Collecting street-level imagery of the UK’s National Cycle Network

Posted by:

David G, Chief Explorer

The network covers over 20,000km of the UK. With your help, we want to capture street-level images for every single one of those kilometers.

Last month I talked about a crowdsourced approach to mapping cycling infrastructure using 360 images using relatively low-cost kit.

Here in the UK, the National Cycle Network is made up of 8,400 km of traffic-free paths with the remaining 12,101 km on-road.

National Cycle Network UK

You can see the entire network interactively here.

Each route is numbered and the numbers follow a defined numbering system.

National Cycle Network UK Sign

When you’re on route, you can see the signposts indicating the number, direction, and towns/cities along each route.

According to Sustrans who act as custodians of the network, in 2019-20:

4.2 million people used the network
70.9 million car trips were saved by using the network
£1.64 billion was spent in local businesses by leisure and tourist users
£21.5 million was saved by the NHS through the Network’s impact on people’s health

With May and June gave us some brilliant weather here in the UK, me and my friends decided to make the best of it by taking to our bikes to explore some of the cycle network.

Here are some of the captures…

Bristol and Bath Railway Path (Path numbers: 4)

The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a 21 kilometer route on the National Cycle Network, connecting Bristol to Bath.

See Jim Gayes’s setup for capturing the 0.5km Staple Hill Tunnel along this route.

Above you can see the defunct Warmley Station now housing a great cafe for a rest stop that’s almost equidistant between the two cities.

More info: Sustrans website

Drakes Trail (Path numbers: 2, 27)

Drake’s Trail is a 22-mile walking and cycling route, starting in the maritime city of Plymouth and ending in Tavistock, on the wild western edges of Dartmoor.

More info: Sustrans website