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What are your favourite signposted routes?

13 May 2020
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I’m working on adding more route guides to cycle.travel – not with the full stage-by-stage breakdown (that requires cycling the route, ideally) but with maps, photo galleries, and accommodation finder.

What signposted routes have you enjoyed and would like to see in a cycle.travel guide? I’m keen to hear suggestions.

Comments

Thu 14 May 2020, 15:42

That's a great idea!

Probably my favourite route was the Alpe-Adria Radweg ( Salzburg to Grado).

One that needed signage supplementing was the Romantischstrasse in Germany.

The Vennbahn is another interesting short route

Sorry if you wanted UK based routes!

Thu 14 May 2020, 17:50

I agree about the Vennbahn. Three more that seem obvious to me, especially as you have almost nothing in the east of England yet:

1. The Norfolk Coast Cycleway (National 1 / Regional 30) and Two Rivers Way (Regional 30 / National 11) circuit. I've enjoyed the bits I've done and hope to complete it, but it'll have to wait until overnight stays are permitted again. The presence of a sign for "[30] Lowestoft 98" at Lord's Bridge in the fens is just too tempting. I understand there have been sportives doing this basic route.

2. the Route to Harwich for Holland, the rest of National 51 - in your rush to reach Cambridge by using the National Byway, you missed arguably the best bit of N51, the long wide former railway from St Ives to Cambridge North. Much of the route east is also lovely, at least the parts I've done so far, although there are a few strange decisions: the route between Huntingdon and St Ives via Hartford and the Thicket is nicer IMO than the signposted one on Godmanchester's main roads, and I'd rather enter Stowmarket from Elmswell and leave on quieter roads.

3. Abroad, the Duinweg (LF1) from Hook of Holland to Den Helder seems like a great one to include.

Fri 15 May 2020, 13:48

Also, I would help with directions, ride reports, photos/screenshots and videos of the Norfolk Coast/Two Rivers circuit (existing or new), and the Vennbahn (although that's limited to what I took last year, for now at least, obviously), if you let me know what parameters you'd like. I would also help with the others but I don't have as much stuff saved about them.

Mon 18 May 2020, 13:22

Excellent suggestions – thanks both!

@mjray – that’s enormously helpful. The core content is the introduction (a few paragraphs) and the FAQs, as on an existing route guide like https://cycle.travel/route/east_midlands. For a detailed route guide there’s extra description of each section/town, as at https://cycle.travel/route/east_midlands/guide, but that’s not essential for the shorter guides. 

I’ve put up a shell at https://cycle.travel/route/norfolk, including (openly licensed) pics. If there’s anything you’d like to go in, you could ping me by email ([email protected]) or just post it on a user travelogue here. Don’t worry about it being beautiful prose… subediting travel copy is part of what I used to do for a living. :)

Wed 20 May 2020, 17:57

Hi

I have to agree with mrjay, they are good suggestions, as East Anglia is a much overlooked  region, with myself being located near Wisbech.

I would also suggest maybe adding an option to extend the Norfolk route to continue from Downham Market to Cambridge, then via Newmarket,  BSE continuing on to Framlingham, then onto Woodbridge, Aldeburgh and Southwold, before picking up the original route at Lowestoft.

The route takes in some impressive historic locations including Sutton Hoo.

I have also been meaning to Plan a Sunrise to Sunset route from Lowestoft to St Davids, Pembrokeshire,  still have not got round to it in any detail

Another route would be the North Coast 500, although there are some dedicated websites to this route

Mon 27 Jul 2020, 17:39

Hi Richard. Thanks for the shell. I've not forgotten it but I'm doing some more research and will post travelogues soon.

In light of the recent Sustrans vandalism to our route network, I'm going to ride the northern Brandon-Oxburgh-Denver branch of RR30. I wasn't keen on the awful surface at Southery anyway.

I will also be going "off route" between Corton and Lowestoft because it seems daft to pass so close to Ness Point and not visit it! It looks straightforward on the cycle-laned B-road and then Links Road down to the seawall, but I guess I'll find out soon!

Tue 28 Jul 2020, 12:00

That northern braid looks good from Street View!

I’m pretty sure that more people ride London–Brighton following cycle.travel’s route than NCN 20, so you never know, maybe we could pull off the same trick for Norfolk…

Fri 31 Jul 2020, 11:03

I've started posting background material and local places as travelogue posts on the Norfolk route shell. I hope that's OK to move into the shell.

I've tried to err on the side of too many words because I guess it's better if you cut stuff out than have to pad. "Route" won't be complete until I've actually ridden the route and seen if the signposts are as good as I'm told!

Sun 2 Aug 2020, 12:26

That's looking great – thanks! No inordinate hurry; I’ll be doing a chunk of route guide work around the second half of August so if there were something ready-ish by then that would be great.

Thu 28 Jan 2021, 13:19

Reminded by a discussion in another place, I finally got back to this and tried to remember what still needed doing. The guide is split between a few travelogue posts. I have also got a tweaked route at https://cycle.travel/map/journey/151961

I added images to the route guide from your selection and wikimap because I had a small camera mishap (I dropped my main camera on the first day, then had a memory card fault in my backup camera). I hope that's OK.

Please let me know if I should write a bit more on any of it or if I missed a needed section. Otherwise, please take it as CC-BY-SA and edit at will.

Fri 29 Jan 2021, 11:04

Superb – thank you! Now live at https://cycle.travel/route/norfolk – hopefully in time for a bit of a domestic cycle touring boom this summer…

Fri 29 Jan 2021, 12:15

Great. Thanks!

There's a missing word "section" after "Cromer to Yarmouth" in the "Is it signposted?" section. That's the only error I spotted so far.

I like all of your picture substitutions except I'd really rather like a pic of the Ness Point marker in for Lowestoft if you don't mind because I don't think that gets the recognition it deserves.

When might it appear on the "browse all routes on a map" map?

Fri 29 Jan 2021, 12:23

And I've just noticed that the map shows neither of the Lowestoft diversions mentioned in the text (Ness Point and the seafront. I don't know if that's right or wrong.

It shows a detour off RR 30 onto 33 through Felbrigg Hall. That's actually the way I rode and I suspect it doesn't much matter.

The map still shows the no-cycling route through King St in Thetford. I'm pretty sure that's a bad idea. It would be much better to go via Butten Island and Anchor Place if you can.

Fri 29 Jan 2021, 14:42

All done – thanks! I’ll probably update the “browse” map this weekend – it needs the vector tiles to be regenerated and there’s a couple of summary routes I’d like to get in at the same time.

Sat 30 Jan 2021, 12:43

The Norfolk route looks great. It would go nicely for me by adding a couple of days at each end to get from and to home in the Midlands, joining it near Wisbech. Thanks mjray and RF.

Tue 2 Feb 2021, 13:03

You probably already know this, but East Midlands Cycleway connects Wisbech to the Midlands pretty nicely - leaving it at Elm offers a very easy link through Emneth and Marshland St James to Lord's Bridge.

If you're in the north midlands then NCN 1 and bits of NCN 64 and Fosse2 might be a good way back from King's Lynn - or our local cycle route 9 to Sutton Bridge and then B roads offers a fairly good shortcut.

Tue 2 Feb 2021, 21:09

Indeed. I'm in Moira, so it almost passes my door. Thanks for the additional tips.

Thu 11 Mar 2021, 10:52
Richard - is there any chance of a credit, please, possibly in front of the picture credits on the page foot?
Thu 1 Apr 2021, 19:48

Heart of Suffolk is a nice one/two day ride, well-signposted and deserves to be better known.

Posted an account of it (with a dogleg to Orford for lunch).