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Did You Know

The opening of Lancaster's Millennium Bridge provided the city centre with its first new crossing point over the River Lune since 1846, when the Greyhound Bridge was built to take rail traffic between London and the north.

The bridge was designed by Whitby, Bird and Partners following a national competition to seek out the finest UK creative talent. It's a cable stay bridge, with two angled, vertical "masts" that pay homage to Lancaster's maritime past.

The decking is supported by cables that fan out from the top of the masts. The maritime theme is continued with the leg of the bridge that lands on St George's Quay echoing the gangplank that would have been so common a sight on the quayside in the 18th Century.
Cycling is a low cost form of transport. According to the RAC (2004) the average monthly cost of running a car in Britain is £438 around 25% of the average household’s income.
Cycling ace and Olympic 2000 Gold Medalist Jason Queally hails from the Lancaster District
Cycling 4 miles per day halves the risk of heart disease and regular cyclists enjoy fitness equivalent to being 10 years younger.
Cycling has been in the Olympics since 1896. It is one of only five sports to have been included in every Modern Olympics. The others are swimming, athletics, gymnastics and fencing.
In the mid 19th century, manufacturers began to mass produce the bicycle. However cycling was still just a sport for athletic young men. The original high wheel bicycles were difficult and dangerous to ride, and the only women who rode them were 'radicals and circus performers'. When the "safety" bicycle brought the rider down closer to the ground, a few more bold women put on bloomers and learned to ride.

Soon the bicycle became an emblem of "the new woman," who demanded social and political equality with men. Women in bloomers, however, were harassed by the public and turned out of restaurants and inns. Finally, in 1888, the ladies' "drop frame" bicycle was developed and in 1889 pneumatic tires appeared, smoothing out the ride. With the drop-frame, women cyclists could wear ordinary walking skirts, only slightly shortened.
Cycling produces no greenhouse gases, and requires less road space than motor vehicles reducing the need for new roads.
It is estimated that 800 million bicycles are in use throughout the world - twice the number of cars in existence.
The first true cycle was the 'Draisienne' or 'Hobby Horse' introduced by the German, Baron Karl Drais von Samerbronn, around 1818. It had no pedals - which meant pushing yourself along with your feet. The first treadle-propelled cycle was designed by Scotsman Kirkpatrick Macmillan in 1839.
For a brief history of the bicycle click here or here
On a bicycle you can travel up to 1037 kilometres on the energy equivalent of a single litre of petrol.
In the last 4 years local recycling organisation Pedal Power have saved almost 37 tonnes from going to landfill. 2766 cycles have been collected and 1021 sold. Over 100 adult volunteers have been recruited.
Over 80,000 copies of our Walking & Cycling Map have been distributed since July 2006.
In July 2006 Sustrans carried out its first manual cyclist count on behalf of the CDT project. 1251 cyclists were counted on the Millennium Bridge in just one day.