Jump to content

The Naunton lanes , in memory of James Higgs RIP


boboneleg

Recommended Posts

So having seen the sad passing of James Higgs I thought I'd look at his you tube channel and see where his last videos were.  He had put up a video of a lane at Naunton on the Cotswolds so today I decided to go and ride it and a few others in his memory.

The weather was decent when I left Bristol at 9.00 but by time I got onto the Cotswolds it was quite foggy..........

IMG_6268.thumb.JPG.1238482f1981e015d1702cccd4d5fe35.JPG

By time I got up to the old WW2 airfield near Chedworth I was dying for a piss so into the woods I went, while I was there I stumbled upon an old building .  @XTreme would have been proud of me but there were no dead dogs inside so I left a bit sharpish ...........

IMG_6269.thumb.JPG.9e3adf18075d85b33dc90ab3cb4d97cd.JPG

IMG_6270.thumb.JPG.754770a92d54cb9d7daf4af880a5d9b1.JPG

 

I got down to Compton Abdale and there was evidence of how wet it has been ...............

 

IMG_6271.thumb.JPG.54c902476f47aa77385ea5e4998fef33.JPG

 

I rode through Salperton and onto the first lane which ends at the Notgrove long barrow ..................

 

IMG_6276.thumb.JPG.824a1d3a7c591e0f1b6690c921f50160.JPG

IMG_6272.thumb.JPG.5b723b024d898bb77474e5b0f15ffc31.JPG

IMG_6274.thumb.JPG.ac1819a7821e56e93e59d83c605fa6ad.JPG

 

There was evidence of me bashing through the undergrowth on my top box.............

IMG_6275.thumb.JPG.65f45ab817a682c01dd7db3f37142544.JPG

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

So having seen the sad passing of James Higgs I thought I'd look at his you tube channel and see where his last videos were.  He had put up a video of a lane at Naunton on the Cotswolds so today I decided to go and ride it and a few others in his memory.

The weather was decent when I left Bristol at 9.00 but by time I got onto the Cotswolds it was quite foggy..........

IMG_6268.thumb.JPG.1238482f1981e015d1702cccd4d5fe35.JPG

By time I got up to the old WW2 airfield near Chedworth I was dying for a piss so into the woods I went, while I was there I stumbled upon an old building .  @XTreme would have been proud of me but there were no dead dogs inside so I left a bit sharpish ...........

IMG_6269.thumb.JPG.9e3adf18075d85b33dc90ab3cb4d97cd.JPG

IMG_6270.thumb.JPG.754770a92d54cb9d7daf4af880a5d9b1.JPG

 

I got down to Compton Abdale and there was evidence of how wet it has been ...............

 

IMG_6271.thumb.JPG.54c902476f47aa77385ea5e4998fef33.JPG

 

I rode through Salperton and onto the first lane which ends at the Notgrove long barrow ..................

 

IMG_6276.thumb.JPG.824a1d3a7c591e0f1b6690c921f50160.JPG

IMG_6272.thumb.JPG.5b723b024d898bb77474e5b0f15ffc31.JPG

IMG_6274.thumb.JPG.ac1819a7821e56e93e59d83c605fa6ad.JPG

 

There was evidence of me bashing through the undergrowth on my top box.............

IMG_6275.thumb.JPG.65f45ab817a682c01dd7db3f37142544.JPG

I think his funeral turnout is going to be huge, i know the TRF are planning something and the TET riders will be involved as well as he created a lot of it 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After a swift coffee from my flask I rode down to Naunton to ride the lane that James had ridden three months ago ...........

 

IMG_6277.thumb.JPG.a58523ca28b8d27dbcbccbc3907e9426.JPG

IMG_6278.thumb.JPG.8084939dcd5c4fe0a1c541c26d1a2014.JPG

 

Then i rode some more lanes in the area..............

 

IMG_6279.thumb.JPG.83664ffae35dee1d5026035fe719aa79.JPG

IMG_6281.thumb.JPG.cbbc5aafb4462e4da91367f210164352.JPG

IMG_6282.thumb.JPG.ad1eb0c518715b9ff725af4357772d59.JPG

 

and then onto the fords at Kineton.  The concrete exit ramp nearly caught me out here as it was very square-edged and caused me to stall on the exit but luckily i started quickly and got away without dropping the bike ...........

 

IMG_6283.thumb.JPG.a65fcbe775bb1f5bd3f058f2f30b3441.JPG

 

and then I rode some more lanes before turning south .............

 

IMG_6284.thumb.JPG.96f0cf85d1cef384a005e0b70bc4f6e0.JPG

IMG_6286.thumb.JPG.7bef2efe4c58fcd0302e295a43305840.JPG

 

This one was annoying as it had SIX gates along it, a pain in the arse when you're on your own ................

