Access to Box Hill for the Trial event

roberts8

I hear they are only letting so many people off the train at Boxhill station, they are then sending them on to Dorking so that you have to watch it in the town, or get off early and watch in Leatherhead.
If you want to watch on the hill the best approach is from Headley as the river crossing at the stepping stones will be closed as will the base of the zig zag.
The woods from Headley are easy to walk through and aim for the slopes avoiding the security firms and fences.
Ridiculous but it is owned by the Nation ie US, so good luck and see you there.

jibberjim

roberts8 wrote:

Ridiculous but it is owned by the Nation ie US, so good luck and see you there.

Erm, it's owned the National Trust, Which is an independant charity

natrix

You can still try to get a ticket, see

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w- ... tition.htm

or the offer in this months Cycling Plus magazine???

LeicesterLad

jibberjim wrote:

roberts8 wrote:

Ridiculous but it is owned by the Nation ie US, so good luck and see you there.

Erm, it's owned the National Trust, Which is an independant charity

And whilst i am a massive, massive cycling fan, im also a bit of a naturalist, and the restrictions on Boxhill are there for a very good reason. Blame the organisers for not consulting the trust, or any bugger else, before announcing the route....Only in Britain could that happen. :roll:

TMR

jibberjim wrote:

Erm, it's owned the National Trust, Which is an independant charity

We have NT Family Membership. Does that mean I get a special pass?

brakelever

only in this country would anyone organize a race and then turn round and say we wont let anyone watch it on the most interesting bit :twisted: what a complete and utter cock up , the jobsworths at the nt must be having a field day !

LeicesterLad

brakelever wrote:

only in this country would anyone organize a race and then turn round and say we wont let anyone watch it on the most interesting bit :twisted: what a complete and utter fool up , the jobsworths at the nt must be having a field day !

No, the jobsworth in charge of the olympics need sacking. Nothing to do with NT

BillyMansell

roberts8 wrote:

I hear they are only letting so many people off the train at Boxhill station, they are then sending them on to Dorking so that you have to watch it in the town, or get off early and watch in Leatherhead.
If you want to watch on the hill the best approach is from Headley as the river crossing at the stepping stones will be closed as will the base of the zig zag.
The woods from Headley are easy to walk through and aim for the slopes avoiding the security firms and fences.
Ridiculous but it is owned by the Nation ie US, so good luck and see you there.

Are you talking from the position of a person who hasn't got spectator wristbands for Box Hill or will it affect those with wristbands as well?

brakelever

No, the jobsworth in charge of the olympics need sacking. Nothing to do with NT[/quote] make no mistake the nt have not been happy about this being at box hill from the start , and would be very happy if it was not there at all

LeicesterLad

Well that's what happens when some twerp announces an olympic road race without asking the owner.

RichN95.

brakelever wrote:

only in this country would anyone organize a race and then turn round and say we wont let anyone watch it on the most interesting bit

China did exactly the same. The only difference is their jobsworths had automatic weapons.

fleshtuxedo

RichN95 wrote:

brakelever wrote:

only in this country would anyone organize a race and then turn round and say we wont let anyone watch it on the most interesting bit

China did exactly the same. The only difference is their jobsworths had automatic weapons.

Same in Delhi for Commonwealth last year, spectators were denied access to the many highlights of probably the finest parcours in cycling.

andyrac

You couldn't make it up.....good auld Britain, eh???
It would be like the French banning speccies from the mountains in le Tour.....

northstar

I'm a lucky sod, won 2 wristbands for this.

ant41

Does anyone know exactly which parts of box hill will be closed for the test race and real thing next year? Are we talking from the start of the zig zag road to the NT
Cafe, or will the restrictions extend further? Very sad but am thinking of viewing position already and want to get a good vantage point on the loop . . . .

aspender

ant41 wrote:

Does anyone know exactly which parts of box hill will be closed for the test race and real thing next year?

Details here:

http://www.londonpreparesseries.com/doc ... ders-2.pdf

ant41

Much obliged. I reckon there are some better places on the loop in any case. I will use the test event as a dry run (as Is the point!)

SLX01

Travel and spectator info online

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/20027.aspx

Maps and info regarding restricted access areas

http://www.londonpreparesseries.com/doc ... ders-2.pdf


The entire Surrey section will have very restricted access with all roads, footpaths and bridleways closed for the day so any ideas of sneaking onto restricted areas is best avoided. You can only cycle on open roads and walk on closed roads until 9.30 (except up the zig zags) so arrive early.

Schedule

The list below shows the times at which riders are expected to pass relevant points on the course (please bear in mind that these times are approximate and may be plus or minus 15 minutes). Riders will pass some points twice.



