(Video) Newly Surfaced Canal Towpath

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The Canal and River Trust has surfaced the towpath alongside the Coventry Canal over a roughly four mile section between Hawkesbury Junction and Bridge 4 with Stoney Stanton Road, where the route continues to the edge of the city centre on existing tarmac. Before, the towpath featured an uneven compacted gravel track of varying widths, prone to significant puddling in bad weather. Now it is a smoother and wider surface that should be suitable for year-round walking and cycling – important considering this forms part of the Sustrans National Cycle Network (Route 52).

I’ve put together a comparison video that shows the recently surfaced towpath compared to how it was two years ago, back in March 2019. Covering the 3.8 mile section between Bridge 11 and Bridge 4, you can watch this in a 4x accelerated run through (first video below) or in near real-time (about 21 minutes, second video below).

4x Accelerated Run Through
Real Time Run Through

The new surface is a significant improvement and makes the canal much more attractive as a slow, leisure route to just outside of the city centre for able-bodied cyclists. It’s not carriageway smooth, but given the space restrictions I daresay this is a hand-laid surface rather than machine laid.

A big issue of accessibility remains, hence my point above. Whilst the improved surface and width will help, it’s important to note that some people will continue to find this route difficult for a few reasons: barriers along the route may be closed (though to be fair, they are nearly always open; it’s only the odd occasion I’ve seen them shut); access routes on to the canal may be restricted, stepped, or at difficult angles; and perhaps most significantly, a steep, stepped bridge at Stoke Heath Basin is inaccessible to anyone who cannot safely dismount and push their cycle. There is also a question about why it appears there is no access to the canal from a new housing development between Bridges 8 and 7 which appears to be completely fenced off, though that’s presumably down to the developer of that estate.

The bridge at Stoke Heath Basin will be a historical feature of the towpath, and therefore I suspect there may be a reluctance to change it, nevermind the cost for doing so. However, in its current form it is not fit for purpose given modern canal usage. Not only does the steepness of the incline pose an issue, but its stepped nature means it is not straightforward to push a cycle up and over, even assuming dismounting is an option for the rider. Whilst it would cost money to rectify, the inclines to this crossing need to be extended so that whilst they’d be longer, the gradient would be less steep, and a smooth tarmac surface needs to be provided across its span, replacing the existing bricked, stepped surface. Yes, it may lose a bit of its character, but in my opinion that is fair to ensure that the canal continues to best serve its users.

It’s also worth noting that there is a similar problem on the canal at Hawkesbury Junction. It’s not shown in the video, but is roughly 300 metres to the right from where I join the canal and turn left. That bridge poses identical issues – possibly an even steeper incline with ridges (some broken) which make crossing difficult if not impossible for some riders. Again, it needs those inclines reducing and a good, smooth surface provided to ensure that the towpath is properly accessible and meets the needs of modern usage.

Those points aside though, the new surface does significantly improve the canal route. The wider surface makes sharing the path with other users much easier and slightly less hazardous with respect to proximity to water. In my opinion, it is also much more attractive given, for example, the new wooden retention walls and some improved access points in addition to the nice surface.

The Coventry section also puts the Warwickshire part of the towpath to shame. Beyond Hawkesbury Junction to the north, it continues first as a packed gravel track for a short distance, but soon turns to a rough, stony, sometimes muddy and narrow route. With a deteriorating bank, the towpath here comes perilously close to the water edge at times. Given the gap in the National Cycle Network route between Marston Junction (north side of Bedworth) and Hawkesbury Junction, this would be an important next section to be given the same tarmac treatment. It would create a useful, traffic-free link with and through Bedworth for leisure cycling – a route that is only really suitable for walking at present, and then only if you’re surefooted!

During the wetter months, this towpath is next to useless without getting filthy dirty through riding through mud and puddles. It would be great if all interested parties – Warwickshire County Council, Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, Sustrans, and the Canal and River Trust – could come together to develop a plan and funds for improving the towpath here to a similar standard to what’s been done on the Coventry section. In the meantime though, at least the leisure ride from Hawkesbury Junction to Coventry city centre can now be done much more comfortably.

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