Note that in 2025, Sustrans was rebranded as the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust.
The National Cycle Network can be seen on Ordnance Survey maps (OS) using data supplied by the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust. It can also be seen on OpenCycleMap using data provided by volunteers.
The NCN shown on the two maps [OS map and the OpenStreetmap (OSM) – on which OpenCycleMap is based] is different and it shouldn’t be.
A review of the differences between the NCN map (as provided by the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust) and the current version of Openstreetmap can be seen on the analysis map.
Review the highlighted areas (purple on the later maps) which show the discrepancies. Turn on/off layers by using the legend at top right.
The analysis takes account of the removed and reclassified sections of the NCN and compares just the OSM NCN and the remaining NCN after removal and reclassification.
Walk Wheel Cycle Trust make the NCN data available as open data and this has been used in the analysis rather than the data from Ordnance Survey.
After many years of pushing, Walk Wheel Cycle Trust have agreed to undertake an exercise to bring their mapping and OpenStreetMap mapping closer together. Details can be found here including a Walk Wheel Cycle Trust generated map based on the above approach.
Some discrepancies are down to:
- Links on the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust NCN that might not be included on OSM
However, others show:
- wrong alignment on either NCN or OSM mapping which should be corrected. The analysis has used a 20 metre difference so sometimes the misalignment is fairly minor and is a low priority to fix.
- historical changes to the network that aren’t reflected in the mapping.
- mismatch between Openstreetmap Regional Routes and the Sustrans NCN – some OSM regional routes are included in the Sustrans NCN, some aren’t. There are some issues with the OSM regional routes not actually being named the same as the Sustrans regional routes included in the NCN and these will need updating within OSM.
- Ferry routes are shown on the OSM map (as part of the NCN) but not on the Sustrans maps so are highlighted as discrepancies
Whilst local knowledge is needed to understand whether the Sustrans OS map or the Openstreetmap map is correct (or neither) there should be no discrepancies. Thus the highlights show areas where either the Sustrans map or the Openstreetmap need to be corrected and should be reviewed by people with local knowledge.
Map data from Openstreetmap