• Lowtails – The Forgotten Cargo Bikes?

    Lowtails – The Forgotten Cargo Bikes?

    It was perhaps inevitable that someone would ask me about lowtail cargobikes. I have, after all, blogged about longtails and, more recently, Long Johns. When it comes to lowtails, there are few to be seen and barely any bike makers producing them. Indeed, it is possible that I have seen more home bodged examples than…

  • Long Johns – Modern Interpretations of a Classic Design

    Long Johns – Modern Interpretations of a Classic Design

    The largest cities in the UK have seen a massive increase in the use of cargo bikes in the last few years. From my observations, the cargo bikes that appear to be the most popular for commercial use, are those based on the ‘Long John’ design. This is a stretched or long bike that incorporates…

  • Cobham Mill – The Last Fully Working Water Mill in Surrey.

    Cobham Mill – The Last Fully Working Water Mill in Surrey.

    Slow Cycling When I ride out towards the Surrey Hills, I do so knowing that I will probably have one of the slowest average speeds of all the cyclists on the road that day.  Indeed, the only performance data I have showing on my Garmin is heart-rate; and that’s only so I don’t go too…

  • Upminster Barn and Museum of Nastalgia

    Upminster Barn and Museum of Nastalgia

    It is not easy to describe Upminster Barn and Museum of Nastalgia. Those descriptions I had read were sufficient to make me want to visit. If you read my last blog, you will understand that this may well have been on the barn’s own merit. It was however, a desire to discover what exactly was…

  • Croxley Great Barn – A Wonder in Wood

    Croxley Great Barn – A Wonder in Wood

    In the 1970s I visited a lot of farms in the South West of England. This was both through working for an agricultural contractor and, later, for a government organisation. A bonus of these jobs was the range of old farm buildings that I was able to work in or explore.  These included examples that…

  • When the Air in My Lungs Stopped Killing Me

    When the Air in My Lungs Stopped Killing Me

    During the National Lockdown earlier this year, it was commonplace to hear people commenting on how fresh the air was, or how much bird song they were noticing. I used the daily permitted outdoor exercise periods to explore remnants of the old Great North Wood, or areas where some kind of regeneration had taken place.…

  • Why Truck Design is Key to Safer City Streets

    Why Truck Design is Key to Safer City Streets

    It is simple things in life that give me pleasure. An example, is when I attend an event and spend time exploring something other than my reason for being there. Last year I attended the ‘Freight in the City Expo’ at Alexandra Palace. The main reason for attending was a presentation on how the City…

  • A Manifesto for Chalk Streams.

    Introduction Over the years I have been involved in some single cause environmental campaigns, and observed others. Success, where it has come, has mostly been won when there has been one combined consistent and coherent voice. Most have also had a clearly stated set of goals around which support could coalesce and a campaign strategy…

  • The Great North Wood – One wood but many parts.

    The lockdown for Corona Virus has not been as restrictive in the UK as in some other countries.  Until today, the ‘rules’ have allowed individual to venture out once a day, for a period of no more than about an hour, for exercise. I have chosen to use this as an opportunity to explore the…

  • A Tale of Two (or is it Three) Cities.

    In the past I have written about London, usually meaning the metropolis of Greater London. Occasionally however, I am referring to the ‘City of London’ or ‘Square Mile’ as it is sometimes known. I thought it may be useful to do a quick explanation of the difference between the two, before I publish a blog…