cycle town newark

[jawaka]

My sister has moved to Newark on Trent and having visited a few times it is a real cycle town; cyclists are of all ages young, middle aged and elderly on a variety of bikes mostly roadster type mountain, and hardly any sport bikes, and nearly everybody is without a helmet and in normal clothes, no hiviz or lycra.People are clearly using the bike as practical transport The centre is traffic free and the town is sufficiently small to be an easy cyclable distance. I' don't know about buses but i think the bike is probably more practical in view of distances vs. wait time at the bus stop. It's not hilly either.
I don't think i've come across a town where bike use is like the 1950s
An awful lot of cyclists, including the posties, use the pavements when away from the centre

[Big T]

I go to Newark quite a bit, usually on my bike (I live about 20 miles away). You do see a lot of cyclists around. I think being flat helps and the traffic is really bad, so a bike is the best way to get around for many. I went through it last Saturday and the road by the Castle was completely jammed up with cars.

It's a nice place to visit, with several nice cafes (Gannets, Feeling Peckish) and a nice place to have a walk round, as the centre is entirely traffic free.

[Ayesha]

Why doesn't that surprise me?

The town centre is at 12 m above sea level and the first 20 m contour is over a kilometre away.

The steepest hill is the railway bridge.

The town centre is a clone of hundreds of other 'town centres'.

[DavidT]

And Newark also has an excellent aircraft museum, well linked on a signed cycle path/route from the railway station through Winthorpe. (Albeit having to cross the A46 at a roundabout).

For those people interested in such things, the Newark Air Museum makes a point of having frequent open days where you can gain access to the aircraft cockpits, including Vulcan, Canberra and Shackleton. Try doing that at Duxford! There is also a great tea room (beyond the pay desk...).

The Sustrans route to the south of the town is pretty good, well surfaced with tarmac from the rail station to the edge of town and good compacted gravel beyond towards the Vale of Belvoir. Plenty of good cycling roads in that area but the Sustrans/railway line route is useful for speeds of traffic do increase as traffic goes to and from Newark. There is also a well sign posted route north up to Harby.

[Ian Raleigh]

When i'm going through around Newark i don't think i've ever encountered bullying by car drivers and they all overtake
you carefully and safely, i've always planned to go to Winthorpe and have another neb at the Museum but getting
over the A46 roundabout is just about impassable by bike, this spot is very very dangerous for a cyclist.

[thirdcrank]

... this spot is very very dangerous for a cyclist.

I suspect it would be dangerous for anybody not in a main battle tank.

[sean178]

well hello to you all from newark.
we are quite lucky, we have a pretty good cycle path network.

there are plenty of really good places to visit, including a new micro pub that sells NOTHING but real ale from micro breweries
if anyone wants to know the name of the pub or where it is i'll happly say but as my brother in law is one of the co-owners i dont want to feel like im just plugging the place

ive only just started wearing a helmet and hi-vis clothing but never felt in anyway threatened when riding around town, i bought the helmet and gear because ive started cycling a bit further and, honestly, i felt a little at risk on some of the smaller roads / lanes ive started to use. my first 20 mile ride im building up to is the sustrans route from newark northgate train station to lincoln station

anyway, come visit, anyone who fancies a (steadyish)tour of some of the paths, it would be nice to meet a few members.

[iviehoff]

Why doesn't that surprise me?
The town centre is at 12 m above sea level and the first 20 m contour is over a kilometre away.

Plenty of other flat towns in eastern England, and elsewhere, and they aren't all like that, by a long stretch. And I bet you'll find bicycle use is higher in Switzerland, which is not noted for being flat. Flatness is a factor that helps encourage cycling, but it is only one of many factors.

[DavidT]

i've always planned to go to Winthorpe and have another neb at the Museum but getting
over the A46 roundabout is just about impassable by bike, this spot is very very dangerous for a cyclist.

Well I've survived countless crossings from Winthorpe straight across to the Air Museum side without even a near miss, (admittedly not at rush hour). Higher risk, yes but not impassable?

[Grandad]

Another feature we have noticed in over 30 visits is the way drivers respect zebra crossings. It's not unusual for them to stop when you are on the pavement approaching the crossing but still a couple of yards from it.

[hubgearfreak]

i'm of the understanding that the area covered by nottinghamshire police (nottinghamshire) has better behaved motorists, as the police are stricter than the national average

[DavidT]

i'm of the understanding that the area covered by nottinghamshire police (nottinghamshire) has better behaved motorists, as the police are stricter than the national average

There are also a heck of a lot of safety cameras in Notts. I believe that a red light violation camera in Nottingham city was the first of it's type to be deployed in the UK, and Nottingham ring road was the first place to use average speed cameras. I stand to be corrected on those details, but Nottinghamshire has certainly embraced this equipment.

[Big T]

i'm of the understanding that the area covered by nottinghamshire police (nottinghamshire) has better behaved motorists, as the police are stricter than the national average

I've not seen any evidence of this. The driving's quite bad in Nottingham itself and generally the further north you go, the worse it gets. The boy racer is particularly prevalent in the north Notts (ex) mining villages.

People in the know don't speed on the Nottingham ring road, everyone drives at precisely 39 mph (that's at times when it's not completely jammed up, when the ave speed is 1 mph)

[pete75]

The town centre is a clone of hundreds of other 'town centres'.

Mmmmm hundreds of other towns have a market place like this with a town hall by John Carr




And a Castle like this in the town centre



And 15th century buildings like this




You obviously have no knowledge of Newark so why make comments like that...

[pete75]

well hello to you all from newark.
we are quite lucky, we have a pretty good cycle path network.

there are plenty of really good places to visit, including a new micro pub that sells NOTHING but real ale from micro breweries
if anyone wants to know the name of the pub or where it is i'll happly say but as my brother in law is one of the co-owners i dont want to feel like im just plugging the place

ive only just started wearing a helmet and hi-vis clothing but never felt in anyway threatened when riding around town, i bought the helmet and gear because ive started cycling a bit further and, honestly, i felt a little at risk on some of the smaller roads / lanes ive started to use. my first 20 mile ride im building up to is the sustrans route from newark northgate train station to lincoln station

anyway, come visit, anyone who fancies a (steadyish)tour of some of the paths, it would be nice to meet a few members.

And the bottled beer shop in Kirkgate.
Do you mean the Prince Rupert pub?