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The 13-mile route between Weston-super-Mare and Clevedon opened at the beginning of July and now allows people to travel between Brean and Clevedon avoiding busy roads.
It’s aimed at commuters, leisure users and tourists and is a ‘missing link’ and the central section of the North Somerset Coastal Towns Cycle Route, featuring quiet roads and new or improved traffic-free sections.
It’s been a complex project, including installing a new bridge over the river Yeo at Tutshill to separate the cycle path from the agricultural traffic in the area.
It includes a new one-mile traffic-free route crossing the Yeo and Oldbridge rivers and is based on the line of the former Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway.
This link allows pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians to avoid the busy A370 and save four miles on their usual journey.
Figures published this week (Monday 19 August) show that since opening, 14,332 bikes, 3,166 people and 107 horses have been recorded using the route.
Feedback from people who have used the route has been extremely positive but some issues have been identified and are currently being rectified.
These include tweaks to signage and path/road markings, and the cutting back of vegetation on key points on the route.
Gravel on the Tutshill Greenway section has now compacted as planned.
Due to to the popularity of the route and increase in traffic, please:
- follow the Highway Code and be particularly cautious on bends in the road
- if you’re only visiting a section of the Pier to Pier Way, please park considerately and don’t block verges or gates at any time
- be mindful that the lanes are also used by farm traffic. Try to look ahead and give way at appropriate points.
The Pier to Pier Way is suitable for people who are experienced and confident in cycling on roads. For children, we recommend they have passed Bikeability Level 3.
The route has been made possible thanks to many people and organisations, including the campaigners who had the original vision, various landowners and our staff.
It has been funded by The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Sustrans, National Highways, the Department for Transport and North Somerset Council.
Not only will the Pier to Pier Way help encourage healthy lifestyles, it also offers commuters a greener way to travel.
Promoting active travel over car use is an important part of our climate emergency action plan because our emissions due to road transport continue to increase here in North Somerset.
If it’s been a while since you’ve ridden a bike and you need more confidence on two wheels, free adult cycle training is available to everyone in North Somerset.
The Pier to Pier Way is the latest walking cycling route to open in North Somerset, and there are lots of ways to explore our beautiful area:
- Brean Down Way – this Weston to Brean traffic-free route includes a 20mph zone in Uphill. From here users can continue on road (or beach, with a mountain bike) to Brean Down
- Strawberry Line – from Yatton railway station to Cheddar. Bike hire available from Strawberry Cycles
- Festival Way – Nailsea to central Bristol
- River Avon Trail (also known as the Pill Path) – a stone path running from Pill/Ham Green to Cumberland Basin. Most comfortable on a mountain bike.
Photo courtesy of Mark Simmonds