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Journey Planner help

How to use Journey Planner

These are the steps for planning a journey:

  1. Click on the map to set a start point
  2. Search for a place name
  3. Choose the type of route you want

Click on the map

Click on the map to choose a point where you would like to start or finish your journey. You might want to zoom the map (using the slider or [+] and [-] buttons on the left) or drag it around to choose this point more precisely.

Choosing a Start or Finish in journey planner

A grey marker appears briefly at the location where the mouse was clicked. After a few moments the grey marker disappears and a green marker appears at the nearest point on the cycle network.

Start typing into the text box and CycleStreets will start looking for matching places. It prefers places that are located near to the centre of the map. You can help it by typing the street name and place name separated by a comma. E.g. Oxford Road, Manchester. The search can also find some other places e.g. the bike shop Cam Cycles, Cambridge.

There is also a postcode search, but please note that due to some unfortunate legal reasons the postcode search will only give a rough location.

Tip: Rather than using the main www.cyclestreets.net site, use your local site, i.e. yourtown.cyclestreets.net for easier local search.

The street search is provided by OSM namefinder.

Choose the type of route you want

When the Start and Finish points are set you are promted for a departure or arrival time. It tries to make sense of what is entered here (e.g. 10:30), but if it cannot make sense of it the current time is assumed.

There are options for setting your precise cycling speed, and whether you want the journey planner to consider routes in which you are expected to dismount. Note this latter option might mean journey planner cannot suggest a route.

When you're happy with the suggested start and finish points and departure time, choose the big "Plan my route button". You will be taken to a new page containing your journey number and after a few seconds your suggested routes will begin to appear.

The quality of the route presented depends on how much knowledge the journey planner has about your area. If you don't get a satisfactory route, or if route planning wants to start a long way from where you clicked that is because the journey planner hasn't got sufficient detail (or there genuinely isn't a good route). Please use the links provided to give feedback if the route is odd. We continue to receive feedback and this helps us to improve the system.

Once a route is displayed you have more options:

Change
Clears the route and markers ready to start over.
Return
Clears the route but swaps the Start and Finish markers, ready for you to plan a route back.

Types of route

The journey planner uses the network and details of the different types of cycling provision to suggest cycling routes. The following route types are available. Each type may include some sections where you have to dismount and walk with your cycle. For these the walking speed is assumed to be 6km/h.

Fastest
Displays the fastest route according to the expected average speed on each type of link. (It assumes you can cycle at those speeds.) Some routes include a time penalty, e.g. where there are traffic lights, Toucan Crossings, or even crossing roads. See detailed list of provision types. These routes may rarely include a section where you have to walk your cycle because it is faster than cycling there another way.
Shortest
Displays the most direct route by distance along any walkable or cyclable link. Usually these routes will be slower, and busier as they are more likely to include sections where you are required to dismount and walk with your cycle.
Quietest
Some cyclists prefer quiet routes, away from busy traffic. They are prepared to travel further along back streets, and paths across a park to avoid more direct routes along busier roads. Find out how quietness is measured.

Journey Planner will try to suggest fastest and quietest routes that avoid roadworks because of the danger and delay that they bring. However shortest routes are only affected by roadwork sections when a new diversionary route is in place. No routes are offered through closures.

Frequently Asked Questions

See also the routing diagnosis FAQ.

Why has it produced a circuitous route?
This can happen for a number of reasons. Journey Planner is only as good as its knowledge of the routes. Some route data may be wrong, for instance a one-way street may be the wrong way round. Route data can be added to using the Edit Network tab. However there may not be a direct route for your journey. Choosing "shortest" should find the most direct walkable or cyclable route.
Another, perhaps interesting case, can occur when the suggested route does a "dog leg" - exiting a roundabout then rejoining at the next entrance. This can happen when the user has asked for the Fastest Route through a roundabout that has traffic lights. The traffic lights introduce a delay, and while may well be technically quicker to follow the suggested route, it is certainly would be a great deal more effort!
What other sites are there?
There are other sites offering route planning for cyclists, e.g see: Also try these map sites There is also something known as the Definitve Map, which lists rights of way, a version of this is linked to from this page.

How do I fly in Google Earth?

You need the Google Earth software. When a Journey has been successfully calculated you are provided with a link to "Fly in Google Earth". Use your menu click button (usually the right mouse button) to Save the contents of that link to a file such as cyclestreets500quietest.kml. Then open this file directly or from Google Earth. It will display the region of the route overlaid on a map of the Earth. Find the button to play the route: it is usually visible at the bottom right of the middle panel on the left handside of the Google Earth program. Alternatively try choosing: Tools > Play Tour. If you did it correctly it should take you along the route as an animation. The animation speed can be controlled by some of the settings in Google Earth. Choose Tools > Options... > Control then adjust the Tour Settings. Best of luck!

How do I copy to my GPS device

The file format .gpx is a popular way of sharing information between GPS (Global Positioning System) devices and software. Use the link provided on the journey listing page to save all the routes for this journey number to a file such as cyclestreets500.gpx. This can then be imported to your GPS device so that you can follow the route.

  • The routes inside the exported file will be named according to the pattern <plan> <start> to <finish>, e.g. Fastest Downing Street to Buckingham Palace.
  • Both the Fastest and the Quietest routes for the journey are in each export.
  • The first point on each street is named.

We are interested to hear feedback on how we can further develop this feature.

Give feedback

We welcome your feedback, especially to report bugs or give us route feedback.
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