National Cycle Route 63

Last updated February 05, 2023

National Cycle Route 63 (or NCR 63) is a route of the National Cycle Network , running from Burton on Trent to Wisbech .

Route

Parts of the route are currently incomplete.^[1]

Burton on Trent to Measham

In Burton on Trent the route now starts and ends at the Trent & Mersey Canal in Shobnall at the start of the Kingfisher Trail and forms a junction with National Cycle Network Route 54. The section from Shobnall to the town centre was signed in June 2013.

The route has signed links to Burton Railway Station and runs close to the Brewery buildings which dominate the town. The route leaves Burton via Burton & South Derbyshire College over the Trent Washlands via the off-road Victorian Stapenhill Viaduct and Ferry Bridge (refurbished 2015-2016) prior to a climb up out of Burton via side streets onto the A444.

At the border with Derbyshire in Stanton, the route is currently incomplete but is planned to link through Newhall on an existing bridleway, then continue to Swadlincote via new off-road sections around a golf course which is currently under construction.

The route passes through the heart of Swadlincote town centre where it is necessary to dismount, then climbs out of town via the Pipeworks retail park. The route continues into Church Gresley and cuts off-road through Maurice Lea Memorial Park. After a descent down Thorpe Downs Road, the route joins the Conkers Circuit and an off-road section leading through the heart of the National Forest for 6 miles to Measham.

Much of this section is built on the former Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway which also forms part of the Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail. Places the route passes through on this section are Spring Cottage, Moira and Donisthorpe. The path passes close to the Conkers Caravan and Camping site and also the National Forest Youth Hostel. At Donisthorpe there is a signed link to the National Forest Cycle Centre at Hicks Lodge, though an off-road route via Moira Furnace is currently under construction.

There is also an alternative section between Church Gresley and Donisthorpe signposted (63) which uses the Conkers Circuit anti-clockwise, via Albert Village, Conkers and the Ashby Canal via Moira Furnace. The 2 alternative routes make a 7-mile round circuit.

The route diverts briefly under the A42 on approach to Measham; after a further mile the off-road section ends at the Library and Leisure Centre. This section of the route could be set for major change in the future as there are plans to complete the Ashby Canal through Measham and surrounding area with the likelihood that route 63 will follow the new canal.

The recently announced^{[ when? ]} route for HS2 rail link passes through Measham and if this goes ahead in its initial format and will bring a significant impact to the village.

NCN 63 near Conkers
NCN 63 near Measham
NCN (63)on Ashby Canal spur near Moira Furnace

Measham to Leicester

Measham | Ibstock | Thornton | Glenfield | Leicester

The route continues onto the traffic calmed High Street in Measham then turns onto Bosworth Road which leads out into the Leicestershire countryside. Whilst this is an on road section, it is typically quiet.

The first main point of interest is Newton Burgoland village. The route then crosses National Cycle Route 52 before reaching the hamlet of Odstone. At this point the route turns left, heading for Ibstock.

After crossing the A447 the route passes through a ford then turns onto the off-road section through Battram Wood for just over a mile before joining the road again through Bagworth & Thornton, passing directly past Thornton Reservoir. Shortly after the reservoir is a 2-mile section mainly off-road through woodlands before arriving in Ratby.

Off-road section through Battram Wood near Ibstock
Final Battram Wood Stage in direction of Bagworth on NCN63

An off-road section then takes NCN63 over the M1 and A46 into the Glenfield area of Leicester.

Related Research Articles

Moira is a former mining village about 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in North West Leicestershire, England. The village is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Swadlincote and is close to the boundary with Derbyshire. The population is included in the civil parish of Ashby Woulds.

The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is a 31-mile (50 km) long canal in England which connected the mining district around Moira, just outside the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth in Warwickshire. It was opened in 1804, and a number of tramways were constructed at its northern end, to service collieries. The canal was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1846, but remained profitable until the 1890s, after which it steadily declined. Around 9 miles (14 km) passed through the Leicestershire coal field, and was heavily affected by subsidence, with the result that this section from Moira, southwards to Snarestone, was progressively closed in 1944, 1957 and 1966, leaving 22 miles (35 km) of navigable canal.

The National Forest is an environmental project in central England run by The National Forest Company. From the 1990s, 200 square miles (520 km²) of north Leicestershire, south Derbyshire and southeast Staffordshire have been planted in an attempt to blend ancient woodland with newly planted areas to create a new national forest. It stretches from the western outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west, and is planned to link the ancient forests of Needwood and Charnwood.

Donisthorpe is a village in the North West Leicestershire district of Leicestershire, England, historically an exclave of Derbyshire.

Swadlincote is a former mining town in the district of South Derbyshire, England, lying within The National Forest area. It borders the counties of Leicestershire and Staffordshire, 5 miles (8 km) south-east of Burton upon Trent and north-west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and 11.5 miles (19 km) south-west of Derby. It also covers Newhall, Oversetts, Midway and the villages of Church Gresley and Woodville, with the sub-district of Goseley. It has a population of some 36,000. Castle Gresley is 2 miles (3 km) to the south-west and Albert Village 1.5 miles (2 km) to the south.

Measham is a large village in the North West Leicestershire district in Leicestershire, England, near the Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Warwickshire boundaries. It lies off the A42, 4½ miles south of Ashby de la Zouch, in the National Forest. Historically it was in an exclave of Derbyshire absorbed into Leicestershire in 1897. The name is thought to mean "homestead on the River Mease". The village was once part of Derbyshire before being transferred to Leicestershire.

