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W2W Cycle Route partnership action

Improving start / finish points
Improvements to the ends of the route at Sandy Gap on Walney Island and in the Sunderland marina / seafront area are being pursued. In Barrow, the route is being taken partly off the road through the Channelside area and into the Dock Museum.

Kendal
Continuous W2W 20 signing of the Kendal braid of the route is being sought.

Bishop Auckland
Durham County Council and Sustrans are looking at ways of improving the route through the town

Sherburn - Pittington
Confirmation of the route between Sherburn and Pittington is being sought. The current interim route away from the traffic-free path may remain for the foreseeable future.

Whitby option
The Whitby option route between Barnard Castle and Whitby will be fully signed as Regional Route 52 by the end of March 2007 (with some use of the W2W abbreviation).

Rangers
There are about 19 volunteer Rangers helping to maintain the route, as part of the national Sustrans volunteer programme. New Rangers would be welcome to cover the northern braid of the route in Co. Durham between Tan Hill and the Witton-le-Wear area. More information from Rupert Douglas.

Mapping
Walney to Wear Cycle Route map publisher Stirling Surveys have sold approx 2,000 copies of the map since launch in mid 2005. Revisions to the current map should be sent to Rupert Douglas as soon as possible in anticipation of the second edition of the map being printed in the first half of 2007.

The Whitby option route is being included in a new map for the wider Yorkshire’s Moors & Coast area, which will be published by Sustrans in April 2007; contact Rupert Douglas for details.

Website
The www.cyclingw2w.info website managed by the Cooper Douglas Partnership has had almost 30,000 unique visits this year, and now features accounts, comments and photos from numerous people who’ve done the route, as well as entries for a range of service providers. The web site will be updated for 2007 and an online shop for maps added. Links to partners’ online accommodation booking sites will also be added.

 







 

Flyer
Distribution of the free flyer for the route continues, with over 10,000 of the original 20,000 print run (delivered in February 2005) distributed. Copies can be obtained from Rupert Douglas and Brochurelink (www.brochurelink.net). Funding for the next print run of flyers will be needed in the 2007 / 08 financial year.
download PDF file of flyer - front - rear

Publicity & Promotion
The publicity launch of the Whitby option has been scheduled for the afternoon of Monday 11th June 2007, hopefully involving the mayors of Barrow, Sunderland and Scarborough district (which includes Whitby). A ‘Walney to Whitby’ familiarisation ride will set off from Barrow on Friday 8th June (coinciding with the launch of the first of the new Astute class of submarine).

The route will be featured in Cycling Plus magazine early in the New Year.

Other action:
• A4 poster and banner display stand production; more details from Rupert Douglas.
• Partners promoting the route through their literature, websites, exhibitions etc.
• Seek support for route marketing from the new Area Tourism Partnerships for County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Yorkshire’s Moor & Coast.
• Target charity cycle ride organisers to choose the route.
• Establish coordinated promotion of all the ‘coast to coast’ routes across northern England.

Monitoring
Data from a counter on the route at Baxter Wood near Durham indicates that ‘a couple of thousand’ people are likely to have cycled the whole route in 2006. Additional counters are being installed in Barrow and Hamsterley Forests to help ensure robust monitoring of the route’s usage. One accommodation provider in Grange-over-Sands reports that W2W cyclists are typically spending an estimated £40 per person per overnight stay.

The off-road section of the Whitby option route between Commondale and Castleton is a good location for a counter. Data from all counters should be sent to Andy Cope at Sustrans Newcastle office.

Next partnership meeting
10.30am on Thursday 15th March 2007at the Ancient Unicorn Inn (www.ancientunicorn.co.uk) on the route in Bowes village (just off the A66).


December 2006