Cycle trail also attracts wildlife and walkers (From Stroud News and Journal)

Cycle trail also attracts wildlife and walkers

Winding through the bottom of the Nailsworth Valley, the bike track links communities while providing a safe and easy route away from the road for cyclists, walkers and their canine companions.

Reporter Sam Bond and photographer Mark Watkins got on their bikes to check out the cycle trail first hand.

THE authorities seem to be spending a lot of money trying to convince the public cycling is good for us and the environment.

An enforced ride along the Dudbridge to Nailsworth cycle track would be enough to persuade most people of its merits and perhaps leave the car at home once in a while.

The scenery cannot be described as varied but what you do get is very pleasant - a broad avenue of trees, a well-surfaced track and the pretty Nailsworth Stream snaking through the valleys.

As we went we stopped to chat to people we met along the way. We first met dog walker Margaret Huntley, a regular on the track who said it was a blessing for the people who live nearby.

"I've used it every day, twice a day for the past 30 years," she said. "I use it for my dogs, and Cyannan here is dog number three.

"I used to walk along here before it was a cycle track.

"It was nice then and it's even better now. It gives the young people somewhere to ride their bikes and it's nice seeing the children come along with their parents.

"It's lovely if you stop and look. "There are always lots of birds and I like to keep an eye out for the deer and the heron that live down on the lake at Rooksmoor."

After a few hundred yards of leisurely cycling down the track we came upon an extraordinary sight, a young duckling following a woman along the trail as if she was its mother.

Luckily for the lost duckling, it had latched onto the perfect partner - Woodchester's Wendy Maples works as a volunteer at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

The young mallard had become separated from its mother and Wendy was figuring out how to get it back onto the stream.

She explained how as well as being popular with humans, the cycle trail is also a regular wildlife corridor.

"It's excellent for bird watching," she said. "In the spring it's amazing what you can see.

"I come along here to see the dippers. "I reckon there are at least four pairs of them on the stream between Nailsworth and Stroud."

We left Wendy wondering how she was going to reunite her new-found friend with its mother and continued up the track.

Our next encounter was with cyclist Mike Lancey who uses the trail to bike to work every day.

He said using the cycle track was a sociable way to travel. "It's really peaceful and a lot easier than cycling along the road," he said.

"Most people are friendly and happy to stop and chat."

A slight mishap with an unruly bike chain slowed our progress as we approached Nailsworth but it did give us an opportunity to collar other users of the bike track in our search for an allen key.

Sally Martin, a teacher at Foxmoor School in Cashes Green, was returning from a shopping trip in Stroud with her son Christopher and his friend Sam Cantle.

"It's easier than going by car," she said.

"You don't have to find anywhere to park and it's brilliant for children. "There's not one place you have to go on the road along the whole route.

"Christopher learned to ride his bike along here.

"The other thing we use it for is running - I use it for training every week, it's just about a manageable distance from Nailsworth to Stroud."

Eventually we were forced to make a detour through Inchbrook and were rescued by the helpful staff at Autobody Tech who had the offending chain untangled in seconds.

From there it was a quick trip along the rest of the trail, through the cluster of curious sculptures on the entrance to Nailsworth, and out into the town.

Much to our regret we arrived at the wrong time of day and found the pub shut so we were forced to search elsewhere for liquid refreshments.

Riding the cycle trail almost makes keeping fit look like an attractive option and would be the perfect way to fill an empty afternoon with the children during the long summer holidays.