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.

A primary school, college, public house and sports centre are all within a 15-minute walk from Miller’s Gate. A slightly further walk away you can reach the Asda superstore, Premier convenience store and the Co-op, along with multiple restaurants in the town centre.

Other than local amenities, there are also many local places to go for walks, including Soham Wet Horse Fen Nature Reserve Рa 4-acre hay meadow which is free to visit all year round. There is also the National Trust Wicken Fen Nature Reserve which is the oldest nature reserve within England. You can find cycling and walking routes around there along with a caf̩.

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:

• 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.

There are many local facilities to be reached by bike. The road bringing you into Soham is paved with speed limits varying between 20mph – 30mph. This will take you around 7-minutes to cycle and within the town centre there are cycle storage spaces at varying locations. To cycle to Ely train station you have two route options, the slower but quieter route is via Barway Road which will take you along country lanes, this route takes just under 40-minutes.

You can see your cycle routes on the Ely cycle map 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. 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.