Bridgnorth to Ironbridge railway route

[BADGER.BRAD]

I was forced to go to Ironbridge the other day (some vintage shop thing ?) and got talking to an old guy about the power station. He then mentioned that there was a old railway route that you could get to Bridgnorth on (I guess it was part of the seven valley railway line). Today I thought I'd give it a go, I took my dog along and found it to be fantastic we did about 17 miles in total following the path of the River Seven. The path is a shared road so you do get the postman and the odd farm vehicle passing, the surface was good the sun was out and there are a number of pubs on route and cafes when you get to Ironbridge. There are cafes in Bridgnorth but as I had the dog with me I would not be able to cycle the short road route to or from Bridgnorth. I think it was part of cycle route 45 ? Unfortunately my camera decided to play up so no photos but there is some footage on Youtube
It's worth a try if you are Local.

 

[redvision95]

Been up there once or twice A good ride on a nice sunny day.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I thought my fillings were going to shake out last time I rode that route so might be worth another go if the surface is good now.

For anyone interested, staying on route 45 to Bewdley is a pretty good ride too.

 

[BADGER.BRAD]

The first 1/2 mile is still a little bumpy but it's OK after that. I must admit I thought I'd made a mistake taking my rigid commuter MTB rather than my main MTB. I let a little air out the front tyre which improved it then the path got better anyway.
The other thought is I was going slow as I had one of my many dogs in tow which may have made it seem better. Plenty of people over took me though a few on road bikes ! I will have to get round to making the trailer though as I think 15ish miles was a little bit much for the dog at that speed.

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

For anyone interested, staying on route 45 to Bewdley is a pretty good ride too.

I'd be a bit careful about that one right now - the section through Wyre Forest had been thoroughly churned up by Forestry Commission vehicles when I went through a month or two ago, and was barely pushable, let alone rideable. Still trying to get the mud out of the crevices on my bike! But when it's in good nick, it's a great ride.

 

[NickWi]

It's an interesting exercise in perceptions this. I live in Bridgnorth and personally don't rate the path at all. To me it's a rolled hardcore, potholed and boring route that's hard on the wrists & bum unless you ride tight up againts the edge of the track Paris-Roubaix style. To others it's delightful breath of fresh air through the countryside with glimpses of the river Severn, Ducks, Swans and all that sort of thing. I agree there are a couple or three pubs at the Ironbirdge end and plenty more in Ironbridge itself, but the path finishes a good two miles short of Bridgnorth, there are no factilities to speak of and Bridgnorth is not a cycle friendly town.

As for the path south of Bridgnorth, whatever idiot joined the dots on the map to make the route should be made to ride it. I gave up long before getting to the Wyre Forest bit, the section immediately south of Bridgnorth is bearly ridable in places, thought admitidly good if you like steam trains!