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Despite being located within a few miles of Cambridge if you do not have a car the villages of Little Wilbraham, Great Wilbraham and Six Mile Bottom are isolated. The connecting roads are single carriageways, unlit and cars and lorries travel at or above the national speed limit of 60mph. There is no daily bus service and no footpaths of note, taxis are expensive so the only other possible form of transport is cycling. Given the nature of the existing transport routes cycling is not a safe option, particularly for children and families.
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​The distances between The Wilbrahams and the neighbouring villages are short (less than 1 mile to Bottisham and just over to Fulbourn. It is also only a few miles to Cambridge - all well within easy cycling distances for commuting and other travel purposes.
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Providing a connection to the cycle path network would provide a lifeline for many people in the villages and allow vital journeys to made as well as social trips such as children visiting their friends.
Some example easy cycle trips are:
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secondary school or six-form college,
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commute to Cambridge or neighbouring towns/ villages,
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cycle to mainline railway stations,
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cycle to shops for food, newspapers, takeaways, postoffice
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swimming pool, sports hall, scouts, cubs, clubs, pubs,
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doctors, pharmacists, dentist
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Anglesey Abbey,
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Addenbrookes,
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Marshall's, Cambridge
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Science Park etc.
Try our interactive map to calculate distance to your common destinations
Cambridge Cycle Network
As can be seen in the local area map the Wilbrahams and Six Mile Bottom are isolated and have no direct connection with the Cambridge Cycle Network with the nearest potential points of access at Fulbourne and Bottisham as indicated by the arrows.
Figure 1. The Cambridge Cycle Network. The red and blue represent existing routes.
The key to connecting to this network is linking cycle paths from the local villages that are safe, direct and where possible, separate cyclist from the local high speed traffic.
Figure 2. Strava® - Popular cycle paths. White is the most popular routes .
The area around both the Wilbrahams and Six Mile Bottom is popular with leisure cyclists as shown in the Strava® map which plots the cycle routes for individual riders. In this figure the white lines indicate the most popular routes and the red lines the less used routes. It is clear from this map that this area of Cambridgeshire is well used as a cycle location for riders. These riders do not necessarily reside in the three villages.
The proposal is that two cycle paths are put forward to residents as candidates for discussion. The paths could be developed in two stages as one would be considerably more expensive that the other and would take longer to implement. The first idea is the least expensive and could be implemented relatively rapidly if agreed by residents and the appropriate local authorities. The second idea involves significant construction and therefore would take longer and be significantly more expensive to implement. Details of the two ideas are outlined below.
Idea One - Upgrade the north - bound lane of the Wilbraham Road to Bottisham
Figure 3. Idea One - Proposed cycle path.
This proposal would convert Wilbraham Road between Little Wilbraham and Bottisham to a one way road (north east bound) and use the south-west bound carriageway as a cycle path. Upgrade the footpath along the A1303 (Newmarket Road) near Bottisham between Bottisham High Street and Bell Road to connect to the existing cycle path. A safe crossing (pelican crossing) at the junctions either end of Wilbraham Road with Little Wilbraham Road and the A1303 would allow cyclist to safely access this route. This will enable a vital connection for cyclists to safely travel from The Wilbrahams to Bottisham, Cambridge and other places.
Idea Two - Cycle path from Great Wilbraham to Fulbourne
Figure 3. Stage I - Proposed cycle path.
Figure 4. Idea Two - Proposed cycle path.
This proposal would be a longer term project which would involve developing a dedicated cycle path from the end of Frog End Great Wilbraham alongside the Wilbraham Road to Fulbourne. The path could finish at the Queens Farm corner and join the existing roads in Fulbourne to join up with the Cambridge Cycle Network at the beginning of Fulbourne Drift. This would connect cyclists to Fulbourne and on to Cherry Hinton and then to Cambridge or specific destinations like Addenbrookes.
Idea Three - Cycle path from Little Wilbraham via the Short Drove
This path uses the Short Drove from Little Wilbraham to the Quy Roundabout. Currently this is just a reasonably solid track but would need upgrading to support all types of bikes. Details to be added.
If you have any other ideas or suggestions then please contact us so we can add these to the collection. Fill in our Contact form of just drop us an email cyclewilbrahams@gmail.com.
CycleWilbrahams