National Cycle Network
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The first section of the NCN to be built was the Bristol and Bath Railway Path, opened in 1984. |
The
National Cycle Network is a network of
cycle routes in the
United Kingdom. Some routes hope to minimise contact with motor traffic, though 70% of them are on roads. In some cases the NCN uses pedestrian routes, disused
railways, minor roads, canal towpaths, or traffic-calmed routes in towns and cities. The National Cycle Network was created by the charity
Sustrans (Sustainable Transport), and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant.
The original goal was to create 2,500
miles of signed cycle routes by
2000, with 50% of these not being on roads, and all of it being "suitable for an unsupervised twelve year old." By mid 2000 5,000 miles of route were signposted to an "interim" standard, and a new goal was then set to double that to 10,000 miles by
2005. August 2005 saw the completion of those 10,000 miles.
National Cycle Network routes beginning with numbers 1-6 are generally in England, those beginning with 7 start in the far north of England and Scotland. Those beginning with 8 are generally in Wales, and 9 in Northern Ireland. The main routes have one digit (1-6 radiate clockwise from the south of England). Other NCN routes have two digits, starting with the number of the relevant main route.
There are also many
regional routes, reaching smaller towns and cities within ten designated
regions. Each region is divided into a maximum of 9
areas. Regional route numbers comprise the area number 1-9, followed by another digit. (An exception is in the Scottish Borders council area, where the regional routes are numbered 1-9.) This means that across the UK there could be 10
regional route 12s, for instance, as well as the
national route 12. To reduce confusion, identically numbered areas in adjacent regions do not abut, and so routes with the same number are widely separated.
The network is signposted using a white bicycle symbol on a blue background, with a white route number in an inset box but no destination names or distances given.
National Route numbers have a
red background,
Regional Route numbers have a
blue background. The system of symbols is based on that used by the
Danish Cycle Network.
The main national routes are:-
* NCR 1 -
Dover -
Shetland Islands, along the east coast, via
London,
Edinburgh,
John o' Groats and the
Orkney Islands* NCR 2 -
Dover -
Bodmin, along the south coast
* NCR 3 -
Bristol -
Land's End, incorporating the
West Country Way (via
Chew Valley Lake) and the
Cornish Way* NCR 4 -
London -
St David's, in
West Wales, via
Reading,
Bath,
Bristol,
Newport,
Swansea and
Llanelli.
* NCR 5 -
Reading -
Holyhead, via
Birmingham,
The Midlands and the
North Wales coast
* NCR 6 -
Windsor -
The Lake District, via
Luton,
Milton Keynes,
Northampton and
Derby, crossing the
Pennine Cycleway* NCR 7 -
Carlisle -
Inverness via
Glasgow* NCR 8 -
Cardiff -
Holyhead, through the heart of Wales. Also known as
Lôn Las Cymru* NCR 9 -
Belfast -
Dublin (proposed)
The other national routes are:-
* NCR 11 - (
Harlow -
Cambridge -
King's Lynn)
* NCR 12 - (
Enfield) -
Potters Bar -
Letchworth - (
Peterborough -
Boston -
Grimsby), also known as the
Great North Way* NCR 13 - (
Hackney -
Chelmsford -
Hadleigh) -
Thetford -
Fakenham* NCR 14 - (
Barnard Castle -)
Stockton-on-Tees -
Hartlepool -
Durham -
Consett -
South Shields * NCR 15 - (
Nottingham -
Grantham -
Sleaford)
* NCR 16 - (
Basildon -
Shoeburyness)
* NCR 17 -
Rochester -
Maidstone (-
Ashford -
Hythe)
* NCR 18 -
Canterbury -
Ashford -
Tenterden -
Tunbridge Wells* NCR 20 -
Crawley to
Brighton* NCR 21 -
Greenwich -
Lewisham -
Crawley -
East Grinstead -
Heathfield -
Eastbourne* NCR 22 -
Wandsworth -
Carshalton (The Wandle Trail) (-
Guildford -
Farnham -
Petersfield -
Havant -
Isle of Wight)
* NCR 23 -
Reading -
Basingstoke (-
Alton -
Eastleigh -
Isle of Wight)
* NCR 24 - (
Bath -
Radstock -
Frome -
Warminster -
Salisbury -
Eastleigh)
* NCR 25 - (
Longleat -
Gillingham -
Poole)
* NCR 26 - (
