History of Road Tax in the UK and the effect of "VED Reform" from April 1st 2017 - Pt.2

In the previous post we looked at the history of Road Tax, the previous (pre-April 2017) VED scheme and the effect of graduated VED on the UK car market.

We are now going to look at the VED Reform scheme itself, how it is implemented and some of its impacts.

VED Reform scheme

VED Reform made changes to both the 1st year VED rates (when a car is first registered) and to the standard VED rates (that are due each time the previous VED expires - usually annually).

The change to the 1st year rate is, in my opinion, the right idea, but poorly implemented. As we saw in the previous post, there was a big step change in VED rate from those vehicles with CO2 emissions of 130g/km or less and those above 130g/km - £130 in fact. All vehicles with CO2 emissions of 130g/km or less paid £0 (zero) VED in their first year. As we saw in this chart, at the end of 2016 75% of cars registered paid no VED in their first year.

This big step change in VED was a significant incentive for vehicle manufacturers to try and get their vehicles to 130g/km or less. If they could get their vehicles to 100g/km or less then those vehicles would never pay any VED.

The trouble with this was that once you'd reached 100g/km (and to a lesser extent 130g/km) the incentive to keep improving CO2 emissions was diminished (unless the vehicle featured heavily in the Company Car market where each 5g/km improvement was still incentivised). Also, 0g/km to 100g/km was a very wide band, which didn't sufficiently incentivise ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicles) or ULEV (Ultra Low Emission Vehicles), i.e. electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid, whose CO2 emissions were typically at 50g/km or below.

What the 1st year VED needed was a more progressive rise in duty as CO2 emissions increased. Fortunately, this is what we got (sort of). The table below shows the pre and post-April 2017 1st Year VED rates. [Note the renaming of the CO2 bands. However, since VED Reform was introduced DVLA seem to have depreciated the use of names for the CO2 bands]

It's far from perfect: there is still a big step change in rate at 76g/km, but at least ULEV and ZEV are incentivised more strongly and every vehicle that emits CO2 pays VED. In addition, the vehicles with the highest CO2 emissions have their VED rates increased to further discourage their use. [Note that some low emitting vehicles, i.e. those between 76 and 130g/km see a significant rise in 1st Year VED]

If we look at our now familiar ribbon chart we can see how the VED rates have changed with the introduction of VED Reform.

The new rates are shown in red and the larger steps in the higher rates can easily be seen. The rate bands between 1-50g/km (£10) and 51-75g/km (£25) are much harder to pick out.

So far, so good(ish). However, the standard VED rates also need revising.

The revisions to the 1st year VED rates are good and welcome - up to a point. They are a "one-off" duty charge that actually has little effect on the ongoing cost of ownership. An extra £20, £50, even £100 on the price of the average city runaround is not going to make a great deal of financial impact on the consumer compared with the purchase price of the vehicle. For example, in 2016, the average list price of an "A Segment" City Car was approx £9,900, the average increase in VED rate for the 1st year would be approx £160 or about 1.6% of the previous purchase price (this estimate will be covered later). The more expensive the car, the less difference the increase in VED will make.

The annual VED rate is much more important to the consumer or owner of the vehicle as this has to be paid each year and it is one of the key metrics (along with fuel, servicing and and insurance costs) consumers look for when choosing either a new or used vehicle. The VED rate is one of the contributing factors to the Cost of Ownership, i.e. how much you have to spend to keep the car on the road. So a vehicle with a low annual VED rate is going to be more desirable than a similar vehicle with a higher VED rate as you'll have to spend less money on VED to keep it on the road.

As we saw previously (see table above), under the old VED scheme, the standard (annual) VED rate also increased in line with CO2 emission, but not to the same extent as the 1st year rate. Under VED reform, for vehicles that emit even 1g/km CO2 the new standard (annual) rate would be a flat £140. It would NOT take into account the CO2 emissions of the vehicle.

Take a look at the right hand column of that table. For each VED band it shows the change in standard VED rate from the old VED scheme to the new one. Note how the lowest emitting vehicles now pay much more VED each year than they did previously and the highest emitting vehicles pay much less VED each year.

So what does that look like on our familiar ribbon chart?

Note the "flat line" for the new annual scheme: as far as the annual VED rate is concerned, there is NO incentive to choose a car with low CO2 emissions as all cars with CO2 emissions of 1g/km or more will pay the same £140 per year rate. This would apply particularly to used cars where someone else has already paid the First Year VED.

However, it doesn't stop there, if the vehicle price was over £40,000 when it was first registered, the annual (renewal) VED rate would be increased by £310 per year for 5 years (this is usually years 2 to 6 of the vehicle's life), after which it reverts to £140 (or whatever the prevailing standard rate is at the time). Let's just think about what this means: the amount of VED due on a vehicle in future years is linked to the vehicle's price (when new). Price is a metric that is NOT collected as part of the process of registering a vehicle by any of the parties involved (manufacturer, retailer, DVLA or SMMT). This is a very significant change to the registration system in the UK and as we will see later one that would cause a great deal of upheaval in the industry.

Before we do that, let's have a look at the complete new VED Reform scheme:

The figures in red indicate where a vehicle would pay LESS annual VED under the new VED Reform scheme than they did under the previous scheme. Note that those vehicle have the highest emissions and that those vehicles with the lowest emission all pay MORE VED (with the exception of ZEVs under £40k).

Let's look at some examples of what these new rules mean:

There is quite a wide range of CO2 emissions across those three vehicles, but they all pay the same £140 annual VED rate.

There are a few perverse outcomes of the new rules too. On the slide above, we can see that the BMW i3 and the Tesla Model S both emit 0g/km of CO2 (as they are both pure electric vehicles), but that the Tesla pays £310 per year annual VED rate because it is over £40k.

The Ford Mustang on the other hand, despite it putting out 299g/km CO2 pays only £140 per year annual VED rate because it is under £40k. That's the same as a BMW i3 RX which emits just 12g/km CO2.

If we generalise a little and split the 2016 car market by published price and CO2 emissions we can see how different vehicles are impacted.

The table on the left splits the 2016 car market by CO2 emissions and by published price (above and below £40k). The percentages are the proportion of the market represented by vehicles with those CO2 emissions and published price. The green and red shading reflects those vehicles with the lowest and highest CO2 emissions.

The table on the right shows whether those same 6 generalised vehicles categories win (green minus) or lose (red plus) under the new VED Reform scheme. Whether it was intentional or not can be argued, but what can't be argued is that the lowest CO2 emitting vehicles are all worse off under VED Reform and that the highest emitting vehicles are better off under VED Reform.

Vehicle Price

So what is actually meant by "vehicle price"? Well for the purposes of VED Reform, vehicle price was defined as the published value of the vehicle including any factory fitted options, the cost of delivery to dealer premises (if charged), pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and VAT on those items. It would exclude the value of accessories fitted at the dealer and it would exclude the cost of the 1st Year VED and the £55 First Registration Fee (FRF). This is very similar to the P11d value of the vehicle that is used when calculating Company Car Tax.

Different manufacturers have different ways of charging for their vehicles, some include delivery and PDI in the cost of the vehicle, others call them out separately. As a result, there are many different definitions of "List Price" depending on which manufacturer you talk to. At JLR, to try and avoid confusion, we chose to call the DVLA's definition of a vehicle's price the "DVLA List Price" to differentiate it from any other meaning of "List Price". For clarity, I will continue to use "DVLA List Price" for that same reason.

Note that on the slide above, there is no mention of discounts or trade-in values for part exchanges in the calculation of DVLA List Price. The DVLA List Price is NOT the price the customer pays for the vehicle. Customers who pay less than £40k for their vehicle (because of discounts or trade-ins), may nevertheless find that the additional £310 VED rate was due on their vehicle because its DVLA List Price was over £40k. Similarly, for the increasing number of people who purchase or lease their vehicle based on a monthly payment, the actual purchase price of the vehicle may be irrelevant to them.

