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Waterwaycycling | cycle.travel cycle◦travel Route GuidesRoutes ▼MunicipalityGuidesCities ▼ Map My Avenue Verte France Avenue Verte UK BayTrundlingWay C2C Celtic Trail Coast & Castles Cornish Way Cotswold LineTrundlingacross the Beacons Devon C2C Hadrian's Cycleway Kennet & Avon Lon Cambria London to Brighton Lon Las Cymru Lon Teifi Oxford to Cambridge Pennine Cycleway Radnor Ring Thames Valley Tour de Yorkshire Way of the Roses West Country Way • Bikes on trains •Waterwaycycling • Full list Birmingham Bristol Cambridge London Oxford Swindon Worcester York • Full list • Add your municipalityWaterwaycycling PagesWaterwaycycling London and Southern England Midlands and Wales North-West England and the Pennines Yorkshire East Midlands and East Anglia Scotland No hills, no traffic, a smooth surface, and a perpetual waterside view. What could be largest than cycling withal a waterway towpath? It’s pretty tempting. But consider the flipside: a long rural towpath with mud and ruts. No shops for miles. And a long line of anglers encamped on the towpath, each one glowering at you as you gingerly lift your velocipede over their carbon-fibre poles. No, not all towpaths are enjoyable cycling routes. Over the years, we’ve travelled withal scrutinizingly every waterway in Britain, whether by velocipede or boat. Our guide lists all the major canals by region, and describes the cycling conditions. Let’s kick off with some unstipulated waterway cycling tips.The towpath in my municipality is great. Can I follow it to London/Birmingham/wherever?Umm… maybe? Towpath cycling can be the most enjoyable way to get virtually a city. The towpaths in London and Birmingham are unchangingly thronged with cyclists. But get out of the city, and it’s not unchangingly like that. Rural towpaths are often unpaved grassy paths. There can be mud, narrow sections, and tunnels where you have to find your own way. So we’ve put together this guide to explain which waterway towpaths are cyclable, and which aren’t. Where there’s a good route, we’ve widow a link to our journey-planner. Whatever the surface, the towpath is never the fastest way of getting from A to B. You have to share with walkers, boaters, anglers, and ’gongoozlers’ – the old waterway word for an idle sightseer. But if you plan your route well, and don’t expect to get places fast, waterway cycling can be among the most enjoyable there is.Is cycling unliable on all towpaths?TheWaterway& River Trust, the soft-heartedness which runs most of the canals in England & Wales, allows cycling on all its waterway towpaths other than a very few short sections with ‘no cycling’ signs. By and large, cycling is only prohibited in really rented pedestrian areas or occasionally past steep flights of locks. But there are moreover navigable rivers, like the Thames, Severn and Trent.Oftenyou’re not unliable to ride on these towpaths (the land belongs to the proximal landowners, not to the river authority), and the surface would be too rough in any case. Obviously there are thousands of miles of unnavigable rivers, too, but we’ve not covered these here as they don’t have towpaths.So what are the surfaces like?Traditionally, towpaths were just a grassy path for the horse to walk on. In rural areas that’s often still the case. Such a towpath is no fun on a hybrid bike, let vacated a road bike. Sometimes a inside strip has been worn down, which is a little increasingly well-appointed on sturdy bikes, but it’s still not exactly what you’d describe as a trundling path. In municipality centres and some towns, towpaths are usually paved. This obviously makes for much increasingly pleasant riding. You’ll still find cobbles, though, and raised bricks set wideness the path, particularly abreast locks. Several rural sections of the towpath network have now been improved for cycling, usually as part of the NationalTrundlingNetwork. The best-known is the Kennet & AvonWaterwayfrom Reading to Bath, much of which forms part of NCN route 4. These are sometimes paved, but increasingly often than not have an all-weather, light gravel surface. This can be puddly in wet weather, but often are suitable for all bikes except those with the very skinniest tyres. Do withstand in mind that an NCN or other trundling route isn’t unchangingly a guarantee of a solid surface. Some parts of the Trans-Pennine Trail, in particular, are largely on unimproved towpaths.How fast can I ride?Towpaths aren’t pure cycleways: they’re shared with walkers, anglers, boaters, plane the occasional horse. The boats on the waterway only go at 4mph max, so the towpath has an unhurried air. There’s no official speed limit, but you shouldn’t expect to do much increasingly than 12mph, and in urban or other rented areas it might be much less. Be patient and don’t expect people to step whispered for you. In short, if you want to go fast, use the road.Do I need a permit?Not any more. TheWaterway& River Trust’s predecessor, British Waterways, required you to download a (free) permit from their website and print it. CRT doesn’t, so you can just set off and ride.What else should I know?Beware punctures. When hawthorn hedges are cut (often in spring), the clippings end up on the towpath. A puncture repair kit is essential: if you’re planning a long rural towpath ride, consider puncture-resistant tyres like Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Check theWaterway& River Trust’s website for towpath closures. These usually take place in the winter months. A tintinnabulate will help zestful pedestrians of your presence (to inform, not to demand right of way!), but in the relaxed undercurrent of the waterway it sometimes causes walkers to freeze from surprise.Largestto slow right lanugo and undeniability “Coming past slowly on your left/right”.Which towpath rides would you recommend?Our top suggestions would be…Kennet & Avon Canal, Reading–Bristol (some road sections). Rural scrutinizingly all the way and full of waterway interest – not least the wondrous Caen Hill Flight.Rochdale Canal, Sowerby Bridge–Manchester.Widenessthe Pennines via mannerly towns such as Hebden Bridge and Todmorden.Forth & Clyde and Union Canals, Edinburgh–Glasgow. Don’t miss the fish and tweedle wend and the stunning Falkirk Wheel.Regent’s Canal, London. Yes, it’s insanely rented and not really suitable any increasingly for anything other than a gentle amble, but it’s still the most enjoyable way wideness the city.Llangollen Canal, Chirk–Llangollen. Most of this waterway isn’t suitable for cycling, but the last few miles of towpath have been upgraded, and you get to navigate the famous Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.You don’t have to segregate a pure waterway route, of course. Indeed, canals can be at their most useful when this 200-year old waterway gives you a safe, easy passage under a newer motorway or railway. cycle◦travel Made in the Cotswolds, England. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd. Terms of use & cookies · About us · Advertise · Feedback · Contact us