Bramai one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bramai here.

The summary is that I don't think this route should be verified as it contains 3 sections with gated/private paths/roads, includes a long stretch down a fast road with uneven verges and misses two further opportunities for pleasant alternative walks off-road.

That said, it's a fine first attempt, the route is around 70% there as is I reckon, and the fine tuning is going to come with the walking and checking.

I'll separately be submitting an alternate route picking up on the diversions referenced in the notes.

In conjunction with the attached photos, here are my 'walk notes'.

01. The route starts down St. Ives Road. It isn’t currently so nice as you’re having to dodge construction.
02. The route also misses the immediate opportunity of crossing and then walking along York Stream. Much nicer, though it start with some shallow steps.
03. Crossing York Road, the footpath follows the ‘Green Way’ until it tunnels under the railway line and soon arrives at Stafferton Way. Top notch tarmac paths so far.
04. Having crossed Stafferton Way, the path continues East along the stream to the weir and then on towards Braywick Park.
05. Arriving at Braywick Park, there’s a width restriction of around 57cm. There are a few tight pavements and footpaths around the 60cm width on this route.
06. Following the Green Way through Braywick Park is lovely.
07. The route recommends continuing along the footpath to Hibbert Road, but this leaves you on a road with a blind bend and no verge to speak of.
08. It would be much better for the route to instead continue to follow the signposted ‘Green Way’ though the park, reaching Hibbert Road at the Braywick car park. (7° incline either way).
09. Hibbert Road soon brings you to the main Braywick Road and passing the Esso towards Holyport.
10. The marked route takes you on a non-connecting cut-through down a private road. So don’t do that, just continue along the footpath alongside the roundabout.
11. Passing the roundabout you’re then walking the Ascot Road south.
12. Crossing the M4 motorway, negotiating some temporary footpath works. (7° incline over the bridge)
13. A narrow pavement (~60cm) on the Ascot Road takes you towards Holyport Green.
14. Then crossing Holyport Green (where there are two pubs) and on to Moneyrow Green
15. There’s a significant missed opportunity here. Moneyrow Green is pleasant enough rural housing, but to increase ‘off-road’ walking, there’s a preferable ‘Primrose Lane’ bridleway.
16. Moneyrow Green is a pleasant enough street of rural housing.
17. Emerging onto Forest Green Road, there’s a firm bridleway a few paces along the road, ‘Blackbird Lane’.
18. ‘Blackbird Lane’ is a nicely surfaced bridleway heading down towards Drift Road.
19. Drift Road is a straight and fast road with narrow unstable verges unsuitable for easy walking.
Including a 0.6 mile stretch to re-join off-road walking is a mistake in my view.
20. It would be much better to cut East towards Hogoak Lane, negating most of the need to travel Drift Road, but that’s not the route we’re on
21. Back to the route ‘as is’. The 0.6 mile up-hill stretch of Drift Road is no fun at all.
22. The following bridleway in pleasant, but also narrow in places and quite churned from horse traffic in places.
23. The subsequent route is along a farm road (Hawthorn Road
24. Then along a byway (Penfurzen Lane) to join up at Weller’s Lane.
25. Weller’s Lane has little traffic and has walkable verges.
26. Though the locked gate and dog warning at the proposed route going East means we have to abandon that idea.
27. Instead we continue south along Weller’s Lane, meeting up with the route again at a small park, ‘Frost’s Folly’.
28. Weller’s Lane narrows to a single track, but there’s little traffic to dodge bar the occasional car and tractor.
29. Continuing south down Weller’s Lane, we head west along Westhatch Lane, to find our route south blocked by a gate and a farm that clearly intends not be a through-route.
30. Instead, we head east along Westhatch Lane, until we can go south down Osborne Lane towards Warfield.
31. Osborne Road is very pleasant heading into Warfield village
32. A short stretch through Warfield along the busier Warfield Street and Forest Road brings us to the next footpath heading south.
33. The byway ‘Avery Lane’ heads south from Warfield.
34. In time ‘Avery Lane’ reaches ‘Lark’s Hill Open Space’ where we head up the hill, south.
35. Crossing the roundabout on Harvest Ride, we continue south on the Quelm Lane footpath.
36. Quelm Lane is a well-surfaced suburban footpath
37. We take a path east across Braybrooke Recreation Ground. The paths are excellent.
38. Leaving the park, we head south through Bracknell housing, along Folder’s Lane which becomes Bull Lane.
39. At the end of Bull Lane there’s an underpass under Millennium Way which brings us to the ‘shopping areas’ of Bracknell.
40. The route skirts the shopping streets to our East, as we head for the station
41. Now bee-lining alongside Station Road we’re nearly done past the last patch of green space.
42. Destination (or start, depending on how you look at it): Bracknell Rail Station.

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