Cycle campaigning
Why campaign for cycling?
Cycling offers huge benefits to individuals and the UK as a whole. As well as being a highly affordable, convenient and healthy way to travel, it’s also downright fun, and we believe everyone should to be able to share the joys and benefits of cycling. Tragically, however, two thirds of people in Britain find our roads too dangerous to cycle on, locking them out of this opportunity.
Cycling UK, with the support of our members, is at the forefront of the movement to create a cycle-friendly future where everyone, young or old, feels able to hop on their bike, whether they’re heading to work, school or the shops, enjoying the countryside at the weekend, or taking on an epic long-distance trail.
What’s more, getting people riding won’t only improve millions of lives, but would also save the NHS millions of pounds, boost productivity, help protect our environment and tackle harmful air pollution in our towns and cities.
Latest news and stories
Explore our areas of campaigning
We campaign on a wide range of issues to make cycling safer for everyone and enable more people to cycle more often. You can also find out more about what we believe in, what changes we want to see, and the evidence to back it up in our briefings.
Cycling UK campaigning across the UK and in your local area
We campaigns across the UK and coordinate the Cycle Advocacy Network of local campaigners and campaign groups – get involved to help turn where you live into a cycle-friendly community!
Support Cycling UK
We couldn’t achieve anything without the help of tens of thousands of members and supporters from across the UK.
Joining Cycling UK ensures we can continue to push for a more cycle-friendly country and adding your own voice to our campaigns will help amplify our message even further.
Whether you want to support a specific campaign, or get more involved in your local area, there’s loads you can do to help us succeed, check our our campaigns above or get involved in our Cycle Advocacy Network to get active in your area.
Our history of campaigning
Since Cycling UK’s formation in 1878 as the Bicycle Touring Club (subsequently renamed the Cyclists’ Touring Club), we have always been a championing voice for cyclists and cycling. These are just a few of our highlights:
- 1885: Richmond Park and The Regent’s Park are the first of several royal parks opened to cyclists as a result of our action
- 1888: Secured the definition of cycles as ‘carriages’, and therefore the right for cyclists to use the roads
- 1950: Obtained removal of clause in Wolverhampton Corporation Bill which sought power to control cyclists’ use of local roads
- 1968: Right to cycle on bridleways and long-distance cross-country routes incorporated in new Countryside Act, largely through our action
- 1977: Cycles carried free (with certain exceptions) on trains after 99 years of sustained effort
- 2001: Cyclists’ Defence Fund established to fight for cyclists’ rights in the courts
- 2003: Ensured cycling was included in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act, affording cyclists a ‘right to roam’ in Scotland
- 2014: Successfully campaigns for the secretary of state for transport to set out a strategy for cycling and walking infrastructure, and, by law, provide the funding required to meet it
- 2019: The Great North Trail established as the first of a series of long distance off-road cycling routes
- 2022: Following a decade of campaigning, new Highway Code rules were introduced to make our roads safer for people cycling and walking