March Critical Mass

March Critical Mass was the first ride of the year to start in the light, and also because of the change to British Summer Time, the last to finish in the dark. There were eight of us this month with an unusually good mix of genders along with a range of machines including my Brox Compact two e-bikes and at least one folder. We started out along the usual route round the back of the council house. 

 

We then emerged onto The Centre,

  

and along Lewins Mead, before turning left up Lower Maudlin Street, which is quite a sharp climb on my heavy machine.

We then turned right down Marlborough Street and left onto Dighton Street and Jamaica Street, past the People's Republic of Stokes Croft and onto Stokes Croft.

Then along Cheltenham Road.

Under the Arches and just before Gloucester Road we U-turned back towards town.

Here we encountered some mad motorist who overtook in an aggressive manner, only to get held up at the next traffic queue where we sailed past. 

We then turned left down Ashley Road,

and then sharp right down Grosvenor Road,

left down St Nicolas Road

and over the M32 on the cycle/pedestrian bridge.

We then turned right, alongside the River Frome.

Next down River Street,

St Matthias Park,

then down Redcross Street

and onto the cycle track alongside Temple Way.

From here we crossed Temple Way on the Old Market Street link, 

then though Castle Park and along the cobbles of Welsh Back before finishing in Queen Square.

 

Bristol Cycle Diary April 2026

 

Issue 2 of the Bristol Cycle Diary is out now. 

This project was inspired by the way the old Bristol Cycle Festival worked by building a diary of events that were already happening. The difference is that while the festival diary came out once a year the aim is to make this a monthly diary. 

The design takes its inspiration from zine culture and the old Bristol Cycling Campaign newsletters of the 1990s. It takes its approach from the Bristol Causes Combined weekly Community and Activism Calendar.

While paper copies will appear around the city centre and there is also a web diary.

Anyone wanting the paper version to distribute can download and print their own copies. 

 

 

Whitchurch Way 3 - Bloomfield Road to Callington Road

This is a continuation of Whitchurch Way 2 - Brock's Bridge to Bloomfield Road.

At Bloomfield Road the cycle track ends and bicycles have to go onto the road. The building on the left hand side of the road is Brislington Transport Depot.

 

At the end of the road the route turns left across the front of the Grade 2 listed Former tram depot.

 

There is then an awkward, two part light controlled crossing over Sandy Park Road, followed by a right turn and another two part crossing over the Bath Road. Because the junction prioritises motor vehicles over pedestrians and cyclists, it can take well over 3 minutes to complete these two crossings.

 

The route then enters Arno's Court Park. The entrance has a very badly designed barrier which is difficult enough to navigate on a normal bicycle. The cycle route takes the left hand fork at this point, but the barriers are the wrong way round.

 

To make matters worse there is a step down just beyond the left hand barrier, meaning that it is easier to go down the step then across the grass.

 

The cycle route then goes up the slope past the playground on the right.

 

Through the gate onto Kings Road, there isn't even a drop kerb.

 

At the end of Kings Road you go left and up Hampstead Road, a relatively quiet residential road which also acts as a storage space for private motor vehicles. The slope, though not severe, is quite significant.

 

After crossing Kensington Park Road the road begins to level out and ends at Talbot Road. Here the route continues through the gap opposite which is the entrance to Talbot Road Allotments.

 

The route then goes left through a yellow, old style Sustrans barrier, which used to be commonplace on the Bristol Bath Railway Path. 

 

After a short while the path turns right and runs down to the giant Tescos supermarket. The allotments are now on the right and to the left is the old trackbed of the Bristol and North Somerset Railway. 

 

If you look through a gap in the bushes you can see what remains of the old Brislington Station.

 

At the end of the path is another barrier.

 

The route continues on a shared use pavement.

 

It then drops down to yet another barrier, before turning left.

 

There is then a tunnel under the road,

 

followed by a right turn and another tunnel, this one goes under Callington Road.

 

The other side of the road, the route turns right along a narrow footpath beside Brislington Brook.

To be continued in Whitchurch Way 4 - Callington Road to Whitchurch

Whitchurch Way 2 - Brock's Bridge to Bloomfield Road

This section is a continuation from Whitchurch Way 1 - Bedminster Bridge to Brock's Bridge   

Looking at Brock's Bridge, the route is to the left, where this scooter is emerging.

Past the information board,

and down towards the river.

Here the view opens out and you can see the original course of the river. The information board tells us that the starting point of this part of the route is the site of the dam across the river Avon as part of the works that created the floating harbour.

The next structure along the route is St Philips Footbridge  which is blocked off on the opposite side of the river. The bridge was designed to allow access to the planned Bristol Arena, however, the Arena project was scrapped by Marvin Rees in September 2018 wasting over £3 million.

The following structure is a railway bridge and there are bollards in the route at this point.

There is also an uneven patch of tarmac, 

and access to Victoria Street.

Further along, you can see how the power of the river is continuing to erode the banks.

Next is access to Albert Road.

Here the path starts to run behind industrial buildings.

Followed by a bridge under Totterdown Bridge.

 

Watch out for the large pothole here. 

The only access to the road here is via steps.

The path opens out on a concrete platform behind BBL Batteries. From here you can see the yellow shape of Sparke Evans Park Bridge which is in the process of being refurbished.

 

 

As a result the path through the park is diverted round the outside of the park, to the left in this image.

 

You can see the path on the left in this image and the fencing leading to the bridge on the right. 

 

 

Going out of the par the path passes under the St Philips Causeway bridge. At this junction take the right hand fork to avoid the steps.

However, the path then goes over steeply projecting tree routes, 

 before sloping steeply up towards a sharp 180 degree bend.

 At the top of the slope the route hits a barrier which blocks the path for anything other than a standard bicycle.

Turning sharp left, the route goes over the bridge. At the entry to the bridge, the barrier protecting the path and footbridge and cycle path has been punched into the cycle path by a motor vehicle. This is a chilling reminder of the damage that motorists can do to pedestrian and cycling infrastructure and endanger lives. 

After the bridge there is a new light controlled crossing.

which leads onto the path besides the Bloomfield Road Link. This is on the route of a former railway line which passes the Sainsbury's site on the right. It ran along here on an embankment which can be clearly seen in this 1931 photograph. 

At the end of the road you can see the fence following the bank of the disused railway embankment. Here Bloomfield Road is bollarded to restrict motor vehicle access. However, I saw a motorbike being ridden illegally over the pavement and through the road closure.

 

 

From here there are two possible routes. The route south tries to follow the route of the old railway. 

 

This is to be followed as Whitchurch Way 3a - the missing link.

Meantime the official Whitchurch Way route turns right and into the path of the motor vehicles along Bloomfield Road. On the left is the grate 2 listed Brislington Transport Depot.

This is to be continued in Whitchurch Way 3 - Bloomfield Road to Callington Road.