KDCS Route 26 - An almost entirely off-road and flat ride from near Caton around Lancaster and Morecambe, with a possible Glasson Dock extension.

Summary

16 miles (26 km)                       27 miles (44 km) with the Glasson Dock extension
Climb  380 or 420'   (115 or 130m)                
Grade – easy

OS 97 (Kendal) and 102 (Preston) for Glasson Dock

Map

To view elevation details please use this link and select "Elevation Graph" from the top left hand side corner of the map.
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=589941

Description

The ride starts at the Crook O Lune car park (GR 521 641), modest Pay & Display fee, wc, refreshment kiosk F/Sat/Sun, near to Caton, upriver from Lancaster.

From the car park descend to the shared path to the old railway line, going right, over the bridge towards Lancaster.

In a few minutes are 2 big road bridges, and take the left path immediately after the second up to the huge Caton Road traffic junction.

Here go left, gently uphill, on the wide shared path alongside the new Lancaster Bay Gateway road, crossing the river and following the path left at the roundabout.

Stay on the roadside path for a couple of miles, and soon after the next roundabout it crosses over the Lancaster canal. Here take the path down to the canal, and turn left on the towpath under the new bridge (sign Carnforth via canal). The towpath is legal to cycle on  and mostly tarmac.

Take great care under the bridges, as the towpath always narrows here, with poor visibility ahead. After a couple of miles a sign takes the route left, away from the towpath (sign Morecambe, Heysham) and quickly onto a short public street.

At the end of this street, join the main road, going left, using the green painted bike strip. In a couple of minutes the route has to cross over this busy road to the start of the promenade by a Toucan traffic light bike crossing.

The shared use promenade is wide and a couple of miles long, often busy in summertime. The Eric Morecambe statue is just beyond the clock tower. Continue past the nearby Midland Hotel to the start of Sustrans 69 Way of the Roses route to Bridlington – this is now followed from here back to the ride start. It is 8 miles (13 km) from the start of the ride to here.

Follow the  Route 69 signs for this short urban section – to and across the adjacent roundabout to go along Central Drive dual carriageway, and (taking care) right at the next roundabout to join the old railway line (sign Lancaster via cycleway) behind Frankie & Bennie's restaurant. The nearby Morecambe station has trains for the short hop back to Lancaster B.R. If need be.

Continue all the way to Lancaster on the cycleway, and cross the splendid Millenium Bridge, at which point 12 miles have been ridden.

Go to the bridge end, and left (sign Caton, 69) for a short congested shared use section, crossing under a busy road by a barriered underpass. To extend the ride to Glasson Dock take the short spur down to quayside level (directions further on).

Beyond the underpass the old railway line is rejoined for the straightforward journey back to the start car park, passing under the canal and in a few minutes further on the link to the Caton Road junction taken earlier in the ride. The Crook O Lune start and finish is now just a few minutes further along the cycleway.

Extension to Glasson Dock From the Millenium Bridge take the shared path on the river edge (now The Bay Cycleway, Glasson via Estuary, 700 sign), eventually joining the public road for a short stretch before becoming a shared path again at the road end.

In a few minutes the bridleway does a dog-leg, after which the tarmac is replaced by hardcore and puddles if wet. This continues on to Conder Green (wc, cafe) and shortly after reaches scenic maritime Glasson Dock (wc, cafe, pub).

The return goes back the same way, to the Millenium Bridge, here rejoining the route back to the Crook O Lune.