Walking & Cycling

St John’s Mead is well-connected to the rest of Elmswell for both pedestrians and cyclists, with many local facilities being within walking distance.

Walking

Walking is a great way to get about and has multiple health benefits. Did you know it is recommended that adults should get 150 minutes of exercise per week? Walking is the easiest way to achieve that.

There are safe walking routes to your local amenities including, the local supermarket, Post Office, train station and the village centre which are all within a 14-minute walk.

Take a look at the local area map on the right for detailed walking and cycling times to key transport links and the village amenities.

Some useful websites and apps for walking:

• Go Jauntly – Are you looking for walking routes near St John’s Mead? Go Jauntly is a free walking app that shows you some nearby routes to walk around. You can also record and curate your own walking routes.
• The Ramblers: The Ramblers Association provides a variety of regular programmes of walks. For walks around Suffolk and more information, visit their website.
• Open Street Map – This is good for people who are looking or finding footpaths around their area.
• Discover Suffolk – The Discover Suffolk website suggests walking routes across the county. There is also an app available for IOS and Android devices.

Cycling

Did you know cycling is three times faster than walking?

Cycling within Elmswell is easy and convenient. It is also an excellent way to get about and is a great alternative to walking. Local amenities are easily accessible around Elmswell.

Some useful websites and apps:

• Love to Ride: Love to ride has something for everyone. Similar to Go Janutly, you can record your rides and compete in competitions. You can also make new cycling buddies.
• Sustrans: This is a UK based charity that aims to encourage walking and cycling, and is a UK wide network of signed paths and routes for walking, cycling, wheeling and exploring outdoors.
• Cycle Streets: This is one of the most comprehensive cycle route planners. It is free to use and is also available as a mobile app.
• National Cycle Network: To find a route on the National cycle network, or to find out whether the route is traffic free.

Cyclescheme

Is your employer part of the Cyclescheme? This allows you to save 25-39% of the cost of a new bike & accessories whilst also spreading the cost. Find out more information on how this works and how to sign up on the Cyclescheme website.

Free Cycle Training

The Suffolk Road Safe Team are now delivering sessions for families who want to cycle more regularly, whether to keep fit, to commute to work or school, or to go and visit friends! 

The session will be about 3 hours long and free of charge. They will come to you, chat about what you are trying to achieve, and then work on your route or specific challenges that you have.

Some of the things you’ll learn include:

• how to ride with your children so that you can help them gain confidence;
• a simple system for remembering how to deal with different road scenarios;
• how to improve your safety at any junctions you use;
• how you can use your road position to control other road users and enhance your safety.

Find out more here.