Bay Cycle Way

The Bay Cycle Way is an 80 mile cycling route around Morecambe Bay in Lancashire and Cumbria in north west England. Most of it forms National Cycle Route 700 (NCN 700), while other sections are waymarked as NCN 6 (London to the Lake District), NCN 69 (Hest Bank to Cleethorpes) and NCN 70 (Walney to Sunderland).

It has been recommended by The Daily Telegraph ("20 amazing ways to enjoy the English seaside this summer"), the i newspaper ("20 best cycle routes in the UK: from coastal pathways to woodland rides") and the Touring Club Italiano ("Inghilterra, Scozia e Galles in bicicletta, le ciclabili più belle per una vacanza green").

Route
The end points of the route are Walney Island, west of Barrow-in-Furness, and Glasson Dock, a former port on the River Lune south west of Lancaster. The route goes inland to Milnthorpe to cross the River Kent at Levens Bridge, near Levens Hall, the lowest crossing point of the river by road; there are hopes that a footpath and cycleway may some time be installed alongside the railway viaduct which crosses the river at Arnside, further downstream. 99.0% of the road is on asphalt roads or paths, and 28.2% is on traffic-free paths. The route ascends to 170 m between Grenodd and Cartmel, and goes above 100 m in three sections. There are said to be three "challenging climbs": leaving Ulverston, ascending Bigland Hill (between Bigland Tarn and Bigland Barrow, north of Cartmel) and Warton Crag. The total ascent has been calculated to be 1777 m. Sustrans estimates total cycling time as 6 h 46 min at an average pace of 12 mph, while the Morecambe Bay Partnership suggests a four-day itinerary.

The route passes through:


 * Walney Island
 * Barrow-in-Furness
 * Rampside
 * Roosebeck (8 miles)
 * Ulverston (19 miles)
 * Greenodd
 * Cartmel
 * Cark
 * Flookburgh
 * Grange-over-Sands (37 miles)
 * River Kent crossing at Levens Bridge
 * Arnside (53 miles)
 * Silverdale
 * Carnforth (outskirts) (62 miles)
 * Hest Bank
 * Morecambe (70 miles)
 * Lancaster (73 miles)
 * Glasson Dock (80 miles)