Route

Parts of the route are currently incomplete.

Burton on Trent to Measham

Burton on Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

, Swadlincote ,

Church Gresley Church Gresley is a large village and former civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The village is situated between Castle Gresley and the town of Swadlincote, with which it is contiguous. By the time of the 2011 ...

, Moira ,

Donisthorpe Donisthorpe is a village in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, historically an exclave of Derbyshire. History In 1086 Donisthorpe was part of the land given to Nigel of Stafford by William the Conqueror. It w ...

Measham Measham is a large village in the North West Leicestershire district in Leicestershire, England, near the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire boundaries. It lies off the A42, 4½ miles (7.25 km) south of Ashby de la Zouch, in the Natio ...

In Burton on Trent the route now starts and ends at the

Trent & Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Midd ...

in Shobnall at the start of the Kingfisher Trail and forms a junction with National Cycle Network Route 54. The section from Shobnall to the town centre was signed in June 2013. Sutrans milepost Shobnall Feb 2012

The route has signed links to Burton Railway Station and runs close to the Brewery buildings which dominate the town. The route leaves Burton via Burton & South Derbyshire College over the Trent Washlands via the off-road Victorian Stapenhill Viaduct and Ferry Bridge (refurbished 2015-2016) prior to a climb up out of Burton via side streets onto the A444. At the border with

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

in Stanton, the route is currently incomplete but is planned to link through Newhall on an existing bridleway, then continue to Swadlincote via new off-road sections around a golf course which is currently under construction. Route 63 maurice lea park

The route passes through the heart of Swadlincote town centre where it is necessary to dismount, then climbs out of town via the Pipeworks retail park. The route continues into

and cuts off-road through Maurice Lea Memorial Park. After a descent down Thorpe Downs Road, the route joins the ''Conkers Circuit'' and an off-road section leading through the heart of the National Forest for 6 miles to

Much of this section is built on the former Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway which also forms part of the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail. Places the route passes through on this section are Spring Cottage, Moira and

. The path passes close to the Conkers Caravan and Camping site and also the National Forest Youth Hostel. At Donisthorpe there is a signed link to the ''National Forest Cycle Centre'' at Hicks Lodge, though an off-road route via Moira Furnace is currently under construction. There is also an alternative section between Church Gresley and Donisthorpe signposted (63) which uses the Conkers Circuit anti-clockwise, via Albert Village, Conkers and the Ashby Canal via Moira Furnace. The 2 alternative routes make a 7-mile round circuit. The route diverts briefly under the A42 on approach to Measham; after a further mile the off-road section ends at the Library and Leisure Centre. This section of the route could be set for major change in the future as there are plans to complete the Ashby Canal through Measham and surrounding area with the likelihood that route 63 will follow the new canal. The recently announced route for HS2 rail link passes through Measham and if this goes ahead in its initial format and will bring a significant impact to the village. File:NCN 63 near Conkers 2.jpg, NCN 63 near Conkers File:NCN 63 near Measham.jpg, NCN 63 near Measham File:NCN (63) near Moira Furnace.jpg, NCN (63)on Ashby Canal spur near Moira Furnace

Measham to Leicester

Ibstock Ibstock is a former coal mining town and civil parish about south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was 5,760 at the 2001 census increasing to 6,201 at the 2011 census. The town is on the ...

, Thornton , Glenfield , Leicester The route continues onto the traffic calmed High Street in Measham then turns onto Bosworth Road which leads out into the Leicestershire countryside. Whilst this is an on road section, it is typically quiet. The first main point of interest is Newton Burgoland village. The route then crosses National Cycle Route 52 before reaching the hamlet of

Odstone Odstone is a hamlet and former civil parish, now in the parish of Shackerstone, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It stands on a marked promontory of high ground between two river valleys. In 1931 the parish had ...

. At this point the route turns left, heading for Ibstock. After crossing the A447 the route passes through a ford then turns onto the off-road section through Battram Wood for just over a mile before joining the road again through Bagworth & Thornton, passing directly past

Thornton Reservoir Thornton Reservoir is a small reservoir situated in the National Forest near the village of Thornton in Leicestershire. It has a surface area of and a perimeter of . It was originally built in 1854 when it had its own treatment works which we ...

. Shortly after the reservoir is a 2-mile section mainly off-road through woodlands before arriving in

Ratby Ratby is a commuter village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated to the west of Leicester, and just south of the M1 motorway. ( Groby is on the northern side of the M1.) The popula ...

. File:Ncn63 Battram Wood 1.jpg , Off-road section through Battram Wood near Ibstock File:Ncn63 Battram Wood 2.jpg , Final Battram Wood Stage in direction of Bagworth on NCN63 An off-road section then takes NCN63 over the M1 and A46 into the Glenfield area of Leicester.

Leicester to Oakham

Leicester , Goadby ,

Oakham Oakham is the county town of Rutland in the East Midlands of England, east of Leicester, south-east of Nottingham and west of Peterborough. It had a population of 10,922 in the 2011 census, estimated at 11,191 in 2019. Oakham is to the west o ...

Oakham to Peterborough

Rutland Water Rutland Water is a reservoir in Rutland, England, east of Rutland's county town, Oakham. It is filled by pumping from the River Nene and River Welland, and provides water to the East Midlands. By surface area it is the largest reservoir in En ...

, Stamford ,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

Peterborough to Wisbech

March, Cambridgeshire March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. It was the county town of the Isle of Ely which was a separate administrative county from 1889 to 1965. The administrative centre of Fenland D ...

Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland port and civil parish in the Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bordering Norfolk and only 5 miles ...

References

External links

National Route 63 on the Sustrans website.

CONKERS
*The Conkers Circui

National Forest Cycle Centre {{DEFAULTSORT:National Cycle Route 63 National Cycle Routes