Here at My Cycling Claim we are always interested in hearing from cyclists about their experiences of cycling in England and Wales. If you know a great cycling route – it maybe one that you ride every weekend, or one that you might only have ridden once or twice holiday – let us know. As a cyclist-friendly legal service dealing with people who have been injured in bicycle accidents, we are keen to promote safer cycling routes that avoid heavily trafficked roads and other cycling hazards.
Cycle routes in the UK
There are two main national cycle route networks in the UK. The first, The National Byway, is a 4,500 mile cycling route running around England, Scotland and Wales. The National Byway runs along quiet roads through mainly rural areas and is signposted with distinctive brown signs featuring the Byway logo and a white bicycle symbol.
The second, more recent cycle route is the National Cycle Network (NCN). The NCN has been created by the charity Sustrans over the last 30 years. The network is designed to minimise the contact that cyclists have with other vehicles, even though 70% of the routes are on roads. The NCN also uses thousands of miles of purpose-built cycle paths which have been created over the past 15 years with government funding. These cycle paths run along the trackbeds of disused railways, on canal towpaths and on special marked routes through urban areas. National Cycle Network cycle routes are signposted using blue signs with a white bicycle symbol and the route numbers are in red.
We will be featuring selected safe cycling routes on the My Cycling Claim website over the next few months, so if you have a particular favourite that you want to share, let us know.