Clevedon -
Wells -)
Castle Cary -
Yeovil -
Dorchester* NCR 27 -
Ilfracombe -
Plymouth; also known as the
Devon Coast to Coast cycle route* NCR 28 - (
Okehampton -
Newton Abbot -)
Totnes -
Salcombe* NCR 32 -
Bodmin -
Truro, via
Padstow and
Newquay; part of the Cornish Way cycle route
* NCR 33 (Wessex Cycleway) -
Pill -
Clevedon -
Weston-super-Mare -
Bridgwater -
Chard -
Seaton * NCR 41 -
Bristol -
Gloucester (-
Stratford upon Avon -)
Warwick -
Leamington Spa -
Rugby* NCR 42 -
Chepstow -
Abergavenny - NCR 8 at
Glasbury (an extension is proposed from
Gloucester to
Chepstow); part of
Lôn Las Cymru* NCR 43 -
Swansea (-
Builth Wells)
* NCR 45 - (
Salisbury -
Chester)
* NCR 46 - (
Newport -
Neath)
* NCR 47 -
Newport -
Fishguard, providing an inland alternative to the
Celtic Trail cycle route* NCR 48 - (
Leicester -
Bath)
* NCR 50 - (
Maidenhead -
Winslow)
* NCR 51 -
Colchester -
Harwich -
Felixstowe -
Cambridge -
Bedford -
Milton Keynes -
Oxford)
* NCR 52 - (
Stratford-upon-Avon -
Loughborough)
* NCR 53 - (
Peterborough -
Lichfield)
* NCR 54 - (
Stourport -
Kidderminster -
Dudley -)
Lichfield -
Derby* NCR 55 - (
Telford -
Preston)
* NCR 56 -
Chester -
Liverpool, via
Wallasey* NCR 57 - (
Cricklade -
Oxford -)
Thame -
Princes Risborough (-)
Hemel Hempstead -
Harpenden (-
Welwyn Garden City)
* NCR 61 -
Maidenhead -
Rickmansworth, via
Uxbridge* NCR 62 - the
Trans Pennine Trail,
Southport -
Selby* NCR 63 - (
Burton upon Trent -)
Leicester -
Oakham (-)
Peterborough -
Wisbech* NCR 64 -
Market Harborough -
Melton Mowbray (-)
Collingham -
Lincoln* NCR 65 - the
White Rose cycle route,
Hull -
Middlesbrough* NCR 66 -
Beverley -
York (-)
Leeds (-
Manchester)
* NCR 67 -
Long Eaton -
Heanor (-)
Chesterfield -
Leeds (-
Northallerton)
* NCR 68 - the
Pennine Cycleway running up the spine of England,
Derby -
Berwick-upon-Tweed * NCR 69 - (
Selby -
Skipton)
* NCR 71 - White Rose route near
Northallerton -
Workington, via
Appleby,
Penrith and
Whitehaven* NCR 72 - (
Kendal -
Barrow-in-Furness -
Whitehaven -)
Silloth -
Carlisle -
Tynemouth (includes Hadrian's Cycleway)
* NCR 73 - (
Newton Stewart -
Stranraer),
Arran,
Kintyre* NCR 74 -
Gretna -
Douglas (-
Glasgow)
* NCR 75 -
Glasgow -
Edinburgh; also known as the
Clyde to Forth cycle route* NCR 76 -
Edinburgh -
Callander* NCR 77 -
Dundee -
Pitlochry, via
Perth* NCR 78 -
Claonaig -
Inverness (Great Glens Cycle Route)
* NCR 79 - (
Boat of Garten -
Spey Bay)
* NCR 81 - (
Cardigan -)
Shrewsbury -
Telford (-
Wolverhampton)
* NCR 82 - (
Machynlleth -
Llanwrtyd Wells)
* NCR 83 - (
Llanwrtyd Wells -
Ystradmeurigg)
* NCR 84 - (
Trawsfynydd -
Chester)
* NCR 85 - (
Llandygai -)
Porth Penrhyn -
Bethesda -
Ogwen Cottage (-
Betws-y-Coed -
Porthmadog)
* NCR 88 - (
Cardiff -
Bridgend)
* NCR 91 -
Portadown -
Tynan; includes a figure-of-eight based around
Enniskillen known as the
Kingfisher Trail* NCR 92 -
Enniskillen -
Derry * NCR 93 - (
Newry -
Ballycastle)
* NCR 94 - A circuit of
Lough Neagh; also known as the
Loughshore Trail* NCR 95 - Tynan -
Pettigoe, via Lough Neagh and
Newtownstewart.
* NCR 96 -
Toome -
Portglenone (-
Coleraine)(Sections planned or under development are shown in brackets.)
Other parts of the network include:-
*
The Nicky Line -
Hemel Hempstead to
Harpenden, on NCR 57.
*
C2C -
Whitehaven/
Workington -
Newcastle upon Tyne/
Sunderland*
W2W -
Walney Island -
Sunderland, via
North Yorkshire*
Taff Trail -
Cardiff -
Brecon*
Peterborough Green Wheel - A network of cycle routes around
Peterborough, some of which constitute part of the National Cycle Network.
* at
Heathfield, East Sussex, the former railway trackbed is now named the Cuckoo Trail, part of the National Cycle Network.
*
Segregated cycle facilities*
List of rail trails* Sustrans, 2002.
The Official Guide To The National Cycle Network, 2nd ed. Italy: Canile & Turin. ISBN 1901389359.
*
Sustrans*
National Cycle Network*
National Cycle Network Flickr Group Photographs taken across the network
Websites covering parts of the Celtic Trail route 47 and the Taff Trail route 8
*
Sustrans Rangers Cymru*
The Taff Trail - tafftrail.org*
Valley Rides