When using pricing to calculate taxes and duties, HM Treasury uses the published value of the vehicle the day before it was registered for the first time (or the registration submitted). Not when the customer ordered the vehicle, not when the manufacturer built the vehicle or when it invoiced the retailer. This "definition" of vehicle price is what causes the issues, but why?

Potential impact on the customer

Inevitably, there will be a delay between the time at which a customer places an order for a vehicle, to when it is invoiced to the dealer (by the manufacturer), to when the retailer invoices the customer, to when the vehicle is first registered. That time could be anything from a couple of days to several months (if there is a long waiting list for the vehicle). If any of the values used to calculate the DVLA List Price (published list price, option prices, VAT rate) change during that intervening period, the DVLA List Price of the vehicle will change. This could mean that the vehicle the customer had carefully ordered to come in at £39,995 (to avoid the £310 addition VED rate) now has a DVLA List Price of over £40,000. Meaning the additional VED rate becomes applicable and the customer pays more than they budgeted for. Even if the customer doesn't own the vehicle, for example, if it is leased, then the leasing company will pass the higher VED costs on to the customer in the form of higher monthly payments.

By way of an example, consider the following hypothetical vehicle order:

Note that the VAT rate change on the 1st April causes the DVLA List Price to increase to over £40k and the customer's vehicle become liable for the additional £310 per year VED rate, even though they did their homework and ordered a vehicle with a DVLA List Price below £40k.

Any one of those values that make up the DVLA List Price of the customer's vehicle could have changed between the point at which the customer ordered the vehicle and it being registered. In this case it was the VAT rate, something that neither the manufacturer, retailer or customer have ANY control over.

So what is the potential impact on the customer in terms of additional VED if the DVLA List Price of the vehicle goes over £40k?

A customer could pay up to £1,550 more VED on a vehicle that falls just above the £40k threshold compared with a similar, or even identical, one that falls just below the £40k threshold.

Impact on the manufacturer or importer

Under VED Reform it is the responsibility of the manufacturer or importer to provide the DVLA List Price of the vehicle to DLVA at the point of registration. What this actually means is that when a retailer clicks the button to register a vehicle, the manufacturer or importer must calculate the DVLA List Price of the vehicle in real-time and send it to DVLA along with the other technical details of the vehicle, e.g. CO2 emissions, EU emission standard, colour, etc. That doesn't sound too hard, the manufacturer can just look up into their financial system to see how much they invoiced the retailer for the vehicle and send that figure to DVLA - wrong.

Remember, the DVLA List Price is calculated as the published value of the vehicle the day before the vehicle was registered. Sending the invoice value won't work. The published price of the vehicle, its options or the VAT rate may have changed in the period of time between invoice and registration.

What the manufacturer must do instead is to look back into their systems at what vehicle was built, which options it was fitted with and then calculate what the published value of that vehicle, with those options was yesterday, then add yesterday's VAT rate, and send that value to DVLA. This must all be done within a fraction of a second to ensure it doesn't hold up the registration procedure.

Needless to say that this process of calculating yesterday's DVLA List Price caused a major headache for all manufacturers and importers.

So that's the calculation of the DVLA List Price and the potential issues of that dealt with.

There is another, perhaps unintended, impact of VED Reform that needs to be addressed. This impacts retailers and short term owners of vehicles, for example rental companies.

First Licence Rate (FLR) Refunds

This goes back to the change in the Tax Disc rules in 2014 and is not brought about by VED Reform, however, it is exacerbated by it.

Since the "Tax Disc" was abolished in 2014, when a vehicle is sold, the "tax" no longer transfers to the new owner, it is refunded to the existing/previous owner. However, the full amount remaining is not refunded: only whole months remaining and the pro-rata'd amount is based on the lower of the amount paid or the standard (annual) VED rate.

What the final slide in this sequence shows is that a) because the VED rates for the 1st year have increased significantly, and b) that for some vehicles the annual (renewal) VED rates have decreased, the FLR refund amount is significantly lower than the amount originally paid. In other words, a larger proportion of the FLR is "lost" (to DVLA) when a vehicle changes hands within the first year. This could be as high as £1,860.

