NCN 1

[Oldhippy]

I'm not much of a moaner but yesterday I thought I'd make the most of NCN 1 Sittingbourne in to London. It was dreadful even for England. Vast chunks of it don't ever appear to have been maintained with holes, glass and rubbish. It ran through some very crappy areas, industrial roads and estates. The signage was good for short periods then would totally vanish leaving you guess the most likely route. Gor a route that is touted as a great long rang route from Dover to Scotland this section was appalling. Hardly a great advert to take up cycling for those who currently don't but would like to.

 

[wafter]

Sadly seems par for the course..

On the up-side, love your avatar pic

 

[ianrauk]

It's is very poor on that section.

 

[mjr]

Same as most roads, maintenance is mostly left to the county councils and equivalents. Unlike for motorists, there's no equivalent of National Highways building and maintaining a key network to consistent standards and the numbering of NCN and RR routes is managed by Sustrans, who have been reluctant to declassify or reclassify substandard routes. The only time so far that they've done a full review, the declassifications looked crazily inconsistent and irrational. Then there's the legacy of the original NCN routes having been selected to meet a funding target of miles and coverage, rather than purely for either transport or tourism. At least you know the National Byway is primarily a tourism route, not a fast transport network.

So, really, take the NCN as an indication, but use modern detailed maps and routing software that offer more surface and barrier detail, if you don't want a mystery tour adventure.

 

[Drago]

Much the same up my end Oldhippy. Some of it is on bridleways so badly churned up it is impassable on foot never mind by bicycle.

Quite tellingly, a few years back when the women's tour whizzed through the village they stayed well clear of the NCN bits.

 

[cougie uk]

There's a hill on NCN5 in North Wales that must be something like a 1 in 5 with broken up tarmac. It's a challenge for a fit and experienced cyclist.

 

[mjr]

Quite tellingly, a few years back when the women's tour whizzed through the village they stayed well clear of the NCN bits.

Not that telling: pro racers avoid the cycleway networks in Benelux, the race rules prohibit riding on them and training groups are not compelled to ride them. Even the best aren't built for hundreds blatting along at high speeds.

 

[HLaB]

Theyve diverted it now but NCN1 in Burntisland used to squeeze round the back of some flats and go up a 14% hill. The gradient wouldn't have been the end of the earth if it wasn't for the fact it was up an unsurfaced path through the woods (even at the end of a dry summer it was still wet). I think in an attempt to avoid the fast and busier B923 (Kirkcaldy Road) they took the off road route but theyve built a shared use path next to the slightly busier but straight A921 (Kinghorn Road) to connect narrower 'shared use' foot ways through the villages.

https://goo.gl/maps/mzXcUz6erNecPB8p8

The other section I found particularly bad was the NCN east of Chelmsford that took you along Graces Walk, its an unsurfaced bridle way.

https://goo.gl/maps/6ysVjCfusxAjqDVg8

There is a longer road alternative but the bridleway I believe is still signed on the ground.

 

[Drago]

Not that telling: pro racers avoid the cycleway networks in Benelux, the race rules prohibit riding on them and training groups are not compelled to ride them. Even the best aren't built for hundreds blatting along at high speeds.

That holds little water. The 30MPH village roads weren't designed for blatting along at high speeds but that didn't stop them.

 

[BoldonLad]

I have ridden most of NCN1 between Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick. What can I say?, it is scenic