My (Andy) wife dropped Mark and I over to Coalpit Heath and the Roundways road where we located the entrance to the field where the Dramway began. Mark being his usual media-shy self declined to be in the photos so it's just me posing by the entrance.
We set off across the field and followed Google Maps for as much as we could, angling around and crossing the railway and past the site of the old Ram Hill Colliery where the Coal Pit was located on the Heath...
There were signposts here and there and other times Google Maps was our saviour as we edged around narrow tracks and across fields and roads until finally we journeyed under the M4 and not long after we found ourselves on a proper pathway.
We later found out that this was the Westerleigh part of the old Bristol/Bath Cycle path Railway and so we followed this all the way down to the Ring Road, but here the Dramway kept to the other side of the Ring Road, crossing near the Staple Hill turn off and that's where it merged for a while, before cutting down a steep little defile which brought us out on to Siston Common.
Now and interesting part here is that the Ring Road Path, the Bristol & Bath Cycle Path and the Dramway all pass within about 40 metres of each other as three separate routes as they cross Siston, and for the Dramway we virtually parallel followed the Cycle Path all the way to Warmley, coming out at the A420 right behind the Warmley Waiting Room tea and coffee buildings.
Our route took us away again by about 50 metres from the cycle path and down between the Midland Spinner and Jewsons on a less travelled path! This very quickly became more obvious as the gravel path became a dirt path, and then under the trees, and wet sludge path! But we fought through and eventually emerged unscathed and re-joined the Cycle Path only to leave again just shy of Bitton Railway station and drop down to Willsbridge Mill.
Finally we found our way on to the Keynsham Road and Londonderry Farm where we came off and down to the river which is where the Dramway walk ended.
The circuitous route was certainly not on the only railway as there were too many twists and turns, so obviously where it had been built over they had rerouted it, but it was still a good walk. As for distance it was only about 10 miles, however due to the ever changing terrain, we both agreed that this was by far the most difficult walk so far.
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