The National Cycle Network (NCN) has been created by Sustrans along with its local authority and other partners, with a helping hand from the National Lottery through the Millennium Commission. The Sustrans web site contains lots of info on the network as a whole and much more, e.g. on the route numbering system. You can use the interactiove mapping system down to quite a detailed level - get access via the North of England page and click on the map in the area you want to zoom in to. See also the NCN national map (large pdf file).

The NCN numbering system is a bit (but not exactly) like the national UK road numbering system. NCN Route 1 goes up the east coast of England, entering the region at Redcar, coming up via Sunderland, crossing the Tyne at the Shields ferry and continuing northwards towards Berwick. Route 7 starts in this region, but heads east and then north for Inverness!

Other routes with double digits fill the gaps. For example Route 72 (Hadrian's Cycle Route) enters from the west along the Tyne Valley on the north bank of the river and ends at Tynemouth. Route 14 wanders around a bit, starting at Barnard Castle in County Durham, goes north east to Hartlepool, then comes back north west via Durham City to Consett, and then finally heads back east along the south bank of the Tyne to South Shields.

In this region you should note that the well known Sea to Sea (C2C) route, which predated the creation of the NCN and the numbering system, use bits of lots of routes and does not have its own unique number. Look on the Sustrans site's C2C page or the dedicated C2C Guide web site for more information.

Not every NCN route has its own map - go to the Sustrans long distance route page to see which maps exist. Look out for:
- Coast and Castles (Newcastle to Edinburgh)
- Three Rivers (County Durham)
- C2C
- Hadrian's Cycle Route - Pennine Cycleway (North)

The basic NCN sign is shown top right, but you may see the white on red number in a number of formats, such as in the photograph.

Regional routes

Regional routes are being developed to complement the major national routes. The National Cycle Network map above shows two regional routes in this part of the country. They appear in blue - Route 10 (the Reivers Cycle Route) and Route 20 (Walney to Wear). The former has a route map (not produced by Sustrans buit in a similar format) and the W2W does have a Sustrans map.

Local routes

Many local councils have defined cycle routes for either (or both) commuting and recreation. Some are signed and some have maps to go with them. There are also maps which show routes (both on and off road) that are not signed but are recommended. Some are on-line and others have to be requested from the realvant local authority.

We'll put details here as soon as we can, but see our cycle routes links page for information for the time being.

This page last updated 22 October 2008.