Saddleworth on path to become cycling destination

SADDLEWORTH has been picked as part of a new cycling trail that goes from the Peak District to the very top of Scotland.

The 800-mile long Great North Trail has been launched with the aim of getting people on their bikes to tour the nation.

And people in Greenfield, Uppermill and Diggle can expect plenty of cyclists going through the area as the village is part of it.

Known locally as the ‘Roman Road,’ it sweeps into Greenfield from Carrbrook along the route of Mooredge Road and Intake Lane before joining Friezland Lane and meeting Manchester Road.

From there, it joins the route known as the Saddleworth Linear, close to Friezland Crown Green Bowls Club and Tame Valley Tennis and Squash Club, crossing Chew Valley Road before linking up with Springburn Way in Uppermill.

It then goes behind Saddleworth School before following Butterhouse Lane and later linking up with Ward Lane and Lee side in Diggle, then rising up the hill to cross the A62 at Brunclough Reservoir.

The Great North Trail links the Pennine Bridleway with the northern tips of mainland Scotland, heading to Cape Wrath or John o’ Groats.

The route as a whole is designed to be an adventure mountain biking route and is mainly on unsurfaced trails, about 98 per cent of the route is on existing off-road cycle routes, forest roads and low traffic minor roads.

But there are also shorter sections of canal path and disused railway.

The route is divided into eight sections, starting with part one from the Peak District to the south Pennines from Middleton Top to Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, a total of 129 kilometres that will take two or three days to ride and takes in Saddleworth.

The other sections are:
Part 2 – Yorkshire Dales: Hebden Bridge to Appleby-in-Westmorland (171 km, 2-3 days)
Part 3 – North Pennines and Kielder Forest: Appleby-in-Westmorland to Kielder (123 km, 2-3 days)
Part 4 – Scottish Borders: Kielder to Edinburgh (154 km, 2-3 days)
Part 5 – Central Belt: Edinburgh to Glasgow (83 km, 1-2 days)
Part 6 – Grampian Mountains: Glasgow to Fort Augustus (260 km, 3-5 days)
Part 7 – Northern Highlands: Fort Augustus to Oykel Bridge (151 km, 2-3 days)
Part 8 – Sutherland and Caithness: Oykel Bridge to Cape Wrath (133 km, 2-3 days) or Oykel Bridge to John o’ Groats (218 km, 3-4 days)

The final section gives you the option to choose where you want to finish: Cape Wrath, the quiet, remote and most north-westerly point of the UK, or John o’ Groats at the north-eastern tip.

Cycling UK said it had developed the route, which only traverses about 16 miles of busier roads, in response to demand from cyclists for greater access to the countryside on routes largely away from traffic.

Duncan Dollimore, the organisation’s head of campaigns, said: “We’ve created the Great North Trail because we recognised very little has been done to promote national off-road trails.

“For example, plans to extend the Pennine Bridleway to Scotland were published 20 years ago, but still haven’t been implemented.

“And yet we know there is an appetite for more cycling access to the countryside as off-road trails can be ideal for families to ride safely, away from traffic and city pollution.”

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