National Trails Are Not Just For Walkers: Cycling UK’s Latest Campaign

Update 22 November 2022: Defra and Natural England are to reconsult on plans for the new National Trail, the Coast to Coast Wainwright trail, which co …

By stwhannah

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National Trails Are Not Just For Walkers: Cycling UK’s Latest Campaign

Cycling UK is only a small charity – a fraction the size of the other national cycling organisations in the UK

I suspect they had a boost this week.

This makes me proud to be a CUK member. What a well-balanced description of the challenges of high-level advocacy.

They’ve had 22 years to push for cycling and horse riding to be permitted on tracks over Open Access land. And they and British Horse have done didley squat. On their own website they don’t mention non CUK routes that might be of interest, such as the Trans Cambrian, just push their gravel/rough stuff routes. As for building such routes, well Sustrans does that. They actually have a budget….
There’s way more landowner resistance to multi use Trails so I suspect that the easy option has been taken.

As for building such routes, well Sustrans does that. They actually have a budget….

Well, Sustrans campaigns for other people (councils usually) to build cycle infrastructure and eventually, when the council get hacked off enough to paint some random lines around the place or put a “cycle route” around the back of an industrial estate, Sustrans claims it as some sort of Great Victory.

There’s way more landowner resistance to multi use Trails so I suspect that the easy option has been taken.

This is very true. One PITA landowner refusing to budge over the 0.5 miles of trail on his land can scupper an entire trail. Plus the legal process to change classification of a trail can take years.

Well, Sustrans campaigns for other people (councils usually) to build cycle infrastructure and eventually, when the council get hacked off enough to paint some random lines around the place or put a “cycle route” around the back of an industrial estate, Sustrans claims it as some sort of Great Victory.

or, the council gives up and returns the funding given…Stirling council, I am looking at you.

I’m sure many of us could have a dig at C UK for not doing exactly what we’d like them to, I know I could whinge that all they seem to do these days is unveil a new bikepacking route every other week.

But they don’t have much capability or focus on modern MTB – I don’t think it really fits with their brand – and there aren’t many avenues to pursue around access on a national level in the current political environment anyway.

£5.6 million budget for the new trail! How much?
Where will that money be spent? Surely it will not cost that much.

How long is the trail? At a complete guess, it’ll be built at around £40 per metre (likely more as that cost is quite an old one), so should be easy enough to work out how much distance that gets…signage will be needed, possibly parking along the way for various options, possible buildings (suspect these may be enhanced rather than built from scratch)…
A very large amount of money but not that difficult to spend on building a new trail over a good distance.
If an existing trail then it might need ‘improved’ so will require money for that…

£5.6 million budget for the new trail! How much?
Where will that money be spent? Surely it will not cost that much.

The budget for a local cycle path connecting a new uni campus to the existing cycle path network was £600,000 for about 1.5 miles. On the face of it, the bulk of this was on signs and paint because the tarmac was already there. I’m sure there were other hidden costs.

Of course, there were complaints about the cost because dickheads will complain about anything, but the path has been very successful and is heavily used, not just by students.

Is this Wainright coast to coast different to the Wainright coast to coast thats existed for many years? My dad did it back in the 90’s…

I know I could whinge that all they seem to do these days is unveil a new bikepacking route every other week.

They have gone through a phase of that – it makes it look like they’re doing something when all that’s happened is some has sat down with various maps and looked at bridleways, Sustrans and towpaths and done a join-the-dots exercise.

They came up with one in Cornwall a while ago confidently aimed at families that featured a long stretch of ankle deep bogtrotting…

Around 2000 Glyndwrs Way national trail cost circa £250000. I can’t remember exactly, but I think it was £50000 a year for five years. The officer in charge was so fat it was said that if he hadn’t got there by Landrover the trail may not be there. Anyway he left just before it was completed and I did the survey. It ended in a field a few miles short of Welshpool….
Sustrans got several miles of an old railway line turned into a cycle track near Pontrydfendigaid midwales . It goes past the edge of what used to be our family’s land where I grew up.
The Trans Cambrian cost nothing.

As a lot of the Wainwright route is on existing public footpaths then CUK are being unbelievably naive. But then they’ve never understood Access even though they are the statutory body. It’s an easy win to turn an established and legal walking route into a National Trail. Normally National Trails follow existing legal routes with a few diversion orders to smooth the way.

If a lot of the Wainwright route is on existing public footpaths then CUK are being unbelievably naive. But then they’ve never understood Access even though they are the statutory body. It’s an easy win to turn an established and legal walking route into a National Trail. Normally National Trails follow existing legal routes with a few diversion orders to smooth the way.

I think the issue would hinge on if you’ve got a budget of £5.6 million to spend on a new “national trail”, and your remit is to make national trails that are accessible on foot, bike or horse, then Wainwrights Coast to Coast doesn’t merit that investment (unless as part of that the footpaths get upgraded).

£5.6 million budget for the new trail! How much?
Where will that money be spent? Surely it will not cost that much.

My guess would be a few years budget of rangers, landrovers, a marketing agency, some roundels, a handfull of new gates, and the inordinately expensive upgrading of a few hundred meters of upland bog to motorway spec.

They came up with one in Cornwall a while ago confidently aimed at families that featured a long stretch of ankle deep bogtrotting…

Yea, I live on the “King Alfred’s Way”, seems to be little more than a group of busybody facebookers who cant decide which is worse:
A) People who ride it quickly
B) People who ride it anticlockwise

It’s heavily moderated by CUK.

I rather doubt making the route a National Trail will add that many users, and if they sanitise it it could reduce the numbers. It’s as well known as any National Trail already. It probably predates all of them. On reflection it seems a misuse of public funds.

As a lot of the Wainwright route is on existing public footpaths then CUK are being unbelievably naive.

There are already proposed alternative sections for cyclists and horses, three South Downs Way also splits a couple of times where cyclists take a different route.

About halfway down the page is a map

https://www.cyclinguk.org/blog/coast-coast-why-cycling-uk-threatening-legal-action-against-government

Perhaps I’m being thick but I can’t see if the alternative routes are just alternative walking routes or if they are for higher user groups. Looking at the tiny scale I find it hard to imagine that the route without alternatives is all bridleway or better. It seems that C Uk have done their homework on the historical basis for their claim. However it would be most of a decade before every part of the route were upgraded, and I do have concerns about the walking route being sustranised.