West of Evesham - local knowledge please

[james01]

Half way along the lane from Great Comberton to Eckington there is a crossing point over the Avon to Birlingham. It's marked as a footpath. Does anyone know if bikes could be carried/manhandled across ?

[Mr.Benton]

This is Nafford lock.
I don't know if it is crossable with a bike as I have always ignored this crossing and crossed the River Avon at Eckington bridge about 2km downstream.

If I have time this weekend I'll pedal out and have a look for you.

[Richard Fairhurst]

There is a swingbridge over Nafford Lock which I think is still operational though I haven’t been that way for a few years. I wouldn’t fancy carrying a bike across the lock gates otherwise!

The second bridge is across the weir. I haven’t tried it but it looks slightly bikeable from Geograph photos.

[pwa]

There are Google photos from that site, eg:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.07575 ... 200!8i3600

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.07459 ... 096!8i2048

[james01]

Many thanks for the advice folks, much appreciated. It looks interesting and do-able. We'll give it a try on our forthcoming mini-tour of the area.

[gom]

I did this in January. It was very muddy in parts, and my recollection from previous times was lots of mud too.
I can't recall whether I had to lift my bike over anything. I was using my Audax bike with little luggage, so it would not have been an issue.

[andrew_s]

I went and had a look at it last weekend, crossing south to north.

The footpath down from the road is narrow, and was slippery enough and at enough of a cross angle that I mostly walked. There is a track suitable for (some) cars cutting back down from the road about 100m the Eckington side of the path but that had locked gates both ends. I didn't investigate it.
The bridges over the weirs and lock are straightforward. The bridge over the lock itself is a swing bridge, and will likely be swung open if there's a boat using the lock, so you may have to wait. The path between the lock and the bridge over the second weir was a bit on the muddy side, but rideable.
After crossing over the 2nd weir, there's a parking area for the angling club, with a locked gate either side, with kissing gates for pedestrians. I carried my bike through the kissing gates, held horizontally with the seat tube resting on one shoulder so the bike was above gate level.
There's then a car track up to Birlingham village. Some holes & patches of mud to ride round, but not too bad.