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What is 'Active Travel'?

"The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 aims to make Wales a walking and cycling nation."

Active travel is the term for walking, wheeling and cycling - modes of travel that require us to be 'active'.

'Walking and wheeling' refers to the action of moving as a pedestrian. The term 'wheeling' refers to using any kind of wheeled mobility aid, including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walking frames, prams or buggies, regardless of whether their use is aided or unaided.

Wild Miles

The RSPB has a term for active travel miles - they call them 'Wild Miles'. Wildlife has no choice but to use the power of its wings, fins and feet to move and some species make amazing migrations, and the RSPB is inviting you to count your wild miles! They are challenging us to match a small proportion of the miles animals in nature travel in a week! Can you match the distance a Painted Lady Butterfly flies? Could you do more?

See the RSPB page on Wild Miles here, and see just how many wild miles some animals travel. Can you match the butterfly - or can you match a Cuckoo, or even a Manx Shearwater - you may be surprised!

Active Travel Settlements in Powys

Powys County Council are developing 11 active travel settlements, to make it easier, safer and more pleasant to walk, wheel or cycle for short journeys. The current active travel routes in the 11 towns have been mapped, and their communities consulted on how to improve and extend them.

So far, significant development of active travel routes has taken place in Knighton, Presteigne and Newtown, with proposed developments in Crickhowell, Llangattock and Brecon. The development in Presteigne immediately increased active travel by 50%.

A big achievement would be to cut out short car journeys

An easy way to make a dent in your carbon emissions would be to walk or cycle when journeys are short, where 'short' means up to 2 miles long.

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Walking and Wheeling

Powys is a great place to walk and wheel! Some people just love getting out and around, but you might not love it, or you haven't walked far for a long time and dread it. If you don't like walking, can you reframe it? An opportunity to spend time with a friend, or a chance to see beautiful gardens. As you become more active-fit, you might feel more able to pop to the local shop, pick the children up from school, or walk to the station without your car.

Getting back into walking - Gentle Rambles in Rhayader

Gentle Rambles is a pilot project for short, easy walks to ease bodies back into walking. The event is a chance for people of all ages and abilities to have an opportunity to go for a gentle walk with others, at a gentle pace, to enjoy the outdoors - and perhaps go for a hot drink afterwards. The rambles are a maximum of an hour long. The rambles are every three weeks on a Wednesday at 2pm.

If the project has 'legs', there will hopefully be more Gentle Rambles across Powys to get us all walking again. If you are interested a Gentle Ramble in Rhayader, contact Emily on 07443884611 or mail Emily.Powell@ramblers.org.uk.

Walks and Walking sites

Offa’s Dyke National Trail - Offa was officially King of Mercia from 757 to 796 AD and was described as 'vigorous'. He built an earthwork, consisting of a ditch and rampart, from coast to coast roughly following the Welsh/English boundary. The trail passes asses through one Natioanl Park, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and at least two Environmentally Sensitive Areas. The parts in between are also very attractive! A great website on all things you need to know to walk the trail can be found here https://offasdyke.org.uk/

Glyndwr's Way- Glyndŵr’s Way is a 135 mile (217 km) long National Trail meandering through the open moorland, rolling farmland, woodland and forest of mid-Wales. Starting in Knighton and ending in Welshpool, the Trail is named after Owain Glyndŵr’, who was the Prince of Wales and Medieval Welsh nationalist leader who organised a rebellion against the English king Henry IV in 1400. Visit this site to plan your trip.

Rail Rambles - Every Saturday you will find at least one free guided ramble, of around 6-10 miles, which starts and finishes at a railway station in either Wales or the Welsh borders. In addition, there is a Wednesday rail ramble at least once a month. These FREE, guided walks from railway stations in mid Wales and the Marches, and beyond were first established 30 years ago. At first the walks were from stations on the Heart of Wales or Cambrian lines and although they still walk from stations on these lines, the walks are also from stations further away.

Ramblers- there are three Ramblers groups in Powys: Welshpool, the Four Wells (Builth, Llandrindod, Llangammarch and Llanwrtyd Wells), and East Radnor (Knighton and Presteigne area, with the Offa's Dyke Centre, the start of Glyndwr's Way and the Heart of Wales Line trail), See here.