The Leicester and Swannington Railway (L&SR) was one of England's first railways, built to bring coal from West Leicestershire collieries to Leicester, where there was great industrial demand for coal. The line opened in 1832, and included a tunnel over a mile in length, and two rope-worked inclined planes; elsewhere it was locomotive-operated, and it carried passengers.

Snarestone is a small rural village in North West Leicestershire, England.

Ellistown is a village about 2 miles (3 km) south of Coalville in North West Leicestershire, England. It is named after Colonel Joseph Joel Ellis who died in 1885. The population from the 2011 census was included in the civil parish of Ellistown and Battleflat.

Joseph Wilkes (1733–1805) was an 18th-century English industrialist and agricultural improver born in the village of Overseal in Derbyshire but more commonly associated with the village of Measham in Leicestershire.

Church Gresley is a large village and former civil parish in the South Derbyshire district of Derbyshire, England. The village is situated between Castle Gresley and the town of Swadlincote, with which it is contiguous. By the time of the 2011 Census the village was a ward of Swadlincote, of which it is now effectively a suburb, and the population of Church Gresley ward was 6,881. The village forms part of the border with Leicestershire to the southeast. Nearby villages include Castle Gresley, Albert Village, Linton and Overseal.

Overseal is a village and civil parish in South Derbyshire, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Swadlincote, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) due south-southwest of Derby. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,450. Situated within the National Forest area, it is one of the southernmost settlements in Derbyshire, close to the border with Leicestershire.

The Leicester–Burton upon Trent line is a freight-only railway line in England linking the Midland Main Line near Leicester to the Derby to Birmingham line at Burton upon Trent. The line was built by the Midland Railway, which had acquired the Leicester and Swannington Railway in 1847, improving it and extending it. It opened throughout in 1849. The line connected an exceptional number of collieries and industrial premises, and several industrial branch lines were built radiating from it. Swadlincote was already an established community engaged in industry and there was a complex of branch lines there. The passenger service on the line was discontinued in 1964, and much of the mining-based industry has closed down; quarrying is the dominant residual originating traffic. There are proposals to reopen the passenger service, and these are under review at present (2022).

The River Sence is a river which flows in Leicestershire, England. The tributaries of the Sence, including the Saint and Tweed, fan out over much of western Leicestershire from Charnwood Forest and Coalville in the north-east to Hinckley and almost to Watling Street in the south and south-west. Its watershed almost coincides with Hinckley and Bosworth Borough of Leicestershire, which was formed in 1974 by amalgamation of Market Bosworth Rural District and Hinckley Urban District. It flows into the Anker, which in turn flows into the River Tame. It is part of the wider River Trent catchment, which covers much of central England. In 1881, Sebastian Evans wrote that the usual names for this river were Shenton Brook and Sibson Brook.

The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway was a pre-grouping railway company in the English Midlands, built to serve the Leicestershire coalfield. Both the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) wished to build a line on similar alignments, and they agreed to build jointly. Construction began in 1869 and the railway was opened in 1873. It linked Moira and Coalville with Nuneaton. Mineral traffic was busy, and the line formed a useful link for through goods trains. Some long distance passenger operation took place over the line, but it was never successful in carrying passengers.

Donisthorpe Woodland Park is located on Church Street, Donisthorpe in North West Leicestershire.

The Ashby Woulds Heritage Trail is a footpath and cycleway along what was formerly the Ashby and Nuneaton railway line between Spring Cottage and Measham, Leicestershire, England, a distance of some 6 km (3.7 mi). There are links to Donisthorpe woodland park, Moira Furnace and Conkers, the main visitor centre for The National Forest, in which the trail now lies.

Gresley railway station was a railway station at Castle Gresley, Derbyshire on the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line.

The Burton and Ashby Light Railway was a tramway system operating between Burton upon Trent and Ashby-de-la-Zouch between 1906 and 1927.

References

↑ "National Route 63". Sustrans . Retrieved 21 October 2012.

External links

National Route 63 on the Sustrans website.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "National Route 63". Sustrans . Retrieved 21 October 2012.

[1]

v t e Sustrans' National Cycle Network
List of routes
Main routes	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
National routes	10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 32 33 34 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 81 82 84 85 88 91 92 93 94 95 96
Regional routes	125 136 137 141 151 155 162 164 165 166 167 168 169 172 174 177 178 179 195 196 207 208 212 221 222 223 224 231 232 235 236 244 246 248 250 253 254 255 256 264 267 270 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 305 326 334 338 339 341 344 403 410 413 416 423 425 426 436 437 438 439 440 442 446 447 448 451 455 461 465 466 467 468 469 475 476 477 478 481 482 485 492 523 524 525 526 533 534 535 536 539 544 547 548 549 550 552 554 555 558 559 561 562 566 568 573 576 577 585 622 627 633 636 645 646 647 648 656 657 658 665 668 672 674 677 680 688 689 696 697 699 700 715 725 753 754 756 764 765 766 767 768 775 776 777 780 810 811 818 819 820 822 825 862 881 882 883 884 885 887
Named routes	C2C Celtic Trail Clyde to Forth Colliers Way Cornish Way Darent Valley Path Forth and Clyde Canal Pathway Hadrian's Cycleway Heron Trail Keelmans Way Lon Cambria Lôn Las Ogwen Pennine Cycleway Mercian Way The North West Trail Salmon Run cycle route Scunthorpe Ridgeway Sheerness Way Trans Pennine Trail Way of the Roses White Rose cycle route W2W Yorkshire Wolds cycle route

National Cycle Route 63

Contents

Route

Burton on Trent to Measham

Measham to Leicester

Leicester to Oakham

Oakham to Peterborough

Peterborough to Wisbech

Related Research Articles

References

External links