20-766: National Cycle Route 622 , the Preston Guild Wheel , part of the National Cycle Network in North West England , is a 21-mile cycle and walking route encircling the city of Preston in Lancashire and is one of the city's flagship Guild Legacy projects from the 2012 Preston Guild . Preston is also the midpoint of the national cycle network. The route was initiated by members of Preston Cycle Forum including Peter Ward an ex City Councillor and former racing cyclist and Mike Atkins,
40-610: A 7 start in Scotland and northern England, routes beginning with an 8 are generally in Wales, and routes beginning with a 9 are in Northern Ireland. The main route numbers have one digit (1 to 6 radiate clockwise from the south of England); other routes have two digits, starting with the number of the relevant main route. There are also many shorter routes, reaching smaller towns and cities, that have three-digit numbers. Again,
60-521: A count point on the Guild Wheel increased by 175% to just under 100,000 a year from 2011 to 2013 with peak of 968 cyclists in a day in 2013. The success of the Guild Wheel has led to proposals to create similar routes in Blackburn, Leyland and Longridge. Parts of the route are also well used by walkers and runners. The route is very much a recreation facility for all users. Following concerns about
80-481: A quarter of the NCN was scrapped on safety grounds, leaving 12,739 miles (20,501 km) of signed routes. These are made up of 5,220 miles (8,400 km) of traffic-free paths with the remaining 7,519 miles (12,101 km) on-road. It uses shared use paths , disused railways , minor roads, canal towpaths and traffic-calmed routes in towns and cities. The Bristol and Bath Railway Path (now part of National Route 4)
100-586: Is a 14-mile (23 km) walking and cycling path on a disused railway. It opened in 1984 and was the first part of what would later become the NCN. The National Cycle Network began with a National Lottery Grant from the Millennium Commission in 1995. The original goal was to create 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of signposted cycle routes by 2005, 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 (8,000 km) of route
120-973: The Angel of the North . The route follows the A167 Durham Road into Gateshead before crossing the River Tyne on the Tyne Bridge . Next the route passes through the centre of Newcastle, past the Civic Centre and through the Newcastle University campus. Heading North out of Newcastle, the route follows close to the B1318, to the outskirts of the city, passing Great Park and Hazlerigg before heading North-East through Cramlington to Blyth . The proposed route crosses or meets
140-971: The Danish National Cycle Route network . One thousand "Millennium Mileposts" made from cast iron were funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland to mark the creation of the National Cycle Network, and these are found along the NCN routes throughout the UK. Following the de-designation of approximately a quarter of the NCN in 2020, a significant number of the mileposts are now orphaned from their intended routes. There are four different types: "Fossil Tree" (designed by John Mills), "The Cockerel" (designed by Iain McColl), "Rowe Type" (designed by Andrew Rowe), and "Tracks" (designed by David Dudgeon). The four artists are from each country of
160-640: The Great North Cycleway is a partially-complete regional cycling route that forms part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) in the United Kingdom. The route is proposed to run around 70 km (43 miles) from Darlington to Blyth , in North East England . Although some parts of the route are shown on official NCN cycle maps by the network managers Sustrans , and some parts of the route have been created and signposted by
180-622: The County's former cycling officer. Following the completion of the Guild Wheel Peter Ward received an MBE for his services to cycling. The section along the river by Miller Park has been named Mike Atkins Way after Mike Atkins who died in 2013. The route is also promoted as a walking route and is dog-friendly . The route is a 21-mile-long (34 km) "greenway" encircling the city of Preston . The route opened in August 2012 in
200-1390: The UK, though all posts can be found in all four countries. Most mileposts contain a disk featuring symbols and text in code. There are 60 different designs, spread across the country. They form part of the Millennium Time Trail, a treasure hunt puzzle created by Sustrans in 2001. The Verse held within the coded text is: M EASURE EVERY HEARTBEAT TO COUNT OUT OUR LIFE'S SCORE/ I S "TIME TO ESCAPE" MEANT TO FIRE OUR COMING AGE?/ L OCKED IN SEASONS' BARS SWINGS PENDULUM'S CEASELESS CLAW/ L UNGS NEVER FULL ENSNARE US IN TIME'S EIGHT PIECE CAGE/ E NTROPY'S AIM SHOOTS LEPTONS IN DANCING CYCLES OF LIGHT/ N ATIONS REACH OUT IN HOPE ACROSS TIME ZONES AND LONG DEGREES/ N O CORNERS TO HIDE US, EARTH’S SHADE SPINS HOURLY ROUND TO NIGHT/ I N ALL MIND-STREAMS WE WADE, OUR WORLD-LINES WEAVE PAST TAPESTRIES/ U NCERTAIN DREAMS EVOLVE IN THE STRUGGLE FOR THE “WHY?”/ M UST IN ALL THESE TIDES OF FAITH, FLOW STILL SUCH WAVES OF FEARS?/ P LACE AND TIME TEMPT FATES, BUT ALL LIFE’S NATURE IS TO DIE/ O UR ERA, STARS, BOWS OUT, PLAYING ITS MUSICAL SPHERES/ E VERY GAINED UTOPIAN GOAL MAKES US MANIFOLD TIME’S TREASURE/ M APPED OUT, AS ABOVE SO BELOW, NERGAL TICKS OFF TIME’S MEASURE/// National Cycle Route 725 The National Cycle Route 725 , also known as
220-688: The contemporary A167 road . The proposed route starts in Darlington, heading North close to the A167 road and crossing the over the East Coast Main Line and the River Wear as it approaches Durham . The route follows historic 1930's cycleways north out of Durham. The route passes through the centre of Chester le Street before crossing under the A1(M) motorway at Birtley and passing
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#1732793681965240-567: The local authorities that it passes through, large sections of the route are missing or incomplete. The Great North Cycleway was proposed in 2011 and was initially expected to take two years to complete The proposed Great North Cycleway is named after the Great North Road , historically the main highway between London and Scotland (until road building in the 20th Century routed motor traffic onto bypasses and motorways and away from urban areas). In 2015, Newcastle's John Dobson Street
260-527: The network which made it inaccessible by some users. As a result, around a quarter of the network was de-designated. As of July 2020 , there were 12,739 miles (20,501 km) of signed cycle and walking route that are part of the Network. There are ten main national routes. As of 2020 they are not all complete. NCN routes beginning with numbers 1 to 6 are generally in England, routes beginning with
280-445: The route numbers start with the number of the main route for that region. For example, the Great North Cycleway in northern England has route number 725. Signs showed the route numbers on a blue background. Routes have been progressively renumbered with three-digit national numbers. Some routes are numbered to match the motorways and major roads that connect the same destinations; examples include National Route 62, which by connecting
300-595: The run up to the main week of the Guild celebrations and passes sights such as Preston Docklands, Avenham and Miller Parks and Brockholes Nature Reserve . The route follows mainly the River Ribble to the south, and goes as far as Broughton in the north. It uses traffic free multi-user paths with pedestrians and quiet roads. The route has led to an increased interest in cycling in the Preston area. Cycle flows at
320-436: The speeds of some cyclists, a "Share with Care" campaign was launched in 2013 promoting a code of practise for the route. 53°45′09″N 2°41′48″W / 53.7524°N 2.69678°W / 53.7524; -2.69678 National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network ( NCN ) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring . It
340-519: The two sides of the Pennines mirrors the M62 motorway . The network is signposted using a white bicycle symbol (and on some routes, walking) on a blue background, with an inset box showing a white route number on a red background. In general, signs do not show destinations or distances. On some older signs, regional route numbers have a blue background instead. The system of symbols is based on that used by
360-477: Was converted from a dual carriageway back into a single carriageway road, using the reclaimed space to create a segregated cycleway, which forms part of the Great North Cycleway. As of 2019, large sections of the route are still unfinished. Between Darlington and Newcastle , the route is largely proposed to follow close to the historic Great North Road, many parts of which are numbered here as
380-448: Was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. However Sustrans themselves only own around 2% of the paths on the network, the rest being made of existing public highways and rights of way, and permissive paths negotiated by Sustrans with private landowners. In 2017, the Network was used for over 786 million cycling and walking trips, made by 4.4 million people. In 2020, around
400-441: Was signposted to an "interim" standard, and a new goal was then set to double that to 10,000 miles (16,000 km) by 2005. August 2005 saw the completion of that goal. In 2018, Sustrans published the National Cycle Network - Paths for Everyone report which reviewed the quality and usage of the Network and set out a vision for its future. The report rated 42% of the then network as 'very poor' and identified over 12,000 barriers on
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