Commuting to Bath and need advice

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jordan_edg

Regular
So I will be starting a job in Bath in the next few weeks or so and need to move to the area. Bath itself is a writeoff as it's so expensive and the nature of my job means I do not want to live in the city as it could risk breaking acceptable boundaries.

The missus and I are looking at Keynsham, Bradford-On-Avon and Trowbridge. Trow Vegas is currently top spot as it's just so cheap, but I am unsure if it would be viable to commute to the centre of Bath from there by bike a couple of times a week. The canal path looks lovely but I am unsure if it could be relied upon as a commuting option.

I have a Specialised Sirrus Hybrid and have ridden up to thirty miles on it in the past. It's a hell of a bike s I'm not worried about that part. Trowbridge to Bath seems to be around thirteen to fourteen miles on the canal path. My questions are:

Do any of you use any of these routes to commute and if so, how have you found it and how much time do you allow to reach Bath?

Is it too unreliable to use a canal towpath for cycle commuting?

Those are the main ones but if you have any other details that would be useful to me, that would be great. I look forward to start commuting to work this way but definitely need to iron out these few apprehensions before beginning.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I've commuted on canal towpaths but only in summer. Not that one though, so I leave it for those who know it better.

Depending on where exactly in Trowbridge and Bath, you could consider routes through Westwood and/or Midford and the Two Tunnels if you want more tarmacky routes but they are of course steeper in places than the towpath (max 10% AFAICT). https://cycle.travel/map may help.
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
From Keynsham you can easily drop onto the Bristol to Bath path at Bitton station. It is very good and very popular. Keynsham itself is a bustling little town & would make a great base for rides south into the Mendips.

Bradford on Avon is also a nice ride into Bath along the canal towpath. I believe a lot of it has been tarmac'd now.

Sorry I cannot help with Trowbridge !
 

Sixmile

Veteran
Location
N Ireland
I was over in Bristol/Bath in May and all I can say to folk who have those greenways in their vicinity is ya lucky hallions! I found the cycle infrastructure fantastic compared to what I'm used to all year round. If I was looking to commute through the winter (I do btw) I would plan to have at least 2 useable bikes as there are times one is out of action for a variety of reasons or seasons.
 

Heltor Chasca

Out-riding the Black Dog
Trowbridge will be ‘interesting’. Rent first before you make a home. The canal path is mucky in winter. The section from BOA to Troll-Bridge (Yes a local moniker) is narrow and very slow. You are better off on the lanes. Delightful in the summer I’ll grant you that. BOA to Bath is a common commuter route along the canal. Get a house with good outdoor bike cleaning options. The muck is vile.

Consider other regenerated areas like Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Kilmersdon, Faulkland, Mells, Vobster, Holcombe and Coleford. I live in Haydon. There’s fantastic cycling infrastructure give or take a kilometre or so.

As a footnote, you can rent very cheaply in Bath. Trust me I did it for 6 months. You just need to put the research in. Then I moved to High Littleton where it was even cheaper.
 
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jordan_edg

Regular
Trowbridge will be ‘interesting’. Rent first before you make a home. The canal path is mucky in winter. The section from BOA to Troll-Bridge (Yes a local moniker) is narrow and very slow. You are better off on the lanes. Delightful in the summer I’ll grant you that. BOA to Bath is a common commuter route along the canal. Get a house with good outdoor bike cleaning options. The muck is vile.

Consider other regenerated areas like Midsomer Norton and Radstock. Kilmersdon, Faulkland, Mells, Vobster, Holcombe and Coleford. I live in Haydon. There’s fantastic cycling infrastructure give or take a kilometre or so.

As a footnote, you can rent very cheaply in Bath. Trust me I did it for 6 months. You just need to put the research in. Then I moved to High Littleton where it was even cheaper.

Trowbridge looks pretty rough but for the amount of money we'd save it's tempting for us. When I've visited it it seemed a little rough around the edges but not awful. Where did you look when finding affordable places in Bath?
 

sleuthey

Legendary Member
Yes the canal path is mucky in winter as said above, for that reason I would not rely on using it.

You won't get much for your money in keynsham property wise but if you and your partner are ever likely to get work in Bristol then it's an ideal location as it's in between the 2 cities.

You could consider the east Bristol suburbs, technically in south glos, such as warmley, hanham and some bits of kingswood. Avoid cadbury heath.They will be slightly cheaper than keynsham and still offer close access to the railway path.
 
OP
OP
J

jordan_edg

Regular
Yes the canal path is mucky in winter as said above, for that reason I would not rely on using it.

You won't get much for your money in keynsham property wise but if you and your partner are ever likely to get work in Bristol then it's an ideal location as it's in between the 2 cities.

You could consider the east Bristol suburbs, technically in south glos, such as warmley, hanham and some bits of kingswood. Avoid cadbury heath.They will be slightly cheaper than keynsham and still offer close access to the railway path.

After some pretty extensive research today we've decided to look further into Bradford-On-Avon since there are some surprisingly low cost flats to rent available and it ticks a lot of our boxes. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be too much available in those areas of Bristol at present. It's going to be our first flat since graduating so we aren't exactly spoiled for choice!
 

captain nemo1701

Space cadet. Deck 42 Main Engineering.
Location
Bristol
So I will be starting a job in Bath in the next few weeks or so and need to move to the area. Bath itself is a writeoff as it's so expensive and the nature of my job means I do not want to live in the city as it could risk breaking acceptable boundaries.

The missus and I are looking at Keynsham, Bradford-On-Avon and Trowbridge. Trow Vegas is currently top spot as it's just so cheap, but I am unsure if it would be viable to commute to the centre of Bath from there by bike a couple of times a week. The canal path looks lovely but I am unsure if it could be relied upon as a commuting option.

I have a Specialised Sirrus Hybrid and have ridden up to thirty miles on it in the past. It's a hell of a bike s I'm not worried about that part. Trowbridge to Bath seems to be around thirteen to fourteen miles on the canal path. My questions are:

Do any of you use any of these routes to commute and if so, how have you found it and how much time do you allow to reach Bath?

Is it too unreliable to use a canal towpath for cycle commuting?

Those are the main ones but if you have any other details that would be useful to me, that would be great. I look forward to start commuting to work this way but definitely need to iron out these few apprehensions before beginning.

From Keynsham, ride back roads to Saltford (avoid the A4 Keynsham Bypass dual carriageway!!!), turn into Norman Road, cycle to Bird in the Hand pub which backs onto the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, job done. Don't try the A4 from Saltford into Bath...awful. Best get onto the B2B path, pub backs directly onto it via steps. Maybe a tad of a diversion but a whole ton nicer!.
 

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rivers

How far can I go?
Location
Bristol
From Keynsham, ride back roads to Saltford (avoid the A4 Keynsham Bypass dual carriageway!!!), turn into Norman Road, cycle to Bird in the Hand pub which backs onto the Bristol to Bath Railway Path, job done. Don't try the A4 from Saltford into Bath...awful. Best get onto the B2B path, pub backs directly onto it via steps. Maybe a tad of a diversion but a whole ton nicer!.

The A4 isn't too bad from Saltford to the Globe, I ride it every morning (getting off at the Bird in Hand as I work off the Globe roundabout).
Saltford, Whitchurch, Queen Charlton, Marksbury, and Corston are other areas to look into. I live on the ummmm west side of Knowle in Bristol, shall we say, and commute into the outskirts of Bath most days via the B2B on the way in. It's a great route in the mornings, and in the winter it's treated so bonus.
 
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