Riding the Sustrans National Route 4

Today I rode part of the NCN 4, a cycle route which connects London to Oxford.

The part I describe in this article covers the Maidenhead section.

I purchased the cycle route map from Sustrans, the charity responsible for designing and maintaining the National Cycle Network.

If you want the real deal, I'm afraid you will have to purchase the map from the Sustrans shop.

Alternatively, you can use the freely available interactive cycle route planner, CycleStreets.

My commuting route from Wokingham to Maidenhead follows the country roads to Woodlands Park, passing through: A321, B3034, Maidenhead Road, The Straight Mile B3018, The Street through Shurlock Row, B3024 Broadmoor Lane, White Waltham.

My usual route then continues from Woodlands Park onto Shoppenhangers Road all the way to the centre of Maidenhead.

Shoppenhangers Road is a busy section which crosses the A404 junction and several busy roundabouts.

Being an experienced cyclist, I don't mind the route that much and I prefer it to the A4. But I always wondered if there was a more quite and secluded path connecting Wokingham to Maidenhead.

Although it was raining, I decided to take a few pictures on route.

At the junction between Cannon Lane and Woodlands Park Road the new route, using the NCN4, diverges from my original route:

There I turn left onto Cannon Lane and then follow the blue NCN signs indicating the direction to follow for the NCN 4.

These signs are placed at the most important or confusing junctions and can mostly be relied upon.

This is the very first sign you will see on this section, which shows the two directions, one towards Maidenhead, the other towards Knowl Hill.

The route is signposted quite well: some parts are more obvious than others.
For example this is a clearly marked cycle track:

And this is another:

The route also crosses the A404 using an underpass that is interdicted to cars, off Cox Green Road, exiting onto Kendal Place:

The underpass is quite nice, and lit, which is an extra safety at night (I appreciated that on my way back tonight):

At the end of Kendal Place, you must take care of following the signs to the right, then cross the road and turn left:

This is where I found the recent snow and rain have ruined the path and made it potentially unsafe: mud covers part of the track.

Just be mindful of pedestrians and keep right.

This is the junction between Norden Road and Desborough Crescent:

The last picture shows how some signs need to be improved: the photo was taken in the direction away from Maidenhead. Seen from the direction I was travelling, it looks much better:

The route then becomes much more pleasant and easy to follow: it goes past Desborough Park

Then follows the cycle tracks towards Maidenhead railway station and town centre:

Be careful at the tight right turn ahead: I missed it on my way back in the dark tonight, fortunately I realised I made a wrong turn soon after.

The next section is also a very pleasant cycle track between Brunel Road and Ludlow Road, running parallel to the railway track:

The NCN 4 follows Ludlow Road: approach with care, since cars will be parked along the side and traffic will come the opposite way, leaving very little room. It might be wise to use the pavement at busy times to avoid any accidents with distracted drivers.

The cycle route then joins Shoppenhangers Road and passes by the railway station's exit:

Take extra care as you are supposed to be on the road approaching the Taxi parking zone: keep a fair distance from the taxis parked on the left.

As you approach the set of traffic lights immediately following the Station's exit

you have two options:

• if the traffic light shows red, or if there is a queue of traffic waiting at the lights, you are probably better off using the cycle lane, and then turn left towards the station;
• if the lights show green or there is no traffic and you feel so inclined, you can join the on road traffic, making sure to use the primary position to defend yourself from drivers who might left hook you when turning into the station's car park.

My preferred choice is to join the traffic flow, position myself to the right and then follow the offside kerb onto King Street.

This way I am optimally positioned to cross the main junction opposite the Three building:

I hope you found this route and the pictures useful and I hope you too will use the NCN 4 for your future commutes.