News
Draycote asking for respect from cyclists
12th October 2016
Cycling is one of the many activities that visitors to Draycote Water can enjoy while visiting the Warwickshire reservoir, so site rangers are asking cyclists to think about walkers on their ride to make sure everyone stays safe.
Visitor site supervisor Tom Crawford explains: “Draycote is one of our biggest and most popular visitor sites, with around 500,000 visits a year. We want to encourage cyclists and walkers to work together and look out for each other when using the paths to avoid any accidents.
“The speed limit for cyclists is 15 miles per hour. We have a speed limit for the safety of all our visitors but we’ve unfortunately seen two instances recently where children have been knocked over by cyclists who’ve been going too fast and were unable to react quickly enough. The last thing we want to do is to start policing the paths, but we want all our visitors to enjoy their visit and have fun safely.”
Draycote Water forms part of National Route 41 of the National Cycle Network, which is a long distance route that, when complete, will connect Bristol, Gloucester, Stratford-upon-Avon and Rugby.
Tom continues: “It’s a really family friendly environment so children can enjoy all our activities. A lot of our visitors take their time walking around, enjoying the facilities and taking their children out on bikes and scooters. So, if you’re a cyclist approaching a walker, make sure they know that you’re there – slow down, and sound your bell, that way people aren’t surprised. It’s the same if you’re on foot, if you see a cyclist, let them know you’re aware and give them room to pass you. We’re all there to enjoy the countryside; we just need to show respect
and help to keep each other safe.”
Draycote Water rangers keep visitors up-to-date with activities on their STWDraycote Facebook page and @STWDraycote Twitter profile. Simply follow or like the page and join the conversation.