Help name UK’s most frequently cycled bridge

The most cycled bridge in the UK is getting a transformation – and it’s up to the readers of Bristol24/7 to name it

Turns out the UK’s most frequently cycled and walked route in the UK is the Bristol & Bath Railway Path. 

This spells great news for sustainable transport charity Sustrans, which created and manages the National Cycle Network within which the first ever route, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, exists. 

Jointly with Bristol-based organic herbal tea producer Pukka Herbs, Sustrans and Bristol City Council’s Travelwest project are transforming the railway bridge on the Easton and Lawrence Hill section of the path.

The bridge is the busiest part of the network, seeing more than 770,000 cycle journeys and one million journeys including pedestrians per year. With the creative help of artist Robyn Boden and the children of City Academy and Whitehall Primary School, the bridge will take on a new lease of life through a 90-metre mural.  

The mural will celebrate the identity of the area and the people and wildlife that inhabit it. It will even include a herb trail for those taking a leisurely stroll along the route. 

With the regeneration of this bridge comes a new name, but the name is yet to be decided and it is up to the readers of Bristol24/7 to throw their suggestions into the ring. 

Name suggestions can be entered by emailing namebristolbridge@bristol247.com or tweeted using #namebristolbridge. 

The Bristol public have from now until midnight on Wednesday, July 6 to name the bridge. The person who suggests the chosen name will not only win a number of Pukka Herbs prizes they will also have the honour of having their name next to their winning suggestion on the bridge’s official plaque. 

Sustrans director of fundraising and retail, Julian Hall, said: “I hope people take a moment and send in their ideas and also that people reflect on what a national treasure the National Cycle Network is and consider giving support to Sustrans to help in its upkeep.”

Pukka Herbs co-founder Tim Westwell said: “Pukka’s mission is about connecting people, plants and planet, starting with a delicious cup of tea. In order to benefit all three of these living things, sustainability plays a key role.

“This new partnership between Pukka and Sustrans encourages sustainable travel and ultimately aims to improve the wellbeing of both people and the planet.”

Sustrans and Pukka Herbs came together at the end of last year with the motivation of regenerating run down areas of the National Cycle Network and creating habitats for wildlife that also celebrate herbs and the beneficial impact they can have on health and wellbeing. 

Since being started in Bristol, the National Cycle Network passes within a mile of all UK homes and now stretches more than 14,000 miles across the length and breadth of the UK.

Read more: Past, present & future of cycling in Bristol