Travel

The Sustrans National Cycle Route 6 starts in Derby and, 154 miles later, it finishes in York (see link on the right). The majority of it passes through Nottinghamshire.

I wanted to see how practical and enjoyable the route is, all the way to Worksop, and whether it can be used by cyclists of all ages.

Cycling into the wind

East Midlands Today's Brady Haran and I, started our journey at Derby train station.

From there, you follow an off-road path alongside the River Derwent until you reach Borrowash.

It's a picturesque track but sadly, on the day, we were cycling into the wind which put a huge strain on our stamina.

Thankfully, much of the route is flat and according to the profile on the map, the gradient actually declines.

After Borrowash, there's a few miles of road. The traffic isn't heavy at all and fine for even the most nervous of cyclists.

Looking at the M1

The paths are signposted at regular intervals, which can avoid a potentially lengthy, and draining, detour.

After lunch in the pretty village of Breaston, we peddled onwards to Long Eaton crossing the M1 by bridge.

From that point on it's mostly off-road going through parks and gardens. The roads you do hit are traffic calmed, this is the case in Toton, Attenborough and Beeston.

Once we entered Nottingham we took a detour on to the canal tow path all the way to Carrington Street.

Nearly home!

The journey took us around five hours, including lunch and stops to film our experiences. The distance was approximately 25-30 km.

The route is family-friendly. You never feel compelled to go quickly, it's a pleasant and relaxing ride, providing you get the weather!

Brady Haran did the journey as part of his quest to visit 366 places in the East Midlands - one for each day of the (leap) year in 2008. Watch the video of our adventure: