National Cycle Route 24, otherwise known as the Colliers Way currently runs from Dundas Aqueduct

Dundas Aqueduct

Dundas Aqueduct carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Wessex Main Line railway from Bath to Westbury, near Limpley Stoke in Wiltshire, England....

 to Frome

Frome

Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...

 via Radstock

Radstock

Radstock is a town in Somerset, England, south west of Bath, and north west of Frome. It is within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset and had a population of 5,275 according to the 2001 Census...

, although it is intended to provide a continuous cycle route to Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 and Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

.

Route

The route follows a mixture of low traffic roads and old railway lines serving the Somerset coalfield

Somerset coalfield

The Somerset Coalfield included pits in the North Somerset, England, area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973.It is part of a wider coalfield which covered northern Somerset and southern Gloucestershire. It stretched from Cromhall in the north to the Mendip Hills in the south, and...

.
There is a visitor centre, cycle shop and cafe at Dundas Aqueduct, where this route meets NCR 4

NCR 4

Between London and Fishguard, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea, Llanelli and St David's. Within Wales, NCR 4 forms one of the branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route.-London to Reading:Chertsey | Staines | Eton | Maidenhead...

 on the Kennet & Avon Canal. From there it follows a road to Midford

Midford

Midford is a village approximately miles south south east of Bath, Somerset, England within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

. The next section proceeds to Wellow

Wellow, Somerset

Wellow is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, about south of Bath. The parish, which includes the hamlet of Twinhoe has a population of 511...

 and then past Peasedown St John

Peasedown St John

Peasedown St John is one of the largest villages in Somerset, England. Located on a hilltop roughly south-southwest of the city of Bath, Peasedown used to be a coal mining village. When the last of the mines was shut in the 1950s it became a dormitory village for both Bath and, to a lesser...

 and Foxcote to Radstock. It then follows an old railway line past Kilmersdon

Kilmersdon

Kilmersdon is a small village located in the north of Somerset between the towns of Radstock and Frome. The settlement is recorded in William I's Domesday book and dates back at least 1,000 years; though the core of the village dates from the mid nineteenth century.-History:The name Kilmersdon...

, Buckland Dinham

Buckland Dinham

Buckland Dinham is a small village near Frome in Somerset, England. The village has a population of 379. The village's main industry is farming , but the village is also a dormitory village for the nearby cities of Bath and Bristol.-History:...

 and Mells

Mells, Somerset

Mells is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, near the town of Frome.The parish includes the village of Vobster which had a coal mine of the same name on the Somerset coalfield and quarry, both of which are now disused. The old quarry is now used as a diving centre...

 to Great Elm

Great Elm

Great Elm is a village and civil parish between Mells and Frome in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Hapsford.-History:...

. An interim route is then provided along lanes from Great Elm through Vallis Vale (among other less hilly routes) into Frome, as the continuous cycle path ends in Great Elm. The track running from Great Elm is still in use by the local quarries for distribution of locally mined limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 to national terminals. This factor means the cycle path legally couldn't continue along the tracks, unless they close to trains all together. The tracks connect to the Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

 to Weymouth line, shared by passenger and freight transport.

Linear orchard

The remains of apple cores thrown from train passengers have left the route with several apple trees. A programme of planting of apple and pear trees is now being undertaken to turn this into a linear orchard. A series of etched and enamelled

Enamel paint

Enamel paint is paint that air dries to a hard, usually glossy, finish, used for coating surfaces that are outdoors or otherwise subject to hard wear or variations in temperature; it should not be confused with decorated objects in "painted enamel", where vitreous enamel is applied with brushes and...

 copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

plate signs which are being set into boulders along the route highlighting the names of Old English varieties.