NCR 21

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Tin Pot

Guru
Hi all.

I’ve got a mad cap plan to commute from Eastbourne to Bromley on Wednesday morning. 87km +760m.

I usually drive the A267, I understand this route runs parallel.

Anyone used this route, got any advice or safety tips. Aiming to come out of Eastbourne pretty early doors, maybe 06:00.
 
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Tin Pot

Tin Pot

Guru
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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Have you done it? ;)

The bit parallel to the A267 looks OK on the map but when it turns west to Gatwick, there seem to be a couple of lengthy soft surface sections, so I'd use the back roads shadowing the railway to Edenbridge and Oxted instead. Never tried it, so I'm watching this thread with interest.
 
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Tin Pot

Tin Pot

Guru
I meant Thursday morning :laugh:

The A267 would be a nice road to ride I think, getting to it could be the challenge. The NCR21 I can’t really tell if it’s all annoying back roads and faffing about - I need to get a shufty on.

I’d be coming off the NCR21 at some point to head to Tunbridge Wells, can’t see from the map exactly where that is.

Edit:

Looks like the part I’ll be using is called the Cuckoo Trail, coming out at Heathfield, then maybe I’ll join the A267.

The Cuckoo Trail is one of the most popular family cycle rides in the South East and gained its name from an old Sussex tradition of releasing a cuckoo at the Heathfield Fair. Once a railway line, this trail offers a superb, peaceful, traffic-free route ideal for cyclists and walkers of all ages.

I’ll be going full bore so I hope these “all ages” aren’t about early doors.

Hmm “Tarmac and fine gravel surface”
 
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ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
I once did the NCR21 from London to East Grindstead. It really is annoying back roads and faffing about, left, right, up and down including some comedy off roading through Woldhingham School. The Worth Way from East Grinstead which it follows however wasn't too bad is it's an old railway, a bit bumpy though with compacted chalk. From Gatwick to Bromley it would be far better imo to stick to the A23 to Croydon, the A232 and the A21 to Bromley. Good wide roads that make for good, rapid progress.
 
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Tin Pot

Tin Pot

Guru
I once did the NCR21 from London to East Grindstead. It really is annoying back roads and faffing about, left, right, up and down including some comedy off roading through Woldhingham School. The Worth Way from East Grinstead which it follows however wasn't too bad is it's an old railway, a bit bumpy though with compacted chalk. From Gatwick to Bromley it would be far better imo to stick to the A23 to Croydon, the A232 and the A21 to Bromley. Good wide roads that make for good, rapid progress.

Totally agree on the A232, best commute road I’ve used. Head down, get on with it.

Luckily I’ll be way south of that.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
Good luck with 'going full bore' on the Cuckoo Trail :laugh:. I would avoid it if I were you, it's not designed for that.
Depends what size your bore is!

It looks like it's all tarmac to Heathfield and plotting it on http://cycle.travel/map at lunch and clicking "Show Photos" on a few bits hasn't revealed anything too awful, but I did find https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/countryside/walks/cuckootrail/ which has the usual rubbish blindingly-obvious-but-with-an-implied-threat "Cyclists should slow down or stop when necessary" instead of saying what its design speed is. It's a former railway so it seems like there should have been width to build an express cycleway with a bridleway alongside. Needless wobbles like those pictured on the gov page make me want to harm the designer in return for farking up a green transport corridor - very pretty in a photo but you've just limited capacity and attractiveness massively.
 
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mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I know it quite well, as it happens. Some bits of it are gravel, some tarmac but occasionally rippled with tree roots. It's a leisure route that is heavily used and well loved, but not by commuters going full bore, that's not what it's intended for. There are perfectly good roads nearby for that.
What are the "perfectly good roads nearby" then? Surely not the A267 typical awful for-the-brave-and-the-bold English rural A road or the longer wiggly back roads which would be far better suited for conversion to leisure routes than a former railway?
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
I'm not arguing with you, mjr. As I said to Tin Pot, good luck with the plan.
Simply saying what the "perfectly good roads" alternative is wouldn't be arguing, even if I don't think they exist.
 
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