National Cycle Route 725

The National Cycle Route 725, also known as the Great North Cycleway is a partially-complete regional cycling route that forms part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) in the United Kingdom.

National Cycle Route 725
Great North Cycleway
LocationNorth East England
Established2011 (Not yet complete)
Trailheads
WaymarkUK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 725 
Trail map

 Blyth
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 1 
 Cramlington
National Rail
 Hazlerigg
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 10 
 Newcastle upon Tyne
National Rail
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 72 
 Gateshead
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 14 
 Low Fell
 Angel of the North
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 11 
 Birtley
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 7 
 Chester-le-Street
National Rail
Pity Me
 Durham
National Rail
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 14 
 Mount Pleasant
 Ferryhill
 Coatham Mundeville
 Darlington
National Rail
UK traffic sign identifying a cycle route 14 

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 [1] by the network managers Sustrans, and some parts of the route have been created and signposted by the local authorities that it passes through,[2][3] large sections of the route are missing or incomplete.

History

The Great North Cycleway was proposed in 2011 and was initially expected to take two years to complete[4]

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 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.[5]

As of 2019, large sections of the route are still unfinished.

Route

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 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.[6]
The route passes through the centre of Chester le Street before crossing under the A1(M) motorway at Birtley and passing the Angel of the North.
The route follows the A167 Durham Road into Gateshead[7] before crossing the River Tyne on the Tyne Bridge.
Next the route passes through the centre of Newcastle,[8] 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 [9] before heading North-East through Cramlington to Blyth.

The proposed route crosses or meets the existing National Cycle Network several times along its length:

Map

Map of the route using OpenStreetMap data - Great North Cycleway highlighted on Waymarked Trails

The route is shown on cycle network maps produced by Newcastle and Gateshead councils:

References
  1. "Tyne & Wear Cycle Map (34)". Shop.sustrans.org.uk. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  2. https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/media/3855/Cycle-map-Gateshead-North-/pdf/Cycle-Map-Gateshead-North.pdf
  3. https://www.gateshead.gov.uk/media/3856/Cycle-map-Gateshead-South-/pdf/Cycle-Map-Gateshead-South.pdf
  4. "New cycle route from Darlington to Northumberland". BBC News. BBC. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  5. "Work has started on Newcastle's biggest cycling project to date". road.cc. 16 August 2015.
  6. Reid, Carlton (9 May 2017). "How 80 forgotten 1930s cycleways could transform UK cycling". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  7. "Great North Cycleway launched to connect existing routes". The Journal. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trinity Mirror. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. "Great North Cycleway - Proposed improvements to Market Street/Pilgrim Street". Let's talk Newcastle. Newcastle City Council. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  9. "Great North Cycleway aims to get people on their bikes". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne: Trinity Mirror. 22 June 2011.
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