Between these, the route runs through

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

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 ...

, Newport,

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and

St David's St Davids or St David's (, , "Saint David, David's Welsh toponymy, house”) is a St David's Cathedral, cathedral City status in the United Kingdom, city in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It lies on the River Alun, Pembrokeshire, River Alun and is ...

. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the

Celtic Trail cycle route The Celtic Trail is a network of dedicated cycle routes in the National Cycle Network, crossing West, South and Mid Wales, and covering 377 miles in total. It is divided into east and west sections. The west section links Pembroke and Fishguar ...

Route

The total length of the path is 443.6 miles and takes an estimated 36 hours to complete by bike. Just under half (47.4%) of the route consists in traffic-free paths.

London to Reading

The route roughly follows the course of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

between London and Reading, and forms a junction with NCR 5 and NCR 23 at the latter. *

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

;

Rotherhithe Rotherhithe ( ) is a district of South London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, with the Isle of Dogs to the ea ...

Surrey Quays Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. The precise boundaries of the area are somewhat amorphous, but it is generally considered to comprise the southe ...

;

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England. The South Bank is not formally defined, but is generally understood to be situated betwe ...

;

Lambeth Bridge Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...

; Chelsea; Imperial Wharf;

Putney Bridge Putney Bridge is a Grade II listed bridge over the River Thames in west London, linking Putney on the south side with Fulham to the north. Before the first bridge was built in 1729, a ferry had shuttled between the two banks. The current for ...

Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of Royal Parks of London, London's Royal Parks and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I of England, Cha ...

;

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

;

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

;

Molesey Molesey is a suburban district comprising two large villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England. Molesey is within the Greater London Built-up Area, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames ...

;

Walton on Thames Walton-on-Thames, known locally as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in northwest Surrey, England. It is in the Borough of Elmbridge, about southwest of central London. Walton forms part of the Greater London Built-up ...

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

(touristic town) or

Laleham Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the borough of Spelthorne, about west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames a ...

(shorter, towpath route) *

Staines Bridge Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines-upon-Thames and Egham Hythe. The b ...

; Coopers Hill; Windsor Great Park; Windsor; Eton *

Bray Bray may refer to: Places France * Bray, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Bray, Saône-et-Loire, in the Saône-et-Loire ''département'' * Bray-Dunes, in the Nord ''département'' * Bray-en-Val, in the Loiret ''département'' * Bray-et-Lû ...

;

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many ol ...

;

At its east end, the route meanders mostly set about one "block" back from the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

, including several small parks. It shortcuts through: Rotherhithe and mid-Pimlico. It finds the Thames at the Chelsea Embankment. It zig-zags through Hurlingham and Barnes Common. It finds the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

at Ham, facing

Teddington Lock Footbridges The Teddington Lock Footbridges are two footbridges over the River Thames in England, situated just upstream of Teddington Lock at Teddington. There is a small island between the bridges. The two footbridges were built between 1887 and 1889, ...

, until

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...

. A longer route from Putney is to remain on the towpath (Thames Path) to avoid traffic.

Reading to Bath

Much longer, the Reading to Bath section follows the Kennet & Avon Cycle Route which partly follows the towpath of the

Kennet and 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 ...

and the course of the River Kennet, with other sections on low-traffic roads. Approaching Bath, Route 24 and the Two Tunnels Greenway are a corollary, rejoining Route 4 west of the city centre.

Bath to Bristol

The Bath to Bristol section of the route follows the

Bristol & Bath Railway Path The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year. It was built by the c ...

, a dedicated cycle path on a disused railway line. This is entirely traffic-free.

Bristol to Newport

After passing through Bristol city centre, the route heads north into

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

, and over the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge () is a Controlled-access highway, motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn crossing, Severn road crossi ...

. Passing through

Chepstow Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the ...

, it then goes south, passing through Caldicot before arriving in Newport. The route passes to the north of the

Newport Wetlands Reserve Newport Wetlands is a wildlife reserve covering parts of Uskmouth, Nash and Goldcliff, in the south-east of the city of Newport, South Wales. History The reserve was established in 2000 to mitigate losses of wildlife habitat when the Car ...

and across

Newport Transporter Bridge The Newport Transporter Bridge () is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the River Usk. It is a Grade I listed structure. It is one of fewer than 10 transporte ...

in the south of the city.

Newport to Llanelli

After Newport, the route heads west to Caerphilly, then north towards Pontypridd during which it crosses the

Taff Trail The Taff Trail () is a Walking in the United Kingdom, walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the Natio ...

. It then heads west towards

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

. Near

Briton Ferry Briton Ferry () is a town and Community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The Welsh name may indicate that the church, ''llan'', is protected from the wind, ''awel''. Alternatively, ''Sawel'' may be a deri ...

, it crosses the A48 bridge and then follows the

A483 road The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry and ...

(Fabian Way) into Swansea and passes through the

Maritime Quarter The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to ...

. Just before the Maritime Quarter, it crosses National Cycle Route 43. It then follows the seafront promenade along

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay () is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The sh ...

Blackpill Incel ( ; a portmanteau of "involuntary celibate") is a term associated with an online subculture of mostly male and heterosexual people who define themselves as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. They often ...

where it turns north up the Clyne Valley cycle track passing the village of

Dunvant Dunvant (, and ) is a suburban district and Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Dunvant (electoral ward), Dunvant ward. It is situated in a valley some 4.5 miles west of Swansea city ce ...

until it reaches

Gowerton Gowerton ( ) is a large village and community, about northwest of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The village falls within the Gowerton electora ...

. In Gowerton, the trail follows public roads to the south of

Loughor Loughor (; ) is a town in Swansea, Wales. Historic counties of Wales, Historically in Glamorgan, it lies on the estuary of the River Loughor (). The town has a community (Wales), community council under the name Llwchwr. The town is bordered by ...

towards the Loughor bridge. Once over the Loughor bridge it continues along the Millennium Coastal Path to the south of

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

Llanelli to Fishguard

NCR 4 follows the Millennium Coastal Path along the south

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

coast. Between Pembroke and Haverfordwest, NCR follows the route of a disused railway called the Brunel Trail and crosses over the

Cleddau Bridge The Cleddau Bridge (, ) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, carries the A477 road over the River Cleddau between Neyland and Pembroke Dock. Errors in the box girder design caused the collapse during construction in 1970. The bridge became operational duri ...

References

External links

Sustrans National Routes
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Cycle Route 04 National Cycle Routes Cycleways in Wales Cycleways in England Cycleways in London Transport in Pembrokeshire Transport in Carmarthenshire Transport in Swansea Transport in Neath Port Talbot Transport in Bridgend County Borough Transport in Rhondda Cynon Taf Transport in Caerphilly County Borough Transport in Newport, Wales Transport in Monmouthshire Transport in Bristol Cycling in Somerset Transport in Wiltshire Transport in Berkshire Transport in Buckinghamshire Transport in Surrey Transport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Transport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Transport in the London Borough of Wandsworth