National Cycle Route 24, otherwise known as the ''Colliers Way'' currently runs from

Dundas Aqueduct Dundas Aqueduct () is an aqueduct in England which carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon (the Somerset / Wiltshire border) and the Wessex Main Line railway. The aqueduct is near Monkton Combe, Somerset, and is about south-east ...

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021. Frome was one of the largest tow ...

via

Radstock Radstock is a town and civil parish on the northern slope of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England, about south-west of Bath and north-west of Frome. It is within the area of the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset. The Radsto ...

, although it is intended to provide a continuous cycle route from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Route

The route follows a mixture of low traffic roads and old railway lines serving the

Somerset coalfield The Somerset Coalfield in northern Somerset, England is an area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973. It is part of a larger coalfield which stretched into southern Gloucestershire. The Somerset coalfield stretched from Cromh ...

. There is a visitor centre, cycle shop and cafe at Dundas Aqueduct, where this route meets

NCR 4 Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route. Route The total length of the path is 443.6 miles and takes an ...

on the

Kennet & Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of Navigability, navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than sol ...

. From there it follows a road to

Midford Midford is a village approximately south-south-east of Bath, Somerset, England. Although relatively small, it extends over 2 counties (Wiltshire and Somerset), is part of two unitary authorities (Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset) and ...

. The next section proceeds to Wellow and then past

Peasedown St John Peasedown St John (commonly referred to as Peasedown) is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, standing on a hilltop roughly south-southwest of the city of Bath, and north-east of the town of Radstock at the foot of the Mend ...

and Foxcote to Radstock. It then follows an old railway line past

Kilmersdon Kilmersdon is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Mendip Hills in Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. It is located on the B3139 between Wells, Somerset, Wells and Trowbridge i ...

Buckland Dinham Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 381. The village's main industry is farming (arable and dairy), but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of Bath and ...

and Mells to

Great Elm Great Elm is a village and civil parish between Mells and Frome in Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Hapsford. In 2011 the parish had a population of 171. History The name Great Elm was recorded as ''Telma'' in the Domesda ...

. An interim route is then provided along lanes from Great Elm through Vallis Vale (among other less hilly routes) into Frome, as the continuous cycle path ends in Great Elm. The track running from Great Elm is still in use by the local quarries for distribution of locally mined

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

to national terminals. This factor means the cycle path legally couldn't continue along the tracks, unless they close to trains altogether. The tracks connect to the

to Weymouth line, shared by passenger and freight transport.

Linear orchard

The remains of apple cores thrown from train passengers have left the route with several apple trees. A programme of planting of apple and pear trees is now being undertaken to turn this into a linear orchard. A series of etched and enamelled

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

plate signs which are being set into boulders along the route highlighting the names of Old English varieties.

Route

Linear orchard

References

Further reading