Along the Tracks - ACE250.2

Traffic in London. Cyclists. Sustrans and its National Network of Cycle Paths, based on old railway track routes which they’ve bought up. Sustrans director, John Grimshaw, cycling along traffic-free route, talking about the suitability of the bicycle for everyday transport, and that people would cycle if they didn’t have to compete with traffic. Map of Britain showing the 280 miles of the national cycle network so far achieved. Cycles and pedestrians on the sixteen-mile route between Bristol and Bath. Grimshaw talking about the convenience of disused railways, and how British Rail is happier to sell large sections of route, rather than piece by piece. Marker for Stanhope & Tyne railway, now owned by Sustrans, on old tunnel. Grimshaw says that developers would like to get rid of bridges and tunnels, but Sustrans regards them as essential to their routes, and believe they should be preserved as part of the architectural heritage. The Hownsgill viaduct on the Consett-Sunderland path. Grimshaw sitting on a seat built on the Three Rivers route, by Jim Partridge for Sustrans, and made from railway sleepers; the Windblown Seat (Severn and Thames route), by Partridge and Liz Walmesley made from fallen tree trunks. Grimshaw talks about the art works commissioned by Sustrans. Man building hazel-wood bothy. Cloth-sailed windmill; with integral xylophone and mechanical percussion below
Grimshaw talking about drinking fountains now sited every four miles. Examples. Map of North East England – Newcastle, Consett, Sunderland, Durham. The Consett-Sunderland route. Sculptures commissioned (with assistance from Northern Arts) on the Consett-Sunderland route. Aerial view of earthworks (The Jolly Drovers Maze, 1989) by Andy Goldsworthy, on the Three Rivers Route. Cyclists riding through the maze. Kyo Undercurrents (Ravines) (1989), by Richard Harris, at Annfield Plain,made from recycled bridge masonry. David Gray, Sustrans Project Manager in the North East, walking through the construction. Other views. Gray suggests that preferred artists are those who address the previous uses of the aras in their work. Andy Goldsworthy’s Lambton Worm (1988) at Chester-le-Street. Walker explains the story of the Worm. Cyclists and walkers on the Worm. Song about the Lambton Worm heard over.