The Parish Church of St Leonard, Wychnor, Staffs. The Parish Church of St Leonard, Wychnor, Staffs.. Photo: Frank Smith / Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Open the interactive map → Map of NCN 54 - Derby to Lichfield

Official route · Sustrans

NCN 54 - Derby to Lichfield

60.8 km 419 m climbing A day 20% off road Road cycling West Midlands

The route runs north to south, from Derby through the Midlands plain to Lichfield, and the terrain is flat to gently rolling throughout.

About a fifth of the distance is off road. The line passes through a long run of settlements, with Lichfield near the southern end and Derby at the northern, and threads through Burton-on-Trent's suburbs at Horninglow, Stretton and Shobnall before crossing into open country again toward Alrewas and Fradley.

The figures

Distance60.8 km
Climbing419 m
Off road12 km, about 20% of the route
Riding timeabout 5 hours, a long day
RegionWest Midlands
Route fromSustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Resupply is straightforward; Lichfield, Barton-under-Needwood and Derby all lie on the line, and smaller villages such as Alrewas and Etwall break up the middle section. The route is not remote at any point. Navigation wants attention in the Derby approaches, where the line passes through Mickleover, Mackworth Estate and Markeaton in quick succession before dropping into the city centre.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

Plan this route → Download the GPX

Other route guides

NCN 54 - Derby to Lichfield is an official route from Sustrans (their website).