Towns in the UK that are cycle-friendly

[All uphill]

Following on from @Cathryn thread.

Several towns/cities in the UK have been mentioned as being relatively cycle friendly.

This information is really useful when planning a mini-tour; I'd rather go somewhere reasonably friendly than somewhere hostile.

Mention has been made of:

London
Bristol
Cambridge
Norwich
Bridgend
Vale of Glamorgan

I'd add Taunton and Exeter to that list.

What others are there?

 

[Dogtrousers]

London

London's a very big place and in general the roads are very busy. So using the roads, whatever your mode of transport (buses excepted), can be quite stressful. Yes there are good things - and some good infrastructure and you see a lot more cyclists about than you used to - but you have to bear in mind the overall background level of traffic plus the generally very good levels of public transport as an alternative.

 

[Cathryn]

I was impressed at the number of cyclists in Oxford and there seem to be plenty of bike paths but I haven’t ridden there so don’t know the reality!

 

[fossyant]

Not Greater Manchester other than probably trendy Chorlton and Salford.

 

[mjr]

Several towns/cities in the UK have been mentioned as being relatively cycle friendly.

This information is really useful when planning a mini-tour; I'd rather go somewhere reasonably friendly than somewhere hostile.

Milton Keynes, but that always has to be tinged with sadness for me because the plentiful "Redways" cycling infrastructure is old, crumbling, often misrepresented (it was always a third-class network, giving way to mini-motorways and bus routes, arguably even canals and rivers) and never really achieved its potential. The city is basically cycle-friendly but it's even friendlier to cars.

A tour needs more than a town or city, though. That's what really discourages visiting Milton Keynes on a tour, as Bucks and Beds are poor and Northants worse, although there is the Varsity Way (Oxford to Cambridge, which maybe should be an ideal cycle-friendliness tour in theory) but that has been disrupted by HS2 and East West Rail construction works. While Cambridge may be nice, some of the bits around it are absolutely awful, but you could pick a lovely way out along the former railway to St Ives and then low-traffic routes to and through Huntingdon to get far enough away from the madness. There's also a route far enough alongside the A10 to get away and then the B road to Puckeridge and back roads through either Cold Christmas or High Cross to Ware to pick up the Lea Valley routes into London.

Bristol to Taunton would be a good ride and the route in between is finally showing signs of coming together: ride up the Avon gorge and cross to Portbury, then back roads (the Avon Cycleway formerly NCN 410, or the Down Road if you don't mind the short connecting B road or detour) to Clevedon, the new route 33 to/through WsM to Brean, Burnham, Bridgwater (all patchy for cycling) and picking up route 3 to Taunton. Bristol to Bath is a famous route and then it's possible to head south on the Two Tunnels route 24 but I'm not sure where after that. One day they might link it to a decent route through Wells to connect with an extended Strawberry Line (NCN 26) to Cheddar and Yatton and the Festival Way (another part of 33) to complete a loop back into Bristol but Somerset remains rather patchy.

For tours, I'll also mention the Norfolk loop tour I took a few years ago https://cycle.travel/route/norfolk but that doesn't actually visit Norwich itself (Cycling UK's Rebellion Way does, but I'm not much for bridleway riding) and the joke around here is that people cycle despite the council infrastructure rather than because of it, so I'm not sure I can really recommend my area as an example of cycle-friendliness! Most drivers are nice to me, though. Still get the occasional rager but less than I've had elsewhere.

 

[mjr]

I was impressed at the number of cyclists in Oxford and there seem to be plenty of bike paths but I haven’t ridden there so don’t know the reality!

I have a few times. The bike paths were decidedly average but the city is, like Cambridge used to be, a great demonstration of the Safety In Numbers theory. With enough people on bikes, basically everything popular enough becomes a bike path (where motorists are limited to 30mph). (Cambridge now has some bits of decent infrastructure, even if the centre is still mostly a demonstration of numbers.)

 

[Drago]

Agree with MJR about MK.

It's cycling provision is in many ways deeply flawed, but in many cases you can't even leave your front gate without finding yourself on a shared path. It's absabloodylutely everywhere, and as annoying as the design can be the sheer amount of it must be admired.

Some of the paths follow historic routes, such as old railway lines etc, and are positively delightful. I can't help but like it from a cycling perspective, despite its numerous cycling shortcomings.

 

[Cathryn]

I have a few times. The bike paths were decidedly average but the city is, like Cambridge used to be, a great demonstration of the Safety In Numbers theory. With enough people on bikes, basically everything popular enough becomes a bike path (where motorists are limited to 30mph). (Cambridge now has some bits of decent infrastructure, even if the centre is still mostly a demonstration of numbers.)

I think you’re right! The number of cyclists make it a cycle friendly town.

 

[Slick]

I had to laugh as I commuted through Neilston and passed the sign claiming to be cycle friendly.

I realise that won't mean a thing to most on here, but those more local will be aware that they still eat their own young in Neilston.

 

[Julia9054]

York is not too bad

 

[Julia9054]

Also the centre of Hull out to the ferry port and the centre of Newcastle out to the ferry port. Impressed with both of those routes

 

[Profpointy]

I agree Bristol is pretty good. There's only a limited amount of cycle routes per se, though the Bristol to Bath run along a disused railway is very good, but more because people in Bristol seem to have a fairly chilled attitude to cyclists as they have to life generally. My experienced based on some 15000 miles commuting through town to Almondsbury, on busy roads including a duel carriageway and only suffered a couple of instances of genuinely aggression, and only a few mistakes by drivers, albeit one scary one.

By contrast when I was cycling in Cardiff as a kid, and later driving, the macho aggression was ridiculous: woe betide you if you drive in the wrong lane because you've not got to the signpost yet

 

[wiggydiggy]

Leeds has really come on from what it was when started cycling around it in the early 00s.

It's not perfect, the closure of the cycle hub at the station has robbed us of anywhere secure to park. And the glacial pace of building (and linking) the new cycle paths is frustrating. But the ones they have finished are great, and on new roads like the new east Leeds Ringway it's got massive shared footpaths on both sides.

And city square outside the station has now been closed to all traffic, much nicer environment to arrive at from the train.

 

[All uphill]

Not Greater Manchester other than probably trendy Chorlton and Salford.

I last cycled in Greater Manchester in 2019 and this country boy found it scary.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

York is not too bad

It’s clogged with cars like a badly furred up artery.