DaveReading
Don't suffer fools gladly (must try harder!)
- Location
- Reading, obvs
Anyone done/doing the "official" Round Berks route?
I've been doing bite-sized chunks of it over the last few weekends, and it's looking a bit neglected. Signage is very inconsistent,with many of the old route signs missing and some even pointing in the wrong direction!
That's not surprising, I suppose, since Berks no longer exists as an administrative area and nobody seems to have ownership of it any longer. West Berks is probably the best-signed, though even some of those are a bit tatty, and there are other large chunks of the route that you would never be able to follow unless you know in advance where you're going.
The route is further complicated by the fact that there are at least 3 downloadable KML files showing the route that each differ, sometimes significantly, from the others. For example two of the three show the route taking Bury's Bank Road, skirting the northern edge of the old Greenham Common airfield, but the third takes you to the south along the very unfriendly A339.
I've been using OpenSteetMap's cycle map to arbitrate when there are differences, and it seems to be the most reliable. Only one more bit to go, from Newbury to Reading, I was chuffed yesterday on the previous stage, managing to get up Walbury Hill on my EBC tourer without getting out of the saddle.
I'd be interested to hear of anyone else's experiences on the RB route.
I've been doing bite-sized chunks of it over the last few weekends, and it's looking a bit neglected. Signage is very inconsistent,with many of the old route signs missing and some even pointing in the wrong direction!
That's not surprising, I suppose, since Berks no longer exists as an administrative area and nobody seems to have ownership of it any longer. West Berks is probably the best-signed, though even some of those are a bit tatty, and there are other large chunks of the route that you would never be able to follow unless you know in advance where you're going.
The route is further complicated by the fact that there are at least 3 downloadable KML files showing the route that each differ, sometimes significantly, from the others. For example two of the three show the route taking Bury's Bank Road, skirting the northern edge of the old Greenham Common airfield, but the third takes you to the south along the very unfriendly A339.
I've been using OpenSteetMap's cycle map to arbitrate when there are differences, and it seems to be the most reliable. Only one more bit to go, from Newbury to Reading, I was chuffed yesterday on the previous stage, managing to get up Walbury Hill on my EBC tourer without getting out of the saddle.
I'd be interested to hear of anyone else's experiences on the RB route.
