Keynsham Loop

Country lanes through Keynsham connect Bristol’s two railway paths, making for a relaxing 20-mile amble around the suburbs. You can stop off for a coffee and cake at Café Crème in Keynsham, or a pie and pint at the riverside Lock-Keeper, one of the most popular pubs in the area.

Leave Bristol on the Whitchurch Railway Path (NCN 3), but rather than crossing the A37, turn left towards Queen Charlton. Bear left after the village and you’ll arrive in the heart of Keynsham. From there, the path beside the A4175 will take you to the Bristol–Bath Railway Path – or you could just get the train home!

Bristol to the beach

Fancy a day out on the beach? It is, brilliantly, only 11 miles away on an almost entirely traffic-free route. Ok, Portishead’s beach might be mostly mudflats rather than miles of golden sand; still, there’s something about the lapping of the waves so close to home.

Of the two cycle paths along the Avon gorge, the one on the south bank is much more scenic, a gently undulating ride through woodland. The surface is generally ok but it’s not one for speed demons. Look for the signs for National Cycle Network route 41 from the city centre.

After Pill, the route twists and turns a little more, pieced together from local paths and the trackbed of the old railway to Portishead (now proposed for reopening). It becomes NCN 26 by the M5. In Portishead town centre, you can enjoy a coffee at the harbourside, or cycle on through to the esplanade for the beach – such as it is!

Bristol to Bath

What more can we say about the Bristol–Bath Railway Path? Yet it’s not just an invaluable commuter route; it’s also an enjoyable ride in itself, and the best way to start a day out in Bath. Continuing as National Cycle Network route 4, it takes you straight into the heart of the city past the famous Georgian terraces.

It’s 15 level miles to the centre of Bath, and you can of course get the train home if that’s enough for one day. Alternatively, the Avon Valley Railway (9 miles) and the riverside at Saltford (11 miles) are destinations for shorter rides.

Bristol to Chew Magna

In 2011, little Chew Magna (population 1,100) was named the Best Village to Live In by the Sunday Times. But if you don’t live here, it makes an ideal Saturday excursion from Bristol. There are cafés and pubs in the village, or you can carry on the extra mile to Chew Valley Lake and its waterside tea-shop.

It’s all on National Cycle Network route 3, clearly signposted from Queen Square and Temple Meads station. The route heads out on the Whitchurch Railway Path, climbing slowly towards Norton Malreward; by going this way, it avoids the gruelling climb at Dundry.

Danger spots

Bristol’s Inner Ring Road is its least appealing feature. By common consent, the St James Barton Roundabout is Bristol’s blackspot. Stokes Croft meets Broadmead here, making it an essential part of many cyclists’ commute. It’s also known as the ‘Bearpit’, and cycling round it does rather feel like a bear fight.

At some locations on the ring road, such as the Redcliffe Roundabout near Temple Meads station, cycle crossings provide an alternative to mixing with the traffic. Cycling is permitted on the pavement around Cabot Circus. Still, if possible, it’s better to find a route that avoids the ring road.

The harbourside in front of the M Shed museum might not seem like a danger spot. But there’s one very present danger here: the old Bristol Harbour Railway. It’s all too easy to get your wheel caught in the historic rail tracks. There’s a safer, if less attractive, alternative route behind the museum.

The stop-start traffic up the hill to Clifton, on College Green and Park Street, requires cyclists to stay alert. All the arterial main roads require care: the bus and cycle lanes have a tendency to disappear at junctions or narrow sections. Needless to say, these are all potential locations for conflict, especially where left-turning HGVs are involved.

Much of what’s colloquially called ‘Bristol’ is outside the formal city boundary. Though Bristol City Council has a reasonable reputation for listening to cyclists, the same isn’t necessarily true of (say) South Gloucestershire; provision is generally of a lower quality once you cross the border.