Local Walklng and Wheeling Routes

Newtown Heritage Trail - a trail around the town exploring the history and characters of Newtown via an online guide.

Newtown Outdoor Festival - walking, cycling and canoeing festival at the beginning of June.

Walking Newtown-on this site are town trails, accessible strolls, short strolls, walks up to 4km and longer walks. All walks start and end near the centre of Newtown. The town has good bus and rail links to other towns. Each walk on their website has downloadable instructions. Additional information about their walks (currently 16 of them) can be found on Wikiloc, where you can also send the trail to your GPS. The Wikiloc page is here.

Presteigne

Presteigne and Norton - 15 local walks around the Presteigne area, plus the Town Trail here.

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Cycling and e-Cycling

Not been on a cycle for a while?

Do you want to cycle more but feel you are lacking in confidence?

Do you want to start cycling to work but are unsure how to deal with the traffic?

Perhaps you want to cycle with the children more?

Powys County Council Road Safety Unit is offering you a free session with a National Standards Cycle Instructor to help you improve your awareness when cycling, or just to build your confidence on the road. The instructors can offer you help and guidance in a warm and friendly manner - whatever your ability.

Bikeability Wales is a charity that aims to get everyone cycling. hey say that most people learn to cycle in a day, and they offer 3 levels of road safety cycle training - here's their site. However, they are based in Swansea.

Accessible and Specialist Cycles

If you're not a regular cyclist, you can hire specialist and alternative bikes from hubs in prominent locations at Elan Valley Visitor Centre and Drovers Cycles in Hay on Wye. They also hire out electric bikes and tandems. Regardless of your needs, you'll be able to enjoy cycling in some of the most beautiful parts of the country - more information here.

Cycling to Work

Could you get to work on a bike? What's stopping you?

Could you make the change to cycling if you had an electric bike, also known as an e-bike?

Electric bikes can reach speeds of up to 15.5 mph and help you tackle hilly terrain, carry heavy loads, go for longer cycling trips, and help you get fitter and healthier.

I Can't Afford a Bike - but I would like to cycle to work

Cyclescheme

If you would like to cycle to work, Cyclescheme, in conjunction with your workplace, supports you to be able to bike to work. You choose your bike and accessories and rent the bike, at the end of the rental period you would pay a much smaller amount to own your bike. Cyclescheme also allows you to spend money on the accessories you need, eg helmet, pump, wet-weather gear, as well as the bike. Electric bikes, and fold up bikes that go on the train, can also be bought on the scheme. Visit https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/, or phone 0344 879 5101 for details on how the scheme works.

Bike2Work

Bike2Work Scheme is similar to Cyclescheme, with monthly rental through money taken from your wages before tax, and after a period you are able to buy your bike for a smaller purchase cost at the end if you decide you want to own the bike. Buying a commuter bike and cycling accessories this way not only spreads the cost, but allows you to make tax savings when buying hrough your employer. Visit https://www.bike2workscheme.co.uk/how-it-works or call 0330 0884765.

I don't want to spend the money and not use it ...

Sustrans E-Move Project for Wales

This scheme lets you try out an electric bike for free!

E-Move electric cycle loan scheme aims to reduce carbon emissions by helping people replace some of the journeys they usually make by car with cycling. In Powys there is a pilot scheme for people living in Newtown and its surronding areas offering individuals a four-week loan of an e-bike free of charge.

E-Move's collection of e-bikes have panniers, stowage trays and seats to carry children of various ages.

They help to make active travel fun, and keep you motivated to move. Read more about the project here.

In Newtown there are Black Tern HSD bikes (see video below),... and Tern GSD e-bikes. (see photo lower down).

The scheme has 14 bikes in Newtown, including both Tern GSD e-bikes, and the Tern HSD e-bikes.

Five of the bikes have fittings to transport a rider and a child, and 3 of these can also be used to transport adults! The Tern GSD takes 2 (small) children.

