Active Travel

Getting out walking or cycling provides several benefits:

  • It’s great for physical health as it helps keep a healthy weight, prevent serious illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and asthma, and maintain and strengthen joints and bones.
     
  • It can help unwind, destress and put a smile on your face.
     
  • It saves money by cutting down on fares and fuel.
     
  • It improves your local area by reducing traffic congestion and air pollution 

A 30 minute walk or cycle five times a week would achieve the recommended minimum target of 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity per week.

Inverclyde Active Travel Strategy

The Council recognises that it has a key role to play in enhancing opportunities for active travel in Inverclyde. It therefore adopted an Active Travel Strategy in August 2018, which sets out a vision of making active travel a convenient and attractive choice for every day journeys in Inverclyde. The strategy includes a series of actions to achieve this vision, addressing issues such as marketing, behaviour change and infrastructure improvements. The strategy is being progressed by the Council, in partnership with other key stakeholders, including local active travel projects Community Tracks and The Bothy. 

Advice and Support

If you have any questions about walking or cycling you can get advice and support from the local projects below:

  • Community Tracks is our local active travel hub. The projects offers a wide range of advice and support, including active travel maps, cycle maintenance classes, fix your own bike workshops, cycle training and riding confidence sessions and led bike rides. Follow the link from this page to find out more.
  • The Bothy is a walk-in hub based in Gourock railway station and online. It offers advice and support with route planning, a programme of led bike rides and health/history walks, e-bike ‘have a go’ sessions, bike maintenance sessions and much more. Follow the link from this page to find out more.

A calendar of local walking and cycling activities is also available at the Community Tracks website. Follow the link from this page to find out what's on and when. A series of walking and historical guides is also available on the Council's tourism webpages - a link to these can be found on this page as well, along with a list of useful web resources.

There is a range of funding opportunities available for community groups and third sector organisations to enhance active travel infrastructure and promote behaviour change in their area. Further information is available from Transport Scotland and SPT - links can be found on this page.