Sustrans in Sheffield
From Pedalpushers
NEW Sustrans in Sheffield Blog
(This isn't on the National Cycle Network, but it's what we aspire to)
The National Cycle Network is a walking network that you can also cycle on. It consists of approximately 10,000 mile of signed route, one-third of which is off-road either on converted disused railways or specially designed routes. It provides leisurely rural routes which require a minimum of effort to follow, and traffic-free or traffic-calmed routes in urban areas that can provide spinal routes for commuters, shoppers, or leisure cyclists seeking to avoid the stress of the general road network.
Sheffield has approximately 17kms of National Cycle Network, much of which is also part of the Trans -Pennine Trail. The Network enters Sheffield from the north at Grenoside, from where it swoops down through Parsons Cross, skirting around Ecclesfield, to join the Chapeltown Greenway (which doesn't yet get to Chapeltown) with a route choice at this point to take you towards Wentworth and on to Leeds and York. This will take you down to Meadowhall, where you can take to the Chesterfield Canal towards Rotherham or join the Five Weirs Walk towards the City Centre alongside the River Don, currently our flagship section including the spectacular Bailey and Cobweb bridges.
The Trans-Pennine Trail splits off at Centretainment to head up towards Sheffield Airport, looping around through Bowden Howsteads ancient woodland to join the NCN again at Mosborough Parkway. The City Centre link has come up from Victoria Wharf via Manor Way and Waltheof, along the side of the Parkway, to reach this point.The combined routes then head for Beighton and Rother Valley Country Park, where route 6 heads for Worksop, Clumber Park and Nottingham, whilst route 67 follows the valley down to the TPT terminus at Chesterfield.
A further route that is under development is the North Don Trail, which will eventually link the NCN at Oughtibridge through to the City Centre by a more direct, level route.
The Riverside Bridge on the emerging North Don Trail
No-one would claim that the Network is perfect in the Sheffield area. It passes through some of the most deprived areas in the city and the main problems are general litter, broken glass, fly-tipping, vandalism, poor quality surfaces and off-road motorcycling. The June 2007 storms severely damaged the network.
The council has not provided a maintenance regime for the network, so all work that goes on is re-active - reliant on people reporting problems.
There are about 20 rangers looking after the Network in the area, about 10 of whom are based in Sheffield. We are always looking for additional rangers to help us take on the massive task of looking after the network in the area. We occasionally organise clean-up sessions on some of the worst affected areas.
Rangers help in many ways -firstly by maintaining a presence on the Network, that reassures users and deters potential abusers. The minimum requirement is to ride or walk your section of route once a month and note & report problems - how hard is that? What you don't have to do, and indeed are actively discouraged from doing, is confront anyone you see involved in anti-social behaviour. If you feel inspired to do a bit of litter-picking or maintenance work, however, we will support you in every way we can.
We maintain links with Streetforce, the police and the city council to try to resolve these problems. As well as being a network ranger, you can be an "office ranger" and help us with the administrative tasks involved with keeping up the Network.
The Sustrans Liaison Ranger for Sheffield is Simon Geller, and he can be contacted via sustranssheffield at blueyonder dot co dot uk. If you would like to become a ranger by all means contact Simon first. You will then have to complete the form on the
Sustrans Volunteer Ranger site
See here for more information on the Trans-Pennnine Trail
Reports from Sustrans Rangers in the area will be posted here.
Here's the latest one from Paul and Pip in [Chesterfield]
Here's one from Mike in Tinsley
For the latest news from the Five Weirs Walk click here
Sreport Simon's latest report (Sheffield & Beyond)