Businesses and organisations can also try out electric cargo bikes for up to three months

If you would like to try one of the Newtown e-bikes, contact Jack Neighbour: Jack.Neighbour@sustrans.org.uk or call 07876234112

If you decide to buy one of these e-bikes, be sure to check out the wide amount of accessories that make them so versatile - from2 children in a waterproof cover, another adult, carrying shopping - or all your summer camping gear. Get a glimpse in this video:

Take your Bike on the Train

Information from Transport for Wales: https://tfw.wales/ways-to-travel/cycling/bikes-on-board

Bike Security

Protect your bike from Theft

Bike Register is the naional cycle register, and is used by every UK Police force to help them reunite some of the thousands of lost or stolen bikes they recover every year to their legal owners. The system is also designed to prevent bike theft in the first instance via the use of a visible etching which deters thieves.

1 Register your bike

Add your bike details to our National Police-approved database for free

2 Mark & Protect

Mark & Protect your bike with a security marking kit

3 Apply warning label

Reduce your risk of theft by warning thieves that you use cycle security. Companies that offer bike security can be found on this page - SecuredByDesign

Bike Checker - so you don't buy a stolen bike!

BikeChecker is a free service for people purchasing second-hand bikes who wish to check the status of a bike on the BikeRegister Database.

Thieves often try to sell on stolen bikes in the quickest and easiest way. This can often be through classified ad sites or even 2nd hand bike stores. BikeChecker offers a quick and easy way to check whether a bike is registered as stolen on BikeRegister. Of course this will not help if the original owner did not register their bike, but at least you are taking steps to ensure you are not handling stolen goods.

Go to https://www.bikeregister.com/bike-checker and enter a frame number or unique BikeRegister marking to find out if the secondhand bike you are thinking of buying has been stolen.

What to do if your bike is stolen

Police.uk advise speading the word that your bike has been taken on these sites:

Stolen Bikes in the UK - spread the word on the theft of your bike. The site also offeres advice on how to get it back.

Find that Bike - lists adverts for bikes placed on online marketplaces, you can check frequently to see if your bike has been listed for sale.

The police advise that adverts are usually placed within 24 hours of the theft, but if not, keep looking as they sometimes take a few months to pop up.

To see the Police.uk page click here.

Children Cycling

Could you cycle your young children to school?

Could your older children walk or cycle to school?

Learning to cycle is a skill for life. Cycling helps children to be active and gives them some independence. With so many new options in cycling it is a good time to explore the options. If the price of having to buy new bikes each year for your growing children is too much for your purse, go over to our Cycle Repair page and scroll to the bottom to find out about the new Bike Library, where Bike to the Future are offering to take your child's outgrown bike and swap it with a fully refurbished next size up bike - for free!

Once your child is ready to cycle, Sustrans offer advice for parents on cycle safety for their children here.

Looking for a great family ride? Why not Cycle The Elan Trail. Following an old railway track for most of the way, the trail is suitable for families and novice cyclists as well as keen cyclists. Cycle hire available.

Other flat routes in the county include the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal and the

Cycling for Pleasure

Cycling Wales

A lovely site of cycle routes around mid Wales and the borders on this site. https://cyclingwales.co.uk.

Welsh Cycling

Welsh Cycling represents all kinds of cycling, including as a professional competitive sport. https://www.welshcycling.co.uk

Cycling UK in Wales has a page dedicated to cycling in Powys with links to routes, maps and apps.

Sustans offer free free maps and leaflets for the National Cycle Network in Wales.

Radnor Ring is an 84 mile (135km) challenging circular route on quiet country lanes, with both on and off-road cycling. Other Sustrans routes include Route 825 and the Lôn Cambria: Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury routes. The latter including the off-road and flat Montgomery Canal towpath from Newtown to Welshpool and on further north.

Campaigning for Cycling

Cycling UK in Wales

Cycling UK campaign in Wales for policies, action and investment in cycling which will encourage more people to cycle and benefit from healthy, active and low-carbon lifestyles. They have information on starting to cycle, going out cycling, and campaigning. They support local cycle campaigning around Wales through their Cycle Advocacy Network which helps you to call for change in your area.

 

 

Page last modified: 31 Aug 2023, 13:50