– The Mall – start 09:00 and finish 12:10
– Fulham – 09:05 and 12:05
– Putney – 09:10 and 12:00
– Richmond Park – 09:15 and 11:55
– Richmond – 09:20
– Bushy Park – 09:30
– Hampton Court Palace – 09:35 and 11:40
– Walton-on-Thames – 09:45
– Ripley Village – 10:05
– Gomshall – 10:25
– Westcott – 10:30
– Dorking – 10:35
– Box Hill (restricted access likely) – between 10:40 and 11:20
– Esher – 11:35
– Kingston upon Thames – 11:50

Information for spectators with bicycles



Spectators can cycle to any part of the race route that is open to traffic but cannot cycle on the course during road closures at any time. Given likely crowd numbers along certain areas of the route, the use of a bicycle may be impractical and should be considered carefully. Restrictions will be in place around the managed spectator areas..



Richmond Park: race passes through at approximately 9.15-11:55am. Cycling will not be possible along the race route in the Park from 8pm on 13 August until 9pm on 14 August. Cyclists will be required to walk in certain areas of the Park. Cycling will be possible on the Tamsin Trail, National Cycle Route 4 and from Roehampton car park to Kingston car park.


Box Hill: race passes through at approximately 10.40-11.20am. The road at Box Hill will be closed from 6.30am on the day of the event, the race will enter the area at 10.35am and the road will reopen at 2pm. Spectators will be able to walk to a viewing area, but not cycle, until 9.30am from any access road and there is special provision for wristband holders.

Although the road will remain closed, marshals will be facilitating people walking, but not cycling, on the route as soon as the race has passed through.

Wristband holders (green and white wristbands): gates to the spectator viewing areas for wristband holders will open at 9am, with restricted movement from 9.40am. Some dedicated cycle parking will be available for wristband holders.

AndyRubio

AndyRAC wrote:

You couldn't make it up.....good auld Britain, eh???
It would be like the French banning speccies from the mountains in le Tour.....

Nothing like that. And it's not as if BH is a particularly good climb, plenty of much better ones in that area.

garryc

Looking at the map of the Zig Zag looks like all the spectators will be jammed in at the end of the climb, weird. I notice you can't take your bikes with you so you have to leave them in a special bike store, seeing how much care and attention they've spent on the race I wouldn't trust them to look after my bike.

I was thinking of riding up to watch part of the race, but not Box Hill, anyone got any good suggestions?

And, seeing as they're doing their best not to let us watch the race, will it be on TV or anything?

Pross

Going slightly OT here sorry. I'm going to be in London on 30 July for the 3 day event cross country and intend going up a couple of days before to watch the road races. I'll be staying with my sister in Ilford - what is likely to be the best place to watch the road race while avoiding the worst of the crowds going to the Olympic Park? Looking at the route map I'm going to have to cross London no matter where I watch so was thinking possibly in one of the parks would be quite pleasant as I'll have the wife and kids with me. Can you watch the finish without a ticket?

Snorebens

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/ ... ng_Map.pdf

Here's the definite answer. One assumes that they'll only allow roadside standing one deep, and you need to be there by 9:30am...

Think I'm going to go for it - two loops just about makes it worth it.

othello

I'm lucky enough to have wristbands for box hill for my son and I. But I'm wondering how best to get there.

I'm coming from Reading and was going to get off at Dorking and walk. But will the pavements be closed. I don't want to get off the train and find we can't actually get to the hill! I'm wondering what time I need to get there...

I'm assuming spots up the zig zag will be first come first served so we will have to get there early and grab a spot.

SLX01

othello wrote:

I'm lucky enough to have wristbands for box hill for my son and I. But I'm wondering how best to get there.

I'm coming from Reading and was going to get off at Dorking and walk. But will the pavements be closed. I don't want to get off the train and find we can't actually get to the hill! I'm wondering what time I need to get there...

I'm assuming spots up the zig zag will be first come first served so we will have to get there early and grab a spot.

The road from Dorking to Box hill is a huge dual carriageway with grass verge and cycle track both sides walking to BH from the Station will be no problem.
There is a guide for wristband folks here including when to arrive...
http://www.londonpreparesseries.com/doc ... ders-2.pdf

radders89

I have wristbands for Box Hill and have just been looking at the access points etc for Sunday. Am I right in thinking that the only viewing area on Box Hill will be a section towards the top, prior to the NT cafe, and no spectators will be able to view from the hairpins on the climb?

Or have I just got it wrong?

SLX01

radders89 wrote:

I have wristbands for Box Hill and have just been looking at the access points etc for Sunday. Am I right in thinking that the only viewing area on Box Hill will be a section towards the top, prior to the NT cafe, and no spectators will be able to view from the hairpins on the climb?

Or have I just got it wrong?

No you are correct, the whole point of the restriction is to prevent people trampling on the wild life which would still happen with hundreds of wristband holders on the zig zag