wasteland and I, for one, would like to keep some of paradise rather than have the "convenience" unrestricted crow-mode travel.
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rareposter
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by rareposter »

Cugel wrote: 19 Dec 2023, 3:42pm An extreme case, perhaps. But why should we humans think that being able to go from any A to any B in a straight line and as fast as possible is some sort of natural right? Such desires have made much of the world a concrete & tarmac wasteland and I, for one, would like to keep some of paradise rather than have the "convenience" unrestricted crow-mode travel.
Given that there is already a railway viaduct across the bay at that point and that people do indeed want to go between Arnside and Grange, adding a shared use foot/cycle path onto the existing bridge isn't exactly chopping down a load of ancient woodland.

And providing an active travel alternative to either driving around the long way (which, let's face it, most people are going to do rather than cycle) or getting the train seems a bit of a no-brainer.

For active travel to be enticing and appealing to the majority of people (as in, not cycle-tourists and enthusiasts only), it needs to be simple and direct. For those times when the train is not running or people don't want to be spending £3 a time on it and (in this particular instance) as a bit of a tourist attraction, it seems pretty logical surely?
Mike Sales
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by Mike Sales »

This sounds as if it resembles the Barmouth viaduct, which is a treat to ride. I just love getting close to the water.
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rareposter
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Re: Arnside Viaduct Cycling and Walking Trail - What do you think?

Post by rareposter »

Mike Sales wrote: 19 Dec 2023, 4:03pm This sounds as if it resembles the Barmouth viaduct, which is a treat to ride. I just love getting close to the water.
Yes, it's a stunning area

Image

Image

The proposals basically involve bolting a walkway to one side of it.
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