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The long-awaited cycling and walking route officially opened last Friday (12 July) and in the first few days an active travel counter at Tutshill recorded 4,500 one-way trips.
The 13-mile route has been a concept for nearly 50 years and in development over the last 10 years.
It is aimed at commuters, leisure users and tourists, with its quiet roads and new or improved traffic-free sections.
Walkers, cyclists and horse riders can now avoid the busy A370 and save four miles on their usual journey.
It’s the ‘missing link’ and the central section of the North Somerset Coastal Towns Cycle Route, which is hoped will ultimately continue to Portishead.
It also links up to the established Brean Down Way, meaning you can now cycle from Brean to Clevedon.
This has been a complex project as a new bridge across the river Yeo at Tutshill needed to be installed, to separate the cycle path from agricultural traffic in the area.
The route was delayed by complications with permissions for the bridge structure and necessary legal agreements with landowners.
This new one-mile section crossing the Yeo and Oldbridge rivers is based on the line of the former Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway, and connects what are mainly quite lanes and roads on each side.
There is no public parking at this location and be mindful that the lanes are also used by farm traffic. Try to look ahead and give way at appropriate points.
Not only will the Pier to Pier Way help encourage healthy lifestyles, it also offers commuters a greener way to travel.
Here in North Somerset, our emissions due to road transport continue to increase so promoting active travel over car use is an important part of our climate emergency action plan.
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.
It’s 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.
Photo credit Mark Simmonds