‘It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.’- Hemmingway
Our Map of the Month for March is The Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner.
This best selling UK cycle publication gives an overview of all the main signed UK cycle routes – the only publication that has all these together on one single map.
This map features:
All the UK’s main traffic-free trails mapped and listed, including classics such as Cornwall’s Camel Trail, Derbyshire’s High Peak Trail and the Highlands’ Caledonian Canal.
Thousands of miles of railpaths, canal towpaths and other family friendly traffic-free riding.
Cycleable National Trails such as the Pennine Bridleway and the South Downs Way plus major adventure rides including Cycling UK’s routes e.g. the Great North Trail.
Links to the international London to Paris Avenue Verte.
Sustrans National Cycle Network mapped & numbered
Long distance challenge favourites such as the C2C and Devon Coast to Coast
Easy pedalling eg Norfolk coast and Tweed Cycleway
Regional cycle routes through the UK’s finest scenery
City cyclists can avoid busy urban roads and use traffic-free routes into the heart of cities
Rail and ferry networks are shown, allowing you to combine bicycle, train and boat for long-distance adventuring.
Map designer Richard Peace says, “The original idea for the planner was a lightbulb moment – planning my own cycle trips I kept thinking if only there was a map to the whole of the UK that showed ALL signed / promoted cycle routes.
The UK has lots of great organisations that create some brilliant routes, but naturally they all tend to promote their own creations. This map allows cyclists to pick and choose between which sections of which routes they follow and create anything from a grand bikepacking tour to leisurely traffic-free pootles on a Sunday morning.
In short it’s designed to give as detailed an overview as it’s possible to do so on a single map of the entire UK of all the cycle routes out there. As well as showing how all the major cycle routes in the country link up it also lists traffic-free trails, bikepacking and major mountain biking routes so it also acts as a first point of reference for more detailed route research.
Shortly after getting into cycle journalism – decades ago – I helped create some of the first cycle maps in the UK working for a professional mapping company so I could see what went into making a map and how important it was to work alongside a professional cartographer. I was lucky to work in partnership with the excellent Mapping Company Ltd of Llandudno for this edition of the route planner. It also required a huge amount of research and desktop publishing time on my part.”
Richard Peace has written and photographed more than 30 cycling titles as well as being a contributor to numerous cycling magazines and websites including Cycle (the official Cycle UK magazine), Road.cc, ebiketips and Freewheeling France websites.
Here is Richard introducing the map:
The Ultimate UK Cycle Route Planner is available now for £9.95