This section runs from Colchester and National Cycle Route 1 to Harwich, where a seasonal foot ferry can be caught to Suffolk where the line continues.
At Harwich the signs indicate the route is 22 miles to Colchester, 3 to the International Port and 1 to Dovercourt. The North Sea Cycle Route junction is 1 mile along the route from Harwich to Colchester.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)
On the Felixstowe side the ferry lands near Landguard Fort which is rich with history. The route then heads along the sea front into the centre of Old Felixstowe itself, a Victorian seaside town.
From Felixstowe the route heads out of town though a residential area and then mainly along minor roads towards Ipswich. There is a 1400-metre section of the official route takes one along a dedicated cycletrack very close to the A14. For this section there is an alternative route that uses a narrow single track road further away from the A14 which is also used by motorists and buses. The route then heads through Statton Hall, Levington and Nacton into Ipswich via Landseer Park, Holywells Park and the new waterfront area, where the routes crosses National Cycle Route 1.
This section of the route uses quiet roads passing the entrance to the Museum of East Anglian Life in Stowmarket, the village of Shelland and then through Thurston using a couple of off-road sections and finally into Bury St Edmunds using another section of off-road good cycle track running parallel with the road.
In late 2008/early 2009 part a section for the route west of Stowmarket was re-routed to take advantage of changes to the A14. It now uses a section of road that used to form the Eastbound carriageway of the A14 at Haughley Bends[1] and has been turned into a traffic free route for cyclists, walkers and horse riders as shown on the official map[2] of the works.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)
NCR 51 leaves Cambridge crossing the A14 near Histon, routing north to St Ives adjacent to the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, passing near Oakington and Swavesey, (adjacent to a guided bus route, no vehicles). Then via the old stone bridge from St Ives to Hemingford Abbots and Grey, then via Cow lane into Godmanchester and generally east towards Huntingdon railway station.[3]
From here, the route follows the trackbed of the old Varsity Line, now a rail trail, briefly joining the public highway at the village of Blunham, past Willington and the wetlands around Priory Marina, before arriving at the outskirts of Bedford where it follows the south bank of the River Great Ouse through parkland to the south end of Bedford Bridge.
From Bedford, the route follows the north bank of the River Great Ouse through town, passing under County Bridge at Prebend Street, and following a surfaced path along the river before crossing the river into Kempston at a footbridge. This section is prone to flooding, and an alternative cycle route is available by crossing County Bridge and following Prebend Street south to the Bedford Road cycleway.
NCR 51 follows a split cycle path (pedestrians/cycles separated by solid white line) through Kempston, past a supermarket, and through alleyways to Ridgeway School.
From Milton Keynes Central railway station, the route goes over the West Coast Main Line on a pedestrian/cycle bridge, and follows paved routes in parkland past the National Bowl and Furzton Lake to the A421 junction with Buckingham Road in West Bletchley. There is a cycleway here along Buckingham Road to link with Bletchley railway station.
Leaving Milton Keynes, the NCR 51 continues south-west along bridleways to Winslow. Onwards from Winslow, the route reaches Verney Junction and a little further on it interconnects with National Cycle Route 50 for Buckingham and Daventry. Minor roads then take it through Middle Claydon (from whence a short diversion may be made to Claydon House, a National Trust property). Next comes Steeple Claydon and then onwards to Bicester.
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