The King John Way.
- Thread starter oxoman
- Start date
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DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
The page for it is here - https://www.thekingjohnway.com/ and the RideWithGPS route links - off-road https://ridewithgps.com/routes/49354342 - and road only https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50321335
Not ridden the whole thing but know quite a lot of the area and have been on parts of the route. The unpaved bits will be mostly canal paths - the section to Grantham I've done on a road bike.
Not ridden the whole thing but know quite a lot of the area and have been on parts of the route. The unpaved bits will be mostly canal paths - the section to Grantham I've done on a road bike.
Gwylan
Guru
- Location
- All at sea⛵
Thanks for the links. Oh! Wait for the pun cowboys....
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
It is quite ironic to whine that the designer was "disappointed that Lincolnshire has so much to offer cyclists but is not represented with a major cycling route" and then use so much of NCN Routes 1, 12, 15, 64 and the National Byway, plus bits with comments like "check park opening times" and "local rules may say no cycling". I guess the NCN and NB aren't major ta them!
It all sounds a bit like crayon work that they've not actually surveyed. Is the whole thing more about advertising a youtube channel and a marmite-y tyre lever?
Maybe it's better than that and just presented badly.
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
Is there a section that follows King John's crossing of the Wash? If there is I'd avoid that bit. 
Although, boringly, if we did know John's actual route we'd probably find it to be perfectly safe now due to land drainage.
Although, boringly, if we did know John's actual route we'd probably find it to be perfectly safe now due to land drainage.
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
And somebody would have found the treasure!Is there a section that follows King John's crossing of the Wash? If there is I'd avoid that bit.
Although, boringly, if we did know John's actual route we'd probably find it to be perfectly safe now due to land drainage.
I reckon it's under Cross Keys Bank now so will never be uncovered again. That's a cycleway along the old A17 after the A17 took over the former railway, so that doesn't protect it as such (Lincs CC basically seem to hate cycling infrastructure), but even if government was to widen the A17 (why? It's way below capacity), they'd widen onto the flat land to its south instead of expensively dismantling an old bank and risking uncovering something surprising.
Shouldn't the King John Way visit his statue, erected in King's Lynn by some former council leaders who apparently felt inspired by the worst king ever 🤣 ? If it did, it would link up with the Rebellion Way, which links to the Wolf Way and Ickneild Way Cycle Trail, opening up a massive bikepacking trip across east and central-south England.
If you want to add a pilgrimage to Johnny's effigy at the entrance to an ugly modern shopping centre, head east from Holbeach on the B1515 and B1359, cross Sutton Bridge, then follow blue arrows along the former A17 ('orange' local cycle route) to King's Lynn!
Dogtrousers
Lefty tighty. Get it righty.
Gwylan
Guru
- Location
- All at sea⛵
Is there a section that follows King John's crossing of the Wash? If there is I'd avoid that bit.
It's the bit that says you might need to dismount, path not clearly marked
Ride with Roy
Active Member
Well I am the route designer and find it disappointing that when someone tries to do something positive for cycling, some other has to be negative. The fact is that, regardless of some important NCN routes, Lincolnshire has been overlooked in the scheme of UK cycling routes. I am an accredited British Cycling Route Builder, so when Cycling UK didn’t have the budget, or interest, to create this route, I decided to spend a year putting one together myself. I involved local cyclists from each area to refine the route. Places of interest were researched and plotted as points of interest. There was no funding available for building a website so I built it myself. Initially a touring route, NCN’s were an important element. However, road cyclists expressed a desire for a road only route, so this was designed. And then what about those wanting shorter circular routes? With help from local cyclists, I added a number of interesting themed rides. The Marmite ‘tyre lever’ you mention is the Tyre Glider. I was the first to bring the Tyre Glider to international attention, and it was an immediate success. My relationship with its inventor encouraged him to sponsor the web hosting. In return, but not a requirement, I added a page advertising the product. And as for promoting a YouTube channel, it’s doing very nicely without needing promotion.
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Ride with Roy
Active Member
Is there a section that follows King John's crossing of the Wash? If there is I'd avoid that bit.
Although, boringly, if we did know John's actual route we'd probably find it to be perfectly safe now due to land drainage.
I didn’t route the KJW via Sutton Bridge, the reputed crossing place, as it’s just a noisy main road with nothing to see. It does cross at Fosdyke, which could be the spot. No one has ever found any of the treasure so maybe Sutton Bridge it was a misdirection
Ride with Roy
Active Member
I am the route designer so can answer your questions. I have ridden the entire route to test it and refine where necessary. many riders have ridden it, including one rider doing it in one go. It was constructed to explore as much of this diverse county as possible, while passing as many places of interest we can fit in. There are two options. One is all road and designed for a fast circuit. The other, and original version, takes in as much off road as possible. This is non technical off road and should be passable year round on any hybrid or gravel bike - I have purposely avoided sand! I have also planned the route so that accommodation is available at no more than 50 miles apart. Accommodation, including camp sites, is being added to the route as POI’s and is ongoing. Ride with GPS has kindly provided their organisational membership free of charge. This means that if you use the KJW site on RWGPS, you get the benefits of their paid membership, free of charge, while using the route.
This looks like an interesting part of Lincoln - which is called Bomber County because of the number of bomber airfields in it. I did my basic RAF training at Kirton in lindsey but sadly only ever saw the route from it south to Norfolk on leave. Flat as I recall, but quite pretty.
Thanks and kudos to Roy the designer for putting the route together.
Thanks and kudos to Roy the designer for putting the route together.
I pay for premium RWGPS since I believe that if one uses a service one should pay for it.