 

IMG_6287.thumb.JPG.a505ff3f4a2cba4f57cb018a558b9fad.JPG

 

At the end of Ryknild street I came across this ,  what's going on when Crocuses are growing in October ?

 

IMG_6288.thumb.JPG.23e89cf606026759078e10fa86e833ea.JPG

IMG_6289.thumb.JPG.229e96e885026313a50b031b5de6dbba.JPG

and then I rode some proper green lanes to get back to the Fosseway north of Cirencester.............

 

IMG_6290.thumb.JPG.725ca783662168e882464033740a2517.JPG

IMG_6291.thumb.JPG.f1cf88d6f43833da76f141d8523c6ab5.JPG

 

I also found a new (to me) lane on the way back .............

 

IMG_6293.thumb.JPG.1fbe72b6dfed2cdec4f06dd3cb40419a.JPG

 

and then stopped at my cross to get a photo ............

 

IMG_6294.thumb.JPG.ad6370864b5ba48a8a2d75ecc00ad252.JPG

 

and then the rest of the way back was spent dodging showers...............

 

IMG_6295.thumb.JPG.9d754755be6f011af545c3ca101e56fd.JPG

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

I think his funeral turnout is going to be huge, i know the TRF are planning something and the TET riders will be involved as well as he created a lot of it 

I'm not on facebook Fred so if you here anything please let me know as I'd like to attend 👍

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, XTreme said:

Excellent Bob!

Can you get into that WWII village that's deserted? And those tunnels underneath Corsham?

I've been to both. 

You can visit Imber village twice a year , we usually do a trail run to it.  I used to deliver to some of the tunnels under and around Corsham, I've even driven a small lorry under one of them.  A lot of big wine companies use them nowadays as the temperture down there is perfect for storing wine.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

image.png.8d8de2514bbee8c35d58990fb9477780.png

 

So no problems there then, motors are electric, they have a rotor, bikes on the other hand have engines, (internal combustion) so the sign doesn't apply to them, I wish we had lanes here.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Catteeclan said:

My kind of lanes, no hurry easy going. Nice one Bob.

My kind of lanes as well at the moment Dave although it was a tad slippery in places.  I think the days of me thinking of entering the Erzberg enduro are over :classic_laugh:

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, busabeast said:

I've never heard of him, who was he?

You wouldn't have heard of him unless you were into trail riding. James was the UK Trans Euro Trail (TET) Linesman. He added the Great western trail (GWT) and the south west wales route of the TET (TETie) and several other detours to the TET routes and maintained the routes for several years. He was the man behind Wiltshire Byways the invaluable YouTube repository for clips of green lanes around the UK. He also helped fight some significant green road closure attempts, most notably the byways around Stonehenge.
The TET is a 62,000 mile GPX route from the edge of Africa to the Arctic Circle which is enjoyed by tens of thousands of motorcyclists every year and is free

https://transeurotrail.org/what-is-the-tet/

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

You wouldn't have heard of him unless you were into trail riding. James was the UK Trans Euro Trail (TET) Linesman. He added the Great western trail (GWT) and the south west wales route of the TET (TETie) and several other detours to the TET routes and maintained the routes for several years. He was the man behind Wiltshire Byways the invaluable YouTube repository for clips of green lanes around the UK. He also helped fight some significant green road closure attempts, most notably the byways around Stonehenge.
The TET is a 62,000 mile GPX route from the edge of Africa to the Arctic Circle which is enjoyed by tens of thousands of motorcyclists every year and is free

https://transeurotrail.org/what-is-the-tet/

Sounds like he was a very valuable guy to have on side, hopefully things don't go to shit now he's gone.

 

RIP

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sir Fallsalot said:

You wouldn't have heard of him unless you were into trail riding. James was the UK Trans Euro Trail (TET) Linesman. He added the Great western trail (GWT) and the south west wales route of the TET (TETie) and several other detours to the TET routes and maintained the routes for several years. He was the man behind Wiltshire Byways the invaluable YouTube repository for clips of green lanes around the UK. He also helped fight some significant green road closure attempts, most notably the byways around Stonehenge.
The TET is a 62,000 mile GPX route from the edge of Africa to the Arctic Circle which is enjoyed by tens of thousands of motorcyclists every year and is free

https://transeurotrail.org/what-is-the-tet/

The link failed though 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, boboneleg said:

Cancer, I don't know the details but it must have been fairly quick.  Either that or he didn't tell anyone .

This is what someone put on the TRF site 
He described himself as having an unidentified and exceptionally aggressive cancer.

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Privacy Policy