This has cost implications for retailers running demonstrator or courtesy vehicles which may be changed three or four times per year. As an example, for a sub-£40k demonstrator vehicle with CO2 emissions of 155g/km that is changed 4 times per year the retailer would lose £1,440 (£360 x 4) per year in "lost" FLR VED each year.

The same would apply to companies running short-term rental fleets. These costs all add up and ultimately will have to be passed on to the consumer, either as higher prices, or reduced availability of rental, demonstrator or courtesy vehicles.

Next time, we'll look at how VED Reform has impacted the UK car market since it was introduced.

History of Road Tax in the UK and the effect of "VED Reform" from April 1st 2017

Synopsis

Changes to VED implemented in April 2017 caused significant upheaval for the UK motor industry and started a move away from CO₂ based taxation which may have implications for the trend of continuing decline in CO₂ emissions from cars in the UK.
This material was originally produced in March 2017 ahead of the implementation of VED reform the following month.

Company Car Tax (CCT) (described below) is also linked to CO2 emissions and strongly incentivises lower CO2 vehicles. However, CCT only affects a sub-set of the cars driven on UK roads, VED affects ALL vehicles driven on UK roads. Changes announced to CCT in Autumn 2017 do need to be covered and discussed, but not in this article.

Background
In the Autumn 2015 budget statement the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, declared that from 1st April 2017 the UK Government would make sweeping changes to "road tax" or Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) as it is correctly known. This gave the UK motor industry, SMMT and DVLA around 18 months to implement very significant changes to the UK vehicle registration system known as AFRL (Automated First Registration and Licensing system). That may seem like ample time, but in reality as we will see it presented significant difficulties for all involved.

Firstly, we need to briefly look at the main taxes and duties levied on motorised road-going transport in the UK.

Taxes and Duties related to cars (and some other vehicles) in the UK

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) – also (incorrectly) known as Road Tax, Car Tax, “the tax disc”, Road Fund Licence

• Annual charge levied on all motor vehicle kept or driven on UK roads
• VED is a tax on ownership of the vehicle
• VED affects ALL vehicles - even if they are zero rated

Fuel Duty – duty levied on fuels used for road transport, e.g. petrol, diesel, LPG

• Per unit of fuel
• Fuel Duty is a tax on use of the vehicle
• Fuel Duty affects all vehicles on UK roads that burn fossil fuels

Company Car Tax (CCT) – A “Benefit in Kind” (BIK) tax paid as part of Income Tax if an employer provides a vehicle for their employees' private use.

• Linked to CO₂ emissions with surcharges for diesel cars
• Employees pay income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on the BIK value of their vehicle
• Employers also pay their portion of the NICs on the BIK value of the vehicle
• CCT only affects those vehicles that are made available by a company for their employees' private use.

Writing Down Allowance (WDA) – for companies, determines the rate at which the depreciation of a vehicle can be offset against taxable profits

• Linked to CO₂ emissions
• WDA only affects those vehicles that are purchased (or leased in some cases) by a company.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

• Levied on the purchase price of most goods and services
• Rates vary, but typically 20% (as of Dec 2017)
• VAT affects all vehicles

First Registration Fee (FRF)

• A "fee" (rather than tax or duty) levied by DVLA at the time of first registration of a vehicle to cover the cost of its administration during its life
• Currently £55 (as of Dec 2017)
• FRF affects all vehicles

Before we look at what the new VED Reform scheme entails, we need to establish what the pre-April 2017 scheme was

The pre-April 2017 VED scheme

• VED based on the CO₂ emissions of the vehicle
• The higher the CO₂ emissions of the vehicle the more VED is due
• There is one rate for the first year (First Licence Rate) and another for the second and subsequent years (Standard or Annual Rate)
• The Annual Rate, like the First Licence Rate also increases with CO₂ emissions

VED Reform outline

• In 2015 the Government announced that the way in they charge Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) on cars would change from 1st April 2017.
• This has come to be known as “VED Reform” and the DVLA would implement this change for all new car registrations from 1st April 2017.

• It would NOT apply retrospectively to vehicles registered before that date.
• It would NOT apply to other vehicle types, e.g. Commercial Vehicles, Motorbikes, HGVs.

