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About Urban Safari
Urban Safari is a brand new project to encourage family adventures on two wheels. It’s all about getting the bikes out and riding off for an urban adventure. Taking the time to enjoy the city, discover new parts of it and be outdoors together as a family.
As idyllic as that sounds, when you’re planning days out with the kids, there’s lots to consider. Where to go? How to get there? What do we need to pack? How much will it cost?
We believe there are lots of hidden gems in Southampton that you can reach safely and calmly by bike, from wherever you are.
But we also recognise the difficulties in getting started with this form of travel. Many of the routes we’re familiar with as drivers would simply not be safe for parents, let alone for small ones to ride. Even one short section along a busy road can make a whole route unviable. Cycle lane provision is happening rapidly, but sections do still suddenly come to an end.
We’ve observed these barriers to family cycling and tried to address all these challenges in the routes we’ve put together. We figured we couldn’t make bespoke routes from every single house, so we decided to make the starting place your local school. And from there the routes will only use quiet roads and cycle lanes. These in turn are selected to ensure that you meet the main roads at points where they can be crossed safely. The routes will never cost you any money. And along the way the routes will highlight play parks, streams, walks and coffeehouses – why not go off piste and see what else there is to discover?
Our advice is go slow, enjoy your time and above all, make it an adventure!
Have you been on an Urban Safari? Tell us about it
We’d love to hear how you get on. If you had a great time, please do post your adventures on social media, using the hashtag #urbansafari.
If you have a problem or suggestion, please email us using the form below.