Walking & Cycling

Walking

Walking is a great way to get around and the best thing is that it is free! It’s also an easy way to get fitness into your daily routine. There are local facilities within a walking distance of Kingley Grove and the bus stops on High Street are in close proximity to the neighbourhood. Melbourn Primary School is only a 7-minute walk away and the shops and facilities that Melbourn village has to offer including a supermarket, Post Office, library, community centre, convenience store and doctors surgery are all within a 15-minute walk. Industrial and employment areas are also within walking distance from Kingley Grove.

Health experts advise that adults get 150 minutes of exercise per week or 30 minutes per day over 5 days during the week. Why not include this exercise in your daily routine when travelling to work, school or the shops? There are many benefits to walking, such as:

• Can help maintain body weight and lower the risk of obesity;
• Can lower the risk of chronic diseases and high blood pressure;
• Improvements to your mood and wellbeing; and also
• Studies show that it can encourage and improve creativity.

Cycling

Cycling is an excellent way to get about and is a great alternative to walking as it makes more places accessible. Cycling is around three times faster than walking and in some cases, it’s quicker than driving too! Cycling has a huge number of other benefits including;

• Improving wellbeing by relieving stress;
• Can help prevent chronic and life-threatening illnesses;
• Being more cost effective than running a car. Did you know that maintaining a bike for a year costs twenty times less than maintaining and driving a car; and
• Reducing congestion and pollution on our roads.

The size and layout of Melbourn makes various facilities reachable in just a few minutes. Also, the close proximity of Meldreth train station at just a 5-minute cycle ride from Kingley Grove allows for easy and more economical ‘Cycle&Train’ commutes. As explained in the Train Travel section, ThamesLink allows folding bikes on all its trains and regular bikes on off-peak time trains, all free of charge.

A10 Cycle Route

The new cycle link along Cambridge Road to the A10 existing foot and cycle path as part of the ‘A10 Royston to Cambridge Foot & Cycleway’ project allows convenient and easy cycle trips into Foxton, Harston and Cambridge, including a new traffic-free underpass of the M11 into Trumpington. For more information on the development of the A10 Royston to Cambridge cycle route, visit the Greater Cambridgeshire Partnership website. You can see your cycle route options into Cambridge on the Cambridge Cycle Map available here.

Electric bikes

Electric bikes are a very practical option to consider for longer commutes. More environmentally friendly and economical than driving, they can also work out cheaper than annual bus passes. With Royston only a 20-minute cycle away and Cambridge city centre approximately a 50-minute cycle ride, switching some of your commutes to e-pedal power could be the best way to avoid the morning traffic while adding exercise to your daily routine.

Cycle to work schemes

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.