The Bay Cycle Way is an cycling route around

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' ("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 The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) (Italian Touring Club or Touring Club of Italy) is the major Italian national tourist organization. The Touring Club Ciclistico Italiano (TCCI) was founded on 8 November 1894 by a group of bicyclists to promote the ...

("Inghilterra, Scozia e Galles in bicicletta, le ciclabili più belle per una vacanza green").

Route

The end points of the route are

Walney Island Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...

, west of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

, and

Glasson Dock Glasson Dock, also known as Glasson, is a village in Lancashire, England, south of Lancaster at the mouth of the River Lune. In 2011, it had a population of around 600. History Glasson was originally a small farming and fishing community (whi ...

, a former port on the

River Lune The River Lune (archaically sometimes Loyne) is a river in length in Cumbria and Lancashire, England. Etymology Several elucidations for the origin of the name ''Lune'' exist. Firstly, it may be that the name is Brittonic in genesis and der ...

south west of Lancaster. The route goes inland to

Milnthorpe Milnthorpe is a small market town on the southern border of Cumbria, 7 miles south of Kendal, civil parish and electoral ward are in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Westmorland and on the A6, ...

to cross the

River Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...

at Levens Bridge, near

Levens Hall Levens Hall is a manor house in the Kent valley, near the village of Levens and south of Kendal in Cumbria, Northern England. History The first house on the site was a pele tower built by the Redman family in around 1350. Much of the prese ...

, 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 Arnside is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, historically part of Westmorland, near the border with Lancashire, England. The Lake District National Park is located a few miles North. Travelling by road, Arnside is to the south of Kendal, ...

, 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 Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census to ...

, ascending Bigland Hill (between Bigland Tarn and

Bigland Barrow Bigland Barrow is a hill in the English Lake District, near Backbarrow, Cumbria. It is the subject of a chapter of Alfred WainwWainwright's book ''The Outlying Fells of Lakeland''. It reaches , and there is a concrete lookout tower on the summit w ...

, 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 i ...

. 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: *

Rampside Rampside is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it is located a few miles south-east of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, in the north-western corner of Morecambe Bay on the Furness peninsula. History There is evidence t ...

Roosebeck Roosebeck is a hamlet in South Lakeland, Cumbria, England, on the north west coast of Morecambe Bay. It is in the civil parish of Aldingham. Roosebeck is on the A5087 road, the coastal route from Ulverston to Barrow-in-Furness via Rampside, and ...

() *

Greenodd Greenodd is a village in the Furness area of the county of Cumbria, England, but within the historical county of Lancashire. For local government purposes the village is also within the area of South Lakeland District. It is located 3 miles (5 ...

Cartmel Cartmel is a village in Cumbria, England, northwest of Grange-over-Sands close to the River Eea. The village takes its name from the Cartmel Peninsula, and was historically known as Kirkby in Cartmel. The village is the location of the 12t ...

Cark Cark (sometimes Cark in Cartmel) is a village in Cumbria, England. It lies on the B5278 road to Haverthwaite (and to the A590 road) and is ½ mile north of Flookburgh, 2 miles southwest of Cartmel and 3 miles west of Grange-over-Sands. It is ...

Flookburgh Flookburgh is an ancient village on the Cartmel peninsula in Cumbria, England, until 1974 part of Lancashire. Being close to Morecambe Bay, cockle and shrimp fishing plays a big part in village life. Flookburgh is sometimes thought to derive ...

Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...

() *

crossing at Levens Bridge *

() * Silverdale *

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

(outskirts) () *

Hest Bank Hest may refer to: * Ari Hest (born 1979), American singer-songwriter * Greg van Hest (born 1973), Dutch runner * ''Hest'', an album by the Norwegian band Kakkmaddafakka See also * Hest Bank, a village in England {{disambiguation, surnam ...

* Morecambe () * Lancaster () *

()

References

External links

Map of route
from

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...

and

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

Description including elevation profile
Cycleways in England National Cycle Routes Transport in Cumbria Transport in the City of Lancaster {{cycling-stub

Route

References

Further reading

External links