Cycle routes between villages update

Following on from the earlier post on this subject, Cllr. Jane Birdsall and myself have met to further the project. Jane wrote a summary of our work so far, as follows:



The idea is to identify safe routes between the villages in our Parish and to establish whether the condition of the surface needs to be improved.



Possible routes identified so far:

• Skelmanthorpe to Denby Dale - via The Thorpes. In need of some surface improvement.


• Skelmanthorpe to Clayton West - via Pilling Lane. In need of some surface improvement.


• Clayton West to Emley - via Frank Lane and Tyburn Lane. Frank Lane awaiting surface improvements after flooding last year.


• Upper Cumberworth to High Flatts via Birdsedge. Off road tracks fairly good surfaces.


• Upper Denby to Denby Viaduct. In need of some surface improvement on lower stretch.


• Shelley High School to Barncliffe Hill / Coal Pit Lane - establish if it is a bridleway and if it is in our parish. In need of some surface improvements midway

An existing leaflet entitled "5 circular routes in and around the Denby Dale area" is very useful and could be further developed through categorising the routes in terms of difficulty. There are some very big climbs and some of the routes use busy roads. We do not wish to supersede this leaflet, but would like to publish, initially on our website, suggestions of how local cyclists can travel between our villages. The social, environmental (as opposed to car travel), and fitness benefits are well known to everyone, and this is why we have taken up this project.

Some useful websites:

www.sustrans.org.uk

www.cyclingengland.co.uk

www.bikeforall.net

www.saferoutestoschools.org.uk

The websites give lots of information, and also possible sources of funding for any work needed. Please note that we do not intend to create the equivalent of 'cycle highways' like sustrans routes, as these would be far too expensive.