What I found

• Too many routes were indirect
  
  – many tried to avoid even marginally-busy roads, others went out of their way to link up with traffic-free paths. An indirect route won't be used for commuting and even for leisure trips winding routes that never seem to get to their destination can soon become frustrating.
  
  …the direct route from Bideford to Holsworthy in North Devon is 15 miles on a none-too-busy road. The Sustrans route is over 21 miles.
  
  ...approaching Woodbridge on the Hull to Harwich route the further you go, the farther away you get from the town!
  
  ...near Bray the Round Berkshire Cycleway follows the direct B3028, while the NCN's Thames Valley route diverts off onto an off-road path.
  
  
• Routes which tried to be all things to all cyclists
  
  – a route that is right for taking children to school or commuters to the station is unlikely to meet the needs of a long distance cycle tourist. Novice cyclists might want to avoid busy roads at all costs but anyone on a 200-mile cycle trip should be prepared for a bit of traffic.
  
  …In North Wootton, near King's Lynn in Norfolk, the 350-mile Hull to Harwich route is signposted off a quiet suburban road along a narrow path then back onto the same road – simply to serve a primary school!
  
  
• Too many off-road sections were poorly-surfaced
  
  

  The track across this field is part of NCN route 21 in Sussex. It may be rough, but it's far from being the worst-surfaced part of the Sustrans network. Some parts are totally unrideable except on a mountain bike.

  – I've been back to some of them after a gap of several years and in many cases nothing has changed. Many of them are only suitable for mountain bikes. Sustrans seems more interested in adding new miles to the network than improving the quality of what already exists.
  
  …At Grenofen in south Devon the Devon Coast to Coast route uses a steep, rocky path on which it is almost impossible to push a laden bike, let alone ride it.
  
  ...The downland route out of Marlborough on the Severn & Thames route is only suitable for lightly-laden mountain bikers. How does this square with Sustrans' mission to provide routes for tourists, novices, children, and local journeys?
  
  ...At Woolacombe on the Devon Coast to Coast ride the route ends up on the narrow, overgrown and stony bridleway of the coastal path
  
  
• The downright odd
  
  – in a few places there are some very strange goings-on on the NCN
  
  ...although the promenade east of Bournemouth Pier is part of NCN route 2, cycling is not permitted between 10am and 6pm during July and August!
  
  ...at Ardrossan in Scotland route 7 runs along the sea wall, a very damp ride when the sea's breaking over it.
  
  
• With a few notable exceptions, the signposting is dreadful
  
  – signs are too small to be seen when riding at all speedily, or they're hidden by bushes, or they simply don't exist.
  
  …I wasted hours in Hull trying to follow the route into the city and then trying to find the Humber Bridge on the way out. In both cases the signs suddenly seemed to stop.
  
  ...on a couple of occasions on the Cornish Way, the printed map, the online map, the Ordnance Survey map, and the signing all offered different directions!
  
  ...alternative routes were rarely signed at all.
  
  

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