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Lancaster Millennium Greenway - This is how access should be!




Just over the border from Cumbria is Lancaster’s Millennium Greenway (NCN Route 69), which runs along the old railway line which was closed in 1967. For some time, this route has been on my to do list as the route represents something that some similar trails do not seem to be able to offer – a route for all! Whether you get about on foot, wheels or hoof everyone is welcome. Sadly, in recent years there has been a trend not to talk inclusive of all users and the focus is on walking and cycling only. We have whole strategies on the subject, but most of these hefty documents hardly even mention equestrians or disabled users. The message back from the powers at be is yes this new trail is ‘multi user’, but some then say its multi user, but no horses! Lancaster’s Millennium Greenway was thankfully created before this silliness and provides a classic link from rural to urban meaning we can all access Lancaster city centre off road.

We parked at Bull Beck car park, Caton. The car park is free, but you do need 20p to use the toilets and cafe is great for before and after cake, brew and butty.

To start the ride you have to cross a A road and take a path through the trees onto the trail. We then rode to the Lune Aqueduct on the outskirts of Lancaster and back. This lovely route takes in bridges, M6 underpasses and a small tunnel. There are other routes you can do from here like ride up to the wind turbines (route for this on BHS maps) or ride all the way to Glasson Dock and vis versa. The route is well used by horse riders, bikes, families, runners and walkers and very much is an asset to Lancaster and visitors alike. 

Bridge over River Lune


Short tunnel - height fine for a average sized horse. One option to accommodate larger horses through low tunnels and underpasses would be to place a mounting block (or large stone or bench) either side of the tunnel. This would mean riders could lead their horse through the tunnel and get back on with ease. A sign could also be placed at each side of the tunnel saying something like 'horse riders are advised to dismount through the tunnel'. Mounting blocks are also often used at either ends of bridges where parapets are considered low. 


As a side note - the below outlines why equestrians are being excluded

The excuses given for not allowing horses comes down to non-equestrians thinking horses cannot do certain structures for example tunnels and bridges, being 'excluded by design', we all cannot share a trail and the old chestnut of horse dung. 

As with any user it should really be up to an individual as to whether you can do any activity in a certain location. Dealing with structures for horses, people forget we can dismount and lead a horse through a low tunnel or over a bridge where the parapets may be considered low. Rather than taking a pragmatic approach as with any health and safely assessment the main issue here is the powers at be have put down guidelines and if a structure does not meet these guideline then equestrian are unwelcome. In addition this happens with new structures too, such as bridges which can often be the most expensive part of a project. New bridges on such projects have been know to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, but will only have been designed for walkers and cyclists. A recent step forward here is fellow Trail Trust trustee Andrew Combes has worked with engineers to deign a low cost bridge that is suitable for all and been approved by British Horse Society and Cycling UK. This bridge is a real game changer and means a access project can be put together without spending millions of pounds and the project is very much 'in the green'.  It takes the base of a type of shipping containers know as a flat rack deck and turns it into a 2.4m wide bridge (wider with hand rails), decking suitable for all users in 6m and 12m lengths to a maximum span of 36m. A example of this low cost bridge can be seen in the following photos. 

Sharing trails, well this comes down to everyone doing a bit of ‘Be Nice Say Hi’ and having mutual respect for each other. This is something that has happen on bridleways since 1968 when cyclist were permitted to use these rights of way in addition to walkers and horse riders. Research has shown that any negative interaction between different users is low and is more about how people perceive a situation rather than what happens in reality.   

Horse dung, well there is nothing nasty in this it’s just mushed up grass that biodegrades quickly. Granted it not nice if you miss seeing it and you get it on your wheels. It is however becoming trail etiquette that if horse dung ends up in the middle of a trail that you get off and kick it to the side thereby moving the issue. 

It’s hard to pin point when this change happened in who is allowed to use multi users trails, but we are now in a situation where the equestrian world has to campaign heavily to be included. Equestrians need new safe off road routes just as much as others, we are all Vulnerable Road Users after all. The other major factor that the powers at be also need to remembers is that over 70% of cyclists are male and over 80% of equestrians are female. If we only have cycleways, design new infrastructure to a certain standard that are just for walkers and cyclists or excluded horses on one of the many other spurious grounds in effect any new trail with such restrictions in name and use is being designed predominantly for the male population and equestrians are in effect being 'excluded by design'. 

Slowly slowly the messages is starting to get out that equestrians need to be including in new projects, however it would be so much easier if our access legislation was up dated to be similar to Scotland where there is an assumption that access should be for all and not single user orientated. While campaigning on a number of new trails I have put the below together outlining what should be included in a new trail and hopefully this covers many of the queries that come up time again when a new project starts. Lancaster’s Millennium Greenway is up there with other trails such as the Monsel Trail, Peak District, Camel Trail, Cornwall, and Ogwen Trail, North Wales as being an exemplar in how to make new trails truly multi user. 

#AccessForAll #NoMoreExclusedByDesign #KeepAProjectInTheGreen #LowCostBridges #BeNiceSayHi 

What to include on Multi User or Greenway Trails 



Low Cost Bridge Designed by Andrew Combes
using a flat rack decks (type of shipping container) 



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