The National Cycle Route 174 is part of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

in the United Kingdom. Part of it is known as ''The Sheerness Way''. When the route was first planned on Sheppey, passenger ferry services was still running to

Vlissingen Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The ferry was popular with cyclists and the expectation was that large numbers of European visitors would start their cycling journey at Sheerness. As a section of the

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal , Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. Leaves Dover passing Dover Castle. S ...

runs from

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in Kent, south-east England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient British trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons and next to the Swale, a strip of sea separa ...

to Rainham, and a link route also ran north (from

Kemsley Kemsley is a suburb of Sittingbourne in Kent, England. According to Edward Hasted, in 1798, who quoted Asserius Menevensis in his survey, the Danes built themselves a fortress or castle here in 893. At a place called 'Kemsley downe'. This then la ...

) up to the village of

Iwade Iwade is a village and civil parish north of the town of Sittingbourne in the English county of Kent. History Iwade was established in the late Medieval period, when it was a settlement linking Watling Street to the coast via Key Street (a st ...

and on to Minster and

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

on the

Isle of Sheppey The Isle of Sheppey is an island off the northern coast of Kent, England, neighbouring the Thames Estuary, centred from central London. It has an area of . The island forms part of the local government district of Swale. ''Sheppey'' is derived ...

. The ferry stopped running in 1994. But the council and

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 Kin ...

still carried on with the new cycle route. Construction on the circular route (the Sheppey Way) was started in July 2010 and planning permission was granted in October 2010. It was funded by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

and

. It was funded by

and Sustrans. The route was then launched in June 2011 as a 5.6 mile, 9 km flat route around Sheerness, which has been designed especially for family usage. 13% of the route is on-road and 87% is off-road. The route also links to a second route on the island leading to

Leysdown-on-Sea Leysdown-on-Sea is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Sheppey in the borough of Swale in Kent, England. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 936. The civil parish is Leysdown and includes the settlements of Bay View, Shellness and ...

, 'the Isle of Harty Trail'.

Route of Sheerness Way

Starts from

Barton's Point Coastal Park Barton's Point Coastal Park is on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, England. It lies between Minster and Sheerness. Within the park is a former military ditch/canal from Marine Parade (beside the coast) heading south-westerly towards West Minster ( ...

, on Marine Parade then heads west along the Queenborough Lines (former 19th century Naval Fortification) towards the western end of Sheerness and then it heads up via various housing suburb roads (which includes a

toucan crossing A toucan crossing is the British term for a type of pedestrian crossing that also allows bicycles to be ridden across. Since ''“two can”'' cross together (both pedestrians and cyclists) the name “toucan” was chosen. In the United Kingd ...

, before following the Fleet (river) towards

Blue Town Blue Town is a suburb of the town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. It sits on the A249 Brielle Way which runs from Queenborough to Sheerness. It sits just outside the dockyard wall which marks the boundary of Sheerness proper and toda ...

via Festival Field. Then it heads along the railway towards Sheerness-on-Sea railway station and then up to the beachfront (passing the large

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

Superstore). Then the route follows the

sea wall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

east, back to Barton's Point.

References

External links

Sheerness Way

Swale Cycling plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Cycle Route 174 Transport in Kent National Cycle Routes