pumpkinstrokemarrow

The next item after the sterling effort of Surrey Roads on drains, was this rather unhelpful sign at the Pound Lane exit to Longmead Road.

Item 1, straight ahead is not an option at this junction. Just left or right.

Item 2, not at all clear how any one route from this point is going to take one to both Epsom & Horton Country Park. Epsom & Ashstead, Epsom Common & Ashstead and Horton Country Park & Epsom Common are all plausible. But not all four at once. And not from this particular location.

Maybe the answer is that there are not very many cycle paths, so if one wants to get somewhere without leaving them, one might have to go rather a long way around. For myself, I have never made much use of cycle paths, being a firm believer in wheeled vehicles sticking to the road.

Only just before arriving at this notice, strolling down the dual purpose path which runs along the Longmead Road, I had almost been knocked down by a teenager cycling the other way and paying precious little attention to where he was going. I don't suppose he would have bothered with a bell, even in the unlikely event of his bike having one.

Maybe we could persuade the community support men and women who roam our streets to issue instant fines to people cycling about either without a bell or failing to use a bell. I am told such things happen in Kingston upon Hull - but sadly not in Kingston upon Thames. Maybe I can find out more if I study http://policerecruitment.homeoffice.gov.uk/.