Nottingham to Newark Cycle Route


Cycle Route Details
Route NameNottingham to Newark
Distance(miles)25
Duration(hh:mm)2:30
Difficulty1/10
Cycle Route Location
CountryEngland
Town/CityNottingham
County/RegionNottinghamshire
Start LocationNottingham Market Square
End LocationNewark Castle
Cycle Steps
1. Nottingham–Newark is a pleasant 25ish mile ride between the two major population centres in south Notts. It also forms part of the Nottingham–Lincoln route, which is made by joining this route to the Newark–Lincoln route that Sustrans have provided (this is available in the form of two leaflets detailing part of cycle route 64, Newark–Harby and Harby–Lincoln. They're both available from Sustrans, free, or they can be downloaded from www.sustrans.org (http://www.sustrans.org/webfiles/leaflets/Harby-Lincoln.pdf and I'm not sure where they do the Newark to Harby on. Write to them and ask for on, I guess). I will be detailing it soonish (I rode it a couple of weeks ago.)
2. This route is based on a number of things, such as Sustrans Routes 15 and 64 and my own experience. It is, however, most heavily based on the cycle route for Nottingham–Newark that appears in the book “City, County, Forest”, a list of forty bike routes in the county of Nottinghamshire published jointly by Notts CTC and Pedals (a local cycling campaign group.) It's available for £9.95 from Nottingham Tourist Information Centre and probably the other TICs in Notts also. Failing that, try the Pedals website (www.pedals.org.uk) I'm not plagiarising this – this description is based upon my own experiences – but I am admitting that my own experiences were, in turn, heavily based on the City, County, Forest route and so giving credit to the book, which is excellent by the way – anyone planning to do any cycling in Notts should buy a copy.
3. Anyway, the first thing to do is to get south of the Trent. From the Market Square there are many ways of doing this but here's my preferred one: From the southwest corner of the Square head up Friar Lane the turn left into Spaniel Row. Turn right at Castle Gate then left almost straight away onto Maid Marian Way (one of the busiest roads in Nottingham – stay in the Bus/Cycle Lane.) Ride down and round the corner to the traffic lights then pull off the road and cross at the lights to the central reservation. Turn left here and cross again, then ride straight on along the cycle path till the next set of lights (on your left.) Don't cross them, go straight on across Carrington Street then turn right down Carrington Street, riding the cycle path on the pavement. (If this seems complex and awkward, it is. The lack of a clear and simple north-south cycle route across the city has been a gripe for Nottingham cyclists for some time. There's an alternative to this that's arguably better, but it involves riding on the pavement down Wheeler Gate (the wrong way down a one-way street) then down Albert Street and Lister Gate (pedestrianised – but I think it's OK to cycle, there's no signs banning it) and then wheeling it through the Broad Marsh shopping centre (or riding it and risking the security guards stopping you) whereupon you come out at that second set of lights I mentioned. Cross them, turn left and cross Carrington Street then turn right down the pavement cycle path)
4. Anyway, ride the cycle path c. 50 yards till you get to a Toucan crossing Canal Street. Cross here and continue straight on up Carrington Street past the train station and go straight on at the lights into Arkwright Street. Bear right, following the cycle signs going off road and under an underpass into Arkwright Walk – a shared use footpath. This comes out in a shopping area, at which you turn left then turn right up Arkwright Walk – shared use again. Go straight on (and I mean straight) for about a half mile whereupon you cross Bathley Street at the crossing, Keep going straight on along the pavement cycle path heading for Trent Bridge, which you should be able to see by now. According to the cycle map of Nottingham there's an off-road cycle route over the bridge on the right-hand pavement, but I've never seen one. So cross the road just before the bridge (there's a crossing) and cycle over the bridge on the left hand side, on the pavement if you want. Turn left straight away to ride along the river.
5. The path now heads out past the Forest Ground to Holme Pierrepont, about 2 miles away. It's a pleasant enough ride along the riverside. At the end, you come to a gate to a boat club. Turn right here down another path and then turn left down Adbolton Lane. Carry on down here past Holme Pierrepont Watersports Centre. The road become Holme Lane and at one point becomes unsurfaced and full of potholes (it's a private stretch of road usable by cyclists. Sometimes the gates are shut to cars, but bikes can get round them). After this, it soon becomes The Green and comes to a junction, at which you turn left and head on into Radcliffe on Trent.
6. Now here we divert from Sustrans, whose proposed route 15 takes you to Bingham along a pavement cycle path next to a really busy road. Ignore that, turn left up Shelford Road (at the junction with the Co-Op on the corner), climb the hill over the Railway Bridge and keep going. You get to a crossroads, go straight on heading for Newton. Just before Newton, turn left heading for East Bridgford There's a traffic light controlled junction over the A6097, go straight on. In East Bridgford, you get to another crossroads, turn right down Main Street heading for Car Colston. Soon you come to a junction with the A46, turn left onto it for 300 yards then right signed Car Colston. It's a busy road so take care. In Car Colston, at the cricket pitch turn left signed Scriveton. Go straight through Scriveton, heading for Flintham down Flintham Lane (about 1½ miles.) Take the first right in Flintham signed Sibthorpe, taking you past the Boot and Shoe. This is roughly half way – maybe a place for a break?
7. After c. ½ mile, turn left, signed Sibthorpe and then take a sharp right hand bend and ride on into Sibthorpe. Turn right at the T‑junction and then take a sharp right hand bend down Church Lane heading for Top Green, around ½ mile away. Turn left here onto a stone surfaced bridleway and follow it past Firs Farm to a T‑junction with a road. Turn right and, after c. ¾ mile, turn left going over the bridge over the river Devon (pronounced Dee-von). Keep going down this road (it makes a sharp left) till you get to a T junction. The entrance to Sustrans Route 64 should be straight ahead (and signposted.)
8. You now head on the Sustrans Route 64, the details of which can be gained from a free leaflet available from Sustrans or downloadable from http://www.sustrans.org/webfiles/leaflets/Newark_to_Cotham.pdf. This is, apparently, much better than the road route I've always used previously, but I can't say as I've never done it (last time I did this route a couple of weeks ago I wandered off course at Sibthorpe and missed this whole section out.) But it's traffic free and a disused railway route and they tend to be good – very level. This takes you all the way into Newark. The best way to the Castle is probably to disembark from the Railway path at London Road, turn right up Harcourt Street, left up Barnby Gate. Turn right onto Appleton Gate then left down Slaughterhouse Lane. Go straight on at the Crossroads then straight on again over North Gate, following the road around to the left. The castle is then right in front of you.
9. Of course, if you're heading to Lincoln (and not stopping in Newark) then you stay on the Railway path till the end, where it disembarks onto Lincoln Street by the train station. Go down this and head to Lincoln... but that's a story for another time.
Landmarks/Sites to see?
Boot and Shoe, Car Colston Cricket Pitch

www.cycle-route.com