Route GuidesRoutes City GuidesCities Map Log in
Write a new posting

City Guides

Latest journeys

To EX37 9TR Rev1 by Simon Gammack
To EX37 9TR Rev2 by Simon Gammack
Puglia day 1 by Bill Scurry
parte routeYC by Howard Cooke
Tournai by Graeme Mair
Rt 66 Chicago to ok city by Kate Culley
Day 6 Pruille - Le Lude by Jack Anywhere
Thorn Creek by Weigle2
To EX37 9TR Rev1 by Simon Gammack
Geislingen-Munderkingen by timoja45

Become a supporter

Cycle parking

York has perhaps the highest amount of bike parking per head of population anywhere in Britain. The railway station has 500 alone, there’s another thousand dotted around the city centre, and many employers and schools provide secure parking. Indoor valet parking is now available at the Hub Station, a community enterprise on the riverside at Lendal Bridge (south bank) which also provides showers, toilets and bike repairs.

The roads

York’s city streets are narrow. They make for great photos, but not always great cycling. As soon as you enter the city centre, you’ll find yourself squeezing past queueing traffic, bumping up and down off the pavement, and sometimes simply getting off and pushing.

Bike lanes are painted on many of the roads, but sometimes more in hope than expectation. In particular, there simply isn’t enough room for bus and bike next to each other – and York has plenty of buses, particularly around the station area. The good news is that York’s drivers are more alert to bikes than most.

Once you get out of the centre, though the roads are a little wider and the back-streets quieter, you still need to choose your route carefully. Be especially wary of the major arterials leading into the city. York is largely flat; the university is on Heslington Hill, but you’ll barely break sweat crossing it.

The city shopping streets are pedestrianised – in local jargon, ‘footstreets’ – which means they’re closed to cyclists between 10.30am and 5pm. Inevitably, this makes crossing the centre tricky; your choices are North Street on the opposite bank, Deangate past the Minster, or pushing. Cambridge and Bristol have shown that bikes can mix with pedestrians on city centre streets: York would do well to follow suit.

Streets in the South Bank area now enjoy a 20mph limit, but no others – though city centre traffic is often at a crawl anyway.

The city’s Park & Ride sites all have reasonable cycle route connections, and there are bike racks and lockers at all of them. You can park your car and cycle into town, or conversely, leave the bike here and take the bus in.

Cycle routes

York has a number of good-quality traffic-free routes. Its major innovation is the Orbital Route, a bike ring road with 26 numbered junctions. At each one, signs point along cycle routes to the city centre and out to the suburbs.

The Orbital itself is a patchwork of roadside paths, residential roads and traffic-free sections. Though this means there are a few too many crossings and turns to get anywhere fast, it’s a clear, simple concept that will help you find the best routes around town.

York is bisected by the River Ouse, and riverside paths run alongside it both north and south of the centre. There’s no path in the very centre, though, so you’ll need to take the road route on the south/west bank. To the north, the traffic-free route contniues to Clifton and out towards Beningbrough, while southbound it reaches Bishopthorpe and Selby. The new Millennium Bridge in the south of the city provides an excellent link between the two riverside paths, but it’s a shame there’s no equivalent in the city centre: you’ll find yourself manhandling your bike over the narrow, stepped Scarborough Bridge.

From the University, an excellent route runs west over the pretty meadow of Walmgate Stray, heading for the river at the Millennium Bridge. (There’s also a direct, though busier, route via Heslington Road.) A cyclepath snakes around the campus to the Science Park, but keep your eyes open at bends – it’s busy and narrow, so you can’t cut corners.

Swindon to the Thames

The River Thames at Lechlade is within easy reach of Swindon – just a 13-mile ride, mostly flat and on quiet roads. Head east out of town via Greenbridge to South Marston. From here, follow the lane to Roves Farm, itself a lovely destination for a family ride. There’s a café here for a rest.

The gravel track that heads north leads you to Sevenhampton, emerging by the church. Turn right, crossing the B road, which eventually takes you onto another B road for Coleshill (watch for fast traffic here). Turn left by the pub for a lovely lane that heads towards Lechlade. There’s one final burst of A road before your destination, but once you’re past the Thames it’s not too busy.

Railway path to Marlborough

South of Swindon lies an excellent network of cycle paths through the Wiltshire countryside. The surfaces aren’t always smooth, but if you have a hybrid or mountain bike, you’ll find much to enjoy here.

Marlborough is just 12 miles from the town centre down a well-established railway path, signposted as NCN route 45 and 482. Pass Coate Water and cross the M4 on the footbridge before descending to Chiseldon. The railway path starts here and continues all the way to Marlborough, where there are, of course, plenty of cafés and pubs for lunch.

You can return the same way, but if you’re feeling more energetic, head west out of Marlborough on one of the two NCN routes (254 or, for a longer journey, 403). These meet up with NCN 45, a spectacular if occasionally rough track over the Downs. It returns you to Chiseldon for an easy ride back to Swindon.

Page 1 ... 85 86 87 88 89 ... 96