Saturday 6th April marked the long awaited opening of the Two Tunnels, and despite all the drab days we’ve had recently, you could not have asked for better weather- clear blue skies, no wind, it was more like a taste of Summer!
There were a number of stalls featuring local food, information about cycle clubs, upcoming Sportive events, attractions and clothing, whilst there was also a large marquee with bar and live music throughout the day. Some of the colourful Bath pigs even turned up in a pen!
Our own stall featured information on our bike hire, some lovely Red Velvet cupcakes from our favorite cafe (Java Coffee house), some hand painted bike bells, a selection of our bikes and childseats on display and the childseat fitting challenge.
Of course the main attraction was the opening of the Tunnels and the large organised ride Sustrans put on. Proceeds from the ride and donations collected on the day will go toward the maintenance of the route and others in the National network. Those who paid to ride and donated were also entered into a raffle to win our Lapierre Speed 300 bike, the winner, as can be seen below was rather pleased!
We cycled all the way through to Monkton Combe on the Sunday, and it really is a lovely way to get out of Bath! Between the tunnels Lyncombe vale is gorgeous, like a secret garden revealed, whilst the views out to Tucking Mill reservoir and Monkton Castle on the other side of the longer tunnel are equally beautiful. The Tunnels themselves are quite bizarre to cycle through, the LED lighting is just about the right level to let your eyes get used to the dark, but see the way and avoid other users. There are also light and sound installations on the longer tunnel, which give an extra surreal twist to cycling through the longest cycle tunnel in Britain.
Map showing the route can be found below (large file so might take a moment to load)
