Between these, the route runs through Reading,

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,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

and St David's. 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 Fishgu ...

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 between London and Reading, and forms a junction with

NCR 5 Route Reading to Birmingham Didcot , Abingdon-on-Thames , Radley , Oxford , Banbury , Stratford upon Avon , Bromsgrove , Birmingham Route 5, as signposted between Stratford-upon-Avon and Birmingham, runs via Bromsgrove and at the lat ...

and NCR 23 at the latter. * Greenwich; Rotherhithe: Surrey Quays;

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

; Lambeth Bridge; Chelsea;

Imperial Wharf Chelsea Harbour is a contemporary mixed-use development in West London (sub region), West London, situated in its Sands End area, along Chelsea Creek, London, Chelsea Creek, the historic southeastern boundary of the London Borough of Hammersmith ...

; Putney Bridge * Richmond Park; Ham;

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

; Molesey; Walton on Thames * Chertsey (touristic town) or Laleham (shorter, towpath route) * Staines Bridge; Coopers Hill; Windsor Great Park; Windsor; Eton * Bray;

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

* Wargrave; Reading At its east end, the route meanders mostly set about one "block" back from the Thames, 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 at Ham, facing Teddington Lock Footbridges, until

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames 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 Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to ...

. 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 navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the cent ...

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, 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, and over the Severn Bridge. Passing through Chepstow, it then goes south, passing through

Caldicot Caldicot may refer to: * Caldicot, Buckinghamshire * Caldicot, Monmouthshire * Caldicot (hundred) * Caldicot Castle, Monmouthshire * Caldicot railway station, a part of the British railway system * Caldicot RFC, a Welsh rugby union club * Caldico ...

before arriving in

. The route passes to the north of the Newport Wetlands Reserve and across Newport Transporter Bridge 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. It then heads west towards Port Talbot. Near

Briton Ferry Briton Ferry ( cy, Llansawel) is a town and 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 derivative ...

, it crosses the A48 bridge and then follows the A483 road (Fabian Way) into Swansea and passes through the Maritime Quarter. Just before the Maritime Quarter, it crosses National Cycle Route 43. It then follows the seafront promenade along Swansea Bay to

Blackpill Blackpill (or Black Pill) is a suburban area of Swansea, Wales, beside Swansea Bay, about southwest of the city centre. Description Blackpill falls into the Mayals ward. The area is centred on a seafront building on Mumbles road, which onc ...

where it turns north up the

Clyne Valley The Clyne Valley Country Park is an area of parkland in Britain, at Swansea in south Wales. It lies on either side of the valley of the Clyne River and comprises an area of over of land running from the sea at Blackpill, Swansea, inland to Gowe ...

cycle track passing the village of

Dunvant Dunvant ( cy, Dyfnant) (Dyfn - deep; nant - stream or brook) is a suburban district and community (parish) in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Dunvant ward. It is situated in a valley some 4.5 miles west of Swansea city ...

until it reaches Gowerton. In Gowerton, the trail follows public roads to the south of Loughor towards the Loughor bridge. Once over the Loughor bridge it continues along the Millennium Coastal Path to the south of Llanelli.

Llanelli to Fishguard

NCR 4 follows the Millennium Coastal Path along the south Carmarthenshire coast. Between Pembroke and Haverfordwest, NCR follows the route of a disused railway called the

Brunel Trail Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

and crosses over the Cleddau Bridge.

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