Between these, the route runs through

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

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 Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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 Fishgua ...

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 The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

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 Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. Previously known as Surrey Docks, the area was renamed following the construction of the Surrey Quays shopping ce ...

;

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 Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...

; 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 Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

* Chertsey (touristic town) or Laleham (shorter, towpath route) *

Staines Bridge Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines-upon-Thames and Egham Hythe. The brid ...

; Coopers Hill; Windsor Great Park; Windsor;

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

* 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 Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

;

At its east end, the route meanders mostly set about one "block" back from the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, 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 The Teddington Lock Footbridges are two footbridges over the River Thames in England, situated just upstream of Teddington Lock at Teddington. There is a small island between the bridges. The two footbridges were built between 1887 and 1889, ...

, 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 The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year. It was built by the cyc ...

, 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 South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

, and over the

Severn Bridge The Severn Bridge ( cy, Pont Hafren) is a motorway suspension bridge that spans the River Severn between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales. It is the original Severn road crossing between England and Wale ...

. 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 The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, UK located immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swans ...

. Just before the Maritime Quarter, it crosses

National Cycle Route 43 National Cycle Network, Route 43 is part of the National Cycle Network and the Celtic Trail, which connects Swansea with Builth Wells. Most of the route is still awaiting development. As of June 2006, there is a 13-mile section out of Swansea t ...

. 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 cit ...

until it reaches

Gowerton Gowerton ( cy, Tregŵyr) is a large village and Community (Wales), community, about 4 miles north west of Swansea city centre, Wales. Gowerton is often known as the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. Gowerton's original name was Ffosfelin. The villa ...

. 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 The Millennium Coastal Path is a pedestrian walkway and cycleway along the south coast of Carmarthenshire, providing a link between Llanelli and Pembrey Country Park. The cycleway forms a section of both the Celtic Trail cycle route (part of ...

to the south of

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

Llanelli to Fishguard

NCR 4 follows the

along the south Carmarthenshire coast. Between Pembroke and Haverfordwest, NCR follows the route of a disused railway called the Brunel Trail and crosses over the

Cleddau Bridge The Cleddau Bridge (, cy, Pont Cleddau) in Pembrokeshire, Wales, carries the A477 road over the River Cleddau between Neyland and Pembroke Dock. Errors in the box girder design caused the collapse during construction in 1970. The bridge becam ...

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