Plan to turn Northumberland into premier cycling holiday destination gains momentum

Businesses have come together to discuss how the tourism industry in Northumberland can capitalise on the huge increase in interest of cycling tourism.
A traffic free route between Alnmouth and Warkworth.A traffic free route between Alnmouth and Warkworth.
A traffic free route between Alnmouth and Warkworth.

Visit Northumberland brought together local businesses with an interest in cycling, as well as major landowners in the county such as the Forestry Commission and Northumberland National Park, last week.

Discussions focused on Northumberland’s magnificent and unique offering for cyclists of all ages and abilities, and how all interested parties can work together to create a seamless cycle friendly visitor experience and how we can best market it.

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Ruth Tweedie, tourism development officer for Visit Northumberland, said: “We know that many of our visitors enjoy cycling as part, or all, of their holiday so it is vital that we coordinate our offer to ensure that they can have the best experience possible.

"This is the start of making Northumberland a premier cycling holiday destination in England.”

One of the first developments is the Northumberland Cycling Charter where businesses can demonstrate that they have all the requirements of “Cycling Friendly” establishment to give our visitors confidence in bringing their bikes along on their trip.

Sustrans (the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle) estimates that leisure and tourism cycling contributes £650m a year to the economy and supports over 15,000 jobs, with 1.23m overnight cycle trips per year in the UK with an average spend of £360 per trip or £46.75 per day (EuroVelo study).

In addition, during the COVID pandemic, the National Travel Survey showed an increase participation in cycling of 26%.

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