(from the River Nidd to Rowden Lane) |
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| Entering the village from the North (Clint) drivers pass a 30mph speed limit sign and are then confronted by the 17th Century bridge over the River Nidd |  |
| The bridge has a width restriction limiting vehicles to not more than 6'6". A sign warns that only one vehicle at a time is permitted upon the bridge.
There is no pedestrian footpath (and no space for one) but a few "refuges" are positioned in the bridge walls | |
| It is virtually impossible to see if cars are approaching from the other side of the bridge |  |
| Leaving the bridge a driver then encounters the mouth of a side road on the left (St. Thomas a'Becket Walk). The hedgerow on the nearside conceals from view any vehicle which may be attempting to emerge |  |
| Past St. Thomas a Becket Walk are signs reducing the permitted speed to 20mph. A tree partially obscures the nearside sign. Ahead
on the nearside is the Church car park and (opposite to it) the entrance to the churchyard |  |
| The road (Church Lane) now bends to the left restricting the view of oncoming traffic. Cars are invariably parked on the nearside of the road.
This further restricts the view of the road ahead and also necessitates drivers moving to the offside. |  |
| Approaching the end of Church Lane the road bends to the right and the view of oncoming traffic becomes more restricted |  |
| The sharpness of the bend increases as the premises of the village school come into view on the nearside. No view of oncoming traffic is now available
and yet vehicles are frequently parked on the nearside making it necessary for drivers to proceed on the offside |  |
| Emerging from the bend drivers immediately encounter another road entering from the right |  |
| Continuing to the end of Church Lane and passing the Village Green a driver will frequently encounter parked vehicles on the nearside making it necessary to
move to the offside. The road will shortly have a junction with Main Street where vehicles may be approaching from the right and where signs indicate the speed
permitted is increased to 30mph. |  |
| The view ahead to the junction with Hollins Lane (the centre of the village) is limited. The public house, post office and surgery lie on the right hand side. |  |
| A vehicle is seen here turning into the public house car park. Little or no view is available of traffic approaching the junction from Hollins
Lane. The village shop is visible on the corner of the junction. |  |
| Crossing the junction at the centre of the village a driver usually encounters more parked vehicles on the nearside necessitating a manouevre into the
offside lane just as a side road emerges from the right |  |
| Continuing past the side road Main Street begins to climb and curve to the left |  |
| Again, the regular presence of vehicles parked on the near side may cause a driver to continue ahead in the offside lane and yet the view ahead is still restricted |  |
| The view for a driver begins to improve as the end of Main Street is approached |  |
| But a further junction occurs on the right (Peckfield Close) |  |
| as the next junction on the left (with Rowden Lane) is sighted and the beginning of the de-restricted section where speed may be increased to 60mph. Note, however, the difficulty in seeing any traffic approaching from the left |  |
| Entering the village from the South and immediately after passing the start of the 30mph limit, a driver passes the junction with Rowden Lane on
the right and (within a few more yards) the nearside junction with Peckfield Close |  |
| After which the view ahead becomes restricted by the decline and curve in the road |  |
| exacerbated on the occasion of this photograph by vehicles parked on the nearside |  |
| Parked vehicles make it invariably likely that oncoming traffic will approach on the "wrong" side of the road |  |
| and this is usually the case all along the lower portion of Main Street as it passes the junction on the left |  |
| . . . and approaches the junction with Hollins Lane in the centre of the village |  |
| . . . where a raised "platform" seeks to calm traffic and where no early view is had of the car park serving the public house on the nearside |  |
| The hazards of parked vehicles outside the surgery, post office etc are evident on the nearside and . . . |  |
| . . . at the junction with Church Lane (to the right) the view ahead of the road to and from Birstwith is very limited because of a sharp left-hand bend. Notice also the plethora of signs defacing the Village Green and distracting the motorist's attention. Any attempt to cross the right-hand side of the road
to enter Church Lane must allow for the possibility of vehicles suddenly rounding (and cutting?) the corner from Birstwith (at 30mph?) and vehicles reaching the top of Church Lane in its off-side carriageway (because of parked vehicles) |  |
| The driver successfully entering The Lane must be aware of the junction on the left at the North side of the Village Green, the school premises on the right and . . . |  |
| . . . the left-hand bend about to be negotiated where on-coming vehicles are often in the facing (head-on) position because of parked vehicles outside the school |  |
| The bend continues to be "blind" for some distance . . . |  |
| . . . before beginning to straighten and . . . |  |
| . . . giving a view to the distant churchyard. There are, however, about 7/8 vehicle entrances to properties on the near side of the road and this is the case as far as . . . |  |
| . . . the church lych-gate . . . |  |
| . . . where the road bends to the right with little or no view (when vehicles are parked on the off-side) of on-coming traffic or the exit from the Church car park |  |
| The view improves for a short distance but . . . |  |
| . . . signs indicate that speed may be lawfully increased to 30mph just as the junction with St. Thomas a Becket Walk is neared and the "blind" bridge comes into sight! |  |
| A driver emerging from the side road will have an acceptable view of traffic approaching from his left . . . |  |
| . . . but not from his right! |  |
| Drivers entering onto the bridge will not have a sight of approaching small cars . . . |  |
| . . . either when reaching the bridge . . . |  |
| . . . or upon it and will even . . . |  |
| . . . experience a "blind" spot as his vehicle is about to exit the bridge! |  |
