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 ...

(NCN) Route 62 is a

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 ...

National Route that runs from

Fleetwood Fleetwood is a coastal town in the Borough of Wyre in Lancashire, England, at the northwest corner of the Fylde. It had a population of 25,939 at the 2011 census. Fleetwood acquired its modern character in the 1830s, when the principal lando ...

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse, with a population at the 2011 census of 14,731. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire until ...

. As of 2018 the route has a missing section between Preston and

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

but is otherwise open and signed.

History

Much of route 62 was created as part of the

Trans Pennine Trail The Trans Pennine Trail is a long-distance path running from coast to coast across Northern England entirely on surfaced paths and using only gentle gradients (it runs largely along disused railway lines and canal towpaths). It forms part of ...

, a

long-distance path A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

running from coast to coast across

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

. It forms part of European walking route E8. It was given the route number 62 in reference to the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of th ...

which it running parallel to between Liverpool and Selby.

Route

Fleetwood to Hutton

The western trailhead is in Fleetwood. The route follows the coast on traffic-free paths to Lytham St Annes via Blackpool. From Lytham, the route follows minor roads to the western outskirts of Preston. Passing through the city centre the route reaches Hutton. From here to the northern edge of Southport the route has yet to be determined.

Southport to Stockport

Jubilee Bridge taken from The Runcorn side - panoramio

From Southport to

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...

the route is extensively traffic-free. It is mainly made up of old railway lines including the Liverpool Loop Line through the city's eastern suburbs. Continuing on canals and old railway lines between Widnes and Altrincham. The route then follows the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

though

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

southern suburbs to reach Stockport.

Stockport to Selby

Route 62 continues from Stockport on a mixture of traffic-free and on-road routes. From Hadfield it crosses the

Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire, it extends into Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. It includes the Dark Peak, where moorla ...

, heading up the Longdendale valley via the

Longdendale Trail The Longdendale Trail is an English long-distance rail trail following the former Woodhead railway line, which ran between Manchester and Sheffield and closed east of Hadfield in 1981. It has shallow gradients and a smooth surface that mak ...

to Woodhead, then down through

Dunford Bridge Dunford Bridge is a remote hamlet in the civil parish of Dunford, lying northwest of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, from the border with West Yorkshire and from the border with Derbyshire. It lies in the Peak District, west of Peni ...

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

. The eastern trailhead is in

where it meets Route 65.

Local routes and trails

Several sections of Route 62 are signed as local routes or trails. These include: *

* Liverpool Loop Line * Slow Tour of Yorkshire Stage 14: Barnsley to Old Moor RSPB Reserve * Slow Tour of Yorkshire Stage 15: Penistone to Dunford Bridge * Slow Tour of Yorkshire Stage 17: Doncaster to Conisbrough

Related NCN routes

Route 62 meets the following routes: * Route 622 at Preston * Route 6 at Preston and Reddish Vale * Route 55 at Preston, East Didsbury and Stockport * Route 56 at Liverpool * Route 82 at Widness and Stretford * Route 85 at West Didsbury * Route 558 at Stockport * Route 68 at Charlesworth and Dunford Bridge * Route 627 at Millhouse and Green Oxspring * Route 67 at Barnsley and Brampton * Route 65 at Selby Route 62 is part of the Trans Pennine Trail (east) along with Route 65. Route 62 is part of the Pennine Cycleway along with Route 68.

References

External links

Route 62 on Sustrans
{{NCN , state=collapsed Cycleways in England Pennines Transport in Merseyside