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 70 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

Walney Island Walney Island, also known as the Isle of Walney, is an island off the west coast of England, at the western end of Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea. It is part of Barrow-in-Furness, separated from the mainland by Walney Channel, which is spanned b ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

to Sunderland. The route is fully open and signed. From end to end the route is , but two sections are shared with other NCN routes leaving Route 70 at .

History

Route 70 is the original route of the W2W challenge route which was launched on 1 June 2005. When launched the route used sections of NCN Routes 72, 68 and 71 west of the Pennines. From Tan Hill to Sunderland a new Regional Route was created and given the number 20, with a blue background. In 2012, after improvements to meet

standards, it was upgrade to Route 70. Route signs were changed to the number 70 with a red background. Around the same time the sections on the route that had previously been Route 71 and 72 were re-signed as Route 70.

Route

Walney to Oxenholme

The eastern section is . From Walney Island in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

it goes on to the industrial port of

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of B ...

. It then runs through the

Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...

peninsula, passing the towns of

Ulverston Ulverston is a market town and a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 census the parish had a population of 11,524, increasing at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census to ...

and the picturesque

Grange-Over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...

where the route follows the Promenade. The route continues to skirt the Lake District national park to

Oxenholme Oxenholme is a village in England just south of the town of Kendal, with which it has begun to merge. It is best known for Oxenholme Lake District railway station on the West Coast Main Line. Because Oxenholme does not have its own church it ...

, with a short branch from there to the historical market town of Kendal

Oxenholme to Barnard Castle

The central section is . On reaching the Lune Valley the route joins the Pennine Cycleway (Route 68) and is signed accordingly from there for the miles to Asby. After this, the path continues as Route 70 moving in an easterly direction towards

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penri ...

and through the Pennines to Barnard Castle in County Durham. The highest point on the route is at Tan Hill, .

Barnard Castle to Sunderland

The eastern section is . Continuing through Hamsterley, to reach the beautiful cathedral city of

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

. Regional Route 715 between Barnard Castle and Willington is an alternative W2W route, it is shorter and an easier ride via Bishop Auckland. From Durham the route joins Route 14 for until Sherburn from where it continues is via Hetton Lyons Park to its eastern trailhead at Silksworth, Sunderland where it meets Route 1.

Related NCN routes

Route 70 meets the following routes: * Route 700 at Barrow in Furness, Ulverston, Cartmel, Grange-over-Sands and Levens * Route 6 at Crosscrake and Natland * Route 68 at Lowgill and Asby * Route 71 at Tan Hill * Route 165 at Barnard Castle * Route 715 at Willington * Route 14 at Durham and Sherburn * Route 1 at Sunderland Route 70 is part of the W2W along with: Route 70 is part of the Bay Cycle Way along with:

Footnotes

External links

Route 70 on the Sustrans web siteThe official website of the W2WWearside Sustrans website with links to details on the route in Wearside
{{NCN , state=collapsed Cycleways in England National Cycle Routes