Horfield to Senate House Cycle Route

Lots of BUG members cycle from Horfield and Bishopston to the University every day and so you often see other cyclists on this route. It's a fairly short distance and, apart from Gloucester Road, the roads are fairly quiet. Most people avoid the steep climb up Cotham Brow though a couple of contributors cycle up it to avoid having to ride down Gloucester Road. The ride home in the evening is almost all downhill which is a great end to the day.

There are a few variations in the routes that people sent in and I've tried to separate these out into logical sections.

Gloucester Road to Senate House

If you live near the Gloucester Road and need to go south on it to reach the University this is the most convenient route:

  1. Down Gloucester Road.
  2. Right at Zetland Road traffic lights.
  3. Up Zetland Road, across mini-roundabout and on to top of South Road.
  4. Left into Redland Grove.
  5. Immediately right into Meridian Road then Waverley Road.
  6. Straight across Hampton Road (busy) into Warwick Road. If it's very busy, you can use the nearby pedestrian crossing (or see the alternative crossing Hampton Road)
  7. Right into Abbotsford Road.
  8. Left up Cotham Hill.
  9. Right into Woodland Road.
  10. Straight across Tyndall Park Road, taking care as this can be very busy and cars are not always aware that there is a bicycle route through the blocked off end of Woodland Road.
  11. Carry on up Woodland Road to Senate House.

Starting from further north (Filton Avenue area)

If you're starting further north you can take the following less busy alternative to Gloucester Road:

  1. Along Wadsworth Road and Dovercourt Road (parallel to Filton Avenue).
  2. Cross Muller Road at traffic lights into Downend Road.
  3. At end, left into Ashley Down Road.
  4. Right into Brynland Avenue.
  5. At the end of Brynland, left into Gloucester Road.
  6. Follow the first route to the University.

Cranbrook Road to Waverley Road

If you're starting from the Cranbrook Road area you can get to Redland Grove at the top of South Road via this route which is quieter and pleasanter than Zetland Road:

  1. Down Cranbrook Road towards Zetland Road.
  2. Right into Carnarvon Road.
  3. At top, right into Redland Road, then shortly left into Grove Park.
  4. Cross on to Redland Grove via short path (taking care to give way to any pedestrians).
  5. Follow the first route from stage 5.

Crossing Hampton Road

This is an alternative to going straight across Hampton Road, that crosses Hampton Road at a point where there's better visibility and avoids the right turn on Abbotsford Road:

  • Near the end of Waverley Road, left into Ronan's Avenue, then right into Kenilworth Road.
  • Left and immediately right into Abbotsford Road.

Going up Cotham Brow

If you want to avoid having to ride on Gloucester Road, you can do so using this route that goes up Cotham Brow, using the mini-roundabout at the Arches as an easy crossing place.

  1. Get on to Somerville Road, either from the St Andrew's area or, if you've come down Gloucester Road and just want to avoid the busy part near the Arches, turn left into Somerville opposite the Texaco Garage.
  2. Turn into North Road (a quiet one way street going south parallel to Gloucester Road).
  3. At the Arches, cross the Gloucester Road at the mini-roundabout on to Cotham Brow.
  4. There's a steep climb up Cotham Brow but worth doing because it's over quickly. At the top of the hill carry on along Cotham Road South.
  5. Right into Henrietta Street (by Kingsdown Sports Centre).
  6. Follow the road round to left, then right by the Bell.
  7. Cross St Michael's Hill into St Michael's Park and carry on to Senate House.

Contributors: Sarah Cemlyn, William Liew, Jan Melichar, Paul Norris