As we are only concerned about the way VED Reform will affect the car market (as that is the only section of the market it affects), how much of the total UK vehicle market do cars represent.

Size of the UK vehicle market

Whilst not the only vehicle type on UK roads, passenger cars are the only vehicles affected by VED Reform. As they make up the majority of vehicle registrations in the UK each year (87.5% of the TIV [Total Industry Volume] in 2016) any impact on them will have a significant affect on the market as a whole.

VED has been through many changes over the years so let's see how it has evolved.

History of Vehicle Taxation in the UK

Before we can see what is changing we need to look back at the history of vehicle taxation in the UK.
Much of the information in this section came from an excellent House of Commons Briefing Paper, SN0148 - Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). The main points in that document have been distilled below:

• VED introduced 1st January 1889
• All motor cars registered and numbered from 1st January 1904

• Road Board and Road Improvement Grant (paid for by VED) introduced in March 1910
• “Road Fund” replaced Road Board (and grant) in January 1921
• Although historically the road fund tax was considered a hypothecated tax to pay for the building and maintenance of the road network, it was often raided for other purposes.

• Hypothecation was formally ended by the Finance Act 1936. 
• “Road Fund” abolished 1st April 1937 – VED now paid into general taxation and not “allocated” to roads.
  [Author's note: this means that no-one pays "Road Tax". So for all those angry drivers out there who claim that cyclists should not be on the road because they don't pay road tax. Well neither do you.]

• 1979 Conservative Government considered abolishing VED in favour of increased fuel duty
• A “fairer” tax on use, rather than ownership
• Concluded that requirement for a vehicle register remained (for Police, etc.)
• Therefore there was little to gain from its abolition
• VED based on engine size: above or below 1,549cc

• There were a number of arguments for graduation [of VED] on an environmental basis

• Rather than abolish VED, environmental groups have tended to advocate the ‘greening’ of VED, i.e. dividing it into graduated bands to encourage the purchase of cars that are more environmentally friendly.

• After assuming office in May 1997 the Labour Government indicated that it wished to overhaul the VED system to incentivise people to replace their vehicles with more fuel efficient models.

• A graduated VED system will therefore encourage the purchase of:
• new cars as opposed to older cars;

• cars with lower carbon dioxide emissions and better fuel efficiency; and

• cars using fuels and technology which are better for local air quality

• 1997 Labour Government overhauled VED to be based on CO₂ emissions
• Varied the VED rates between the highest and lowest CO₂ emitting vehicles
• “Graduated VED”
• 4 bands in 2001
• 6 bands in 2003
• 7 bands in 2006
• 13 bands in 2009
• Various incentives or penalties for certain fuel types
• At this time, the VED rate due in the first year was the same as it was in all other years

This chart shows the VED rates that were in effect between 2001/02 and 2009/10. The CO₂ emissions of the vehicle are on the bottom axis, the VED rate up the vertical axis and the fiscal years go from left to right. You can see the number of VED bands represented as the steps in the ribbons on the chart. [Note: for clarity, fuel specific penalties or incentives not shown]

Another way to show the same is to highlight difference between the highest and lowest rates of VED in effect at the time. [Note: again, for clarity, fuel specific penalties or incentives not shown]

When graduated VED was first introduced the difference between the highest and lowest rates was just £55. Eight years later it has risen to £405. Note that from 2006/07 onwards some vehicles were zero rated for VED.

During that time average new car CO₂ emissions fell by 18%. The chart below shows the average CO₂ emission of new cars in the years 2001 to 2010. Note the downward inflexion point in 2007 after the first zero rated VED band was introduced in 2006/07.

The data represented in this chart were obtained by examining the CO2 recorded on the vehicles' registration documentation as reported in the SMMT's registration reporting system. 

[Note: this chart uses calendar years rather than fiscal years as above. Obtaining registration data this far back is difficult by fiscal year, but simple by calendar year]

• Average CO₂ emissions are coming down
• Government strengthens the policy and message
• New “first year” rate from 2010/11 – the “Showroom tax”
• Different VED rates in the first year compared to annual rates
• Increases first year VED for high emitting vehicles
• Reduces first year VED for low emitting vehicles

This chart updates the earlier one and now shows 2001/02 to 2016/17. 2010/11, the year that the "showroom tax" was introduced is highlighted in red. Note how "flat" the first few years of graduated VED are compared with latter years.

As before, another way to see this is to highlight the difference between the lowest and highest VED rates. The next chart shows this. The blue line is the introduction of the first year VED rate (the "showroom tax") in 2010/11.

As the effect of the "showroom tax" hits the market, the decline in CO₂ emissions accelerates with a further 17% drop in just 6 years (compared with the earlier 18% drop in 9 years). [Note: again, this registration chart shows calendar years rather than fiscal years]

So, from a historical point of view, that brings us up to date, March 2017 anyway. Let's look at the VED scheme that was in place as of that time.

• Different VED rates in the first year compared to annual rates
• Increases first year VED for high emitting vehicles
• Reduces first year VED for low emitting vehicles
• £10 reduction in VED rates for "Alternate Fuel Vehicles" (AFVs), e.g. hybrid or LPG. [Not shown for clarity]

Note that vehicles emitting up to 130g/km CO2 pay no VED in the first year and those that emit up to 100g/km CO2 pay no VED at all. These two CO2 "breakpoints" become significant targets for manufacturers to aim for. The 130g/km target also ties closely to a 129g/km breakpoint in the WDA (described above) in effect at the time.

Having seen the pre-April 2017 scheme, let's look at its effect. The following chart shows how the registrations in the calendar years from 2010 to 2016 are broken down into the 13 different VED bands. Note the huge rise in proportion of vehicle that pay no VED in the first year (Band D and below) and those that pay no VED at all (Band A).

Now, I'm not trying to suggest that the trend for lower emitting vehicles is due entirely to the VED schema alone, other taxation (such as CCT and WDA) and increased environmental awareness will have also contributed. However, as VED affects all vehicles on the road and is probably the most visible to the general public (as it hits their pocket every year), it is a significant incentive for people to want lower emitting vehicles.

Now, we have the CO2 figures for the vehicles registered over the past few years and the VED rates that were in effect for those years are known (I've been tracking them since about 2000). This means we can match the number of vehicles registered in each VED band against the VED rates that were in effect for each band to come up with the total VED revenue that would have been generated for the Government in each year.

[Note: I have had to make small approximations in this calculation:

The registration figures are recorded in calendar years, but the VED rates and bands are recorded for fiscal years, i.e. April to March. This means that there is a 3 month (Jan-March) discrepancy between the calendar year registration figures and the fiscal year VED rates. Nevertheless, it should still give us a good indication of the trend.

For the Annual VED figures, I have calculated based on the Annual rate that was in place at the time the vehicle was first registered. I have not calculated using the rate for the second year (when that annual VED rate would actually be due)]

The chart shows the 1st year VED revenue from new cars in each year in £millions (the blue bars), the future Annual VED revenue from the new cars in each year in £millions (the orange bars). The per vehicle average rates for the 1st year and annual rates are then shown as the grey and orange lines.

Looking back to the first chart we saw annual registrations increasing from 2011 onwards. Despite that increase, total and average VED revenues have continued to fall over the following years. In 2016 the Government raised approx £117m (45%) less revenue from VED on new cars as it did in 2010. If we look at the Annual VED revenue due on new cars in future years, this falls by approx £52m (22%) over the same period.

This reduction in VED revenue must have had an impact of the public finances. Looking at the figures it was clear that VED needed reforming if the Government was to recover some of the revenue they were missing out on.

Next blog update: VED Reform and its potential impact.

A crazy way to spend a weekend.

Background

I like cycling, but I am a lazy cyclist. I don't like hills. That's why cycling old railway lines like the Monsal, Tissington and Middleton trails in Derbyshire appeal to me: they're traffic free, out in the country and relatively flat - no nasty hills to deal with. They're relatively short distance though, 15miles or so, barely more than an hour each way and you end up back where you started. What I really wanted was a route that was flat