The Bay Cycle Way is an cycling route around
Morecambe Bay in
Lancashire and
Cumbria in north west England.
Most of it forms National Cycle Route 700 (NCN 700), while other sections are waymarked as
NCN 6 (London to the Lake District),
NCN 69 (Hest Bank to Cleethorpes) and
NCN 70 (Walney to Sunderland).
It has been recommended by ''
The Daily Telegraph'' ("20 amazing ways to enjoy the English seaside this summer"),
the
''i'' newspaper ("20 best cycle routes in the UK: from coastal pathways to woodland rides")
and the
Touring Club Italiano ("Inghilterra, Scozia e Galles in bicicletta, le ciclabili più belle per una vacanza green").
Route
The end points of the route are
Walney Island, west of
Barrow-in-Furness, and
Glasson Dock, a former port on the
River Lune south west of
Lancaster.
The route goes inland to
Milnthorpe to cross the
River Kent at Levens Bridge, near
Levens Hall, the lowest crossing point of the river by road; there are hopes that a footpath and cycleway may some time be installed alongside the railway viaduct which crosses the river at
Arnside, further downstream.
99.0% of the road is on asphalt roads or paths, and 28.2% is on traffic-free paths.
The route ascends to between Grenodd and Cartmel,
and goes above in three sections.
There are said to be three "challenging climbs": leaving
Ulverston, ascending Bigland Hill (between
Bigland Tarn
Bigland Tarn is a lake in Cumbria, England, about 3/4 mile southeast of Haverthwaite
Haverthwaite is a small village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is also within the boundaries of the Lake District National P ...
and
Bigland Barrow, north of Cartmel) and
Warton Crag
Warton Crag is a limestone hill in north west Lancashire, England. It lies to the north west of Warton village, in City of Lancaster district. At it is the highest point in the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and ...
.
The total ascent has been calculated to be .
Sustrans estimates total cycling time as 6 h 46 min at an average pace of ,
while the Morecambe Bay Partnership suggests a four-day itinerary.
The route passes through:
*
Walney Island
*
Barrow-in-Furness
*
Rampside
*
Roosebeck ()
*
Ulverston ()
*
Greenodd
*
Cartmel
*
Cark
*
Flookburgh
*
Grange-over-Sands ()
*
River Kent crossing at Levens Bridge
*
Arnside ()
*
Silverdale
*
Carnforth (outskirts) ()
*
Hest Bank
*
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
()
*
Lancaster ()
*
Glasson Dock ()
References
Further reading
*
External links
Map of routefrom
Sustrans and
Ordnance SurveyDescription including elevation profile
Cycleways in England
National Cycle Routes
Transport in Cumbria
Transport in the City of Lancaster
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