The Founder’s Tale

We never set out to create a national cycle route…

I have had a lifelong interest in history and culture, and by 2020 had thoroughly enjoyed several years of working on a personal heritage project, bringing the Pele Tower in Corbridge into a new era of its life. It was highly satisfying work, and a personal lesson in what’s possible when you find new meaning and purpose in historic places.

That interest became the catalyst for my PhD research, undertaken in partnership with Northumbria University and Newcastle Cathedral. Together, we examined how cathedrals, often historic and always highly significant buildings, balance their roles as heritage destinations and living places of worship in the contemporary world.

As I dug deeper, I started to notice something slightly troubling. For all their beauty and significance, cathedrals often stood alone. There was a lack of connection; not just between buildings, but between people and communities. 

I began to wonder whether these places could be connected in a more direct way; not metaphorically, but physically. Could cycling from one cathedral to the next become a form of communication in itself, linking places, people, and purpose through movement?

The Covid crisis sharpened that question. At a time when connection and shared focus mattered more than ever, I began to think about this idea of physical movement alongside the concepts of pilgrimage and heritage, and whether they might be meaningfully brought together.

Those questions became a thesis. And that thesis flourished and grew into the Cathedrals Cycle Route: a journey of discovery of historic places, and the spaces in between them.

The route that now exists, and has been already travelled by many people, isn’t about racing or records. It’s about creating space: space to slow down, take a personal journey, explore the fascinating contrasts of the English landscape and discover significant places. Some people come for the challenge of long-distance cycling. Others are looking for direction, focus, or a reason to get outside, try something new and keep going. Everyone finds something different.

More than one participant has told me that it changed their life. One rider started with short local rides, built up to cycle the whole route, and is now travelling abroad on two wheels; a bishop called it ‘a gift to the Church.’ But the feedback I hear most often is that the route gives people a sense of purpose - something they didn’t even realise they were missing.

If you’re thinking about giving it a go - whether it’s a short ride out, a full leg or the entire 2,000 mile journey - you’ll be in good company.

Dr Shaun Cutler - Cathedrals Cycle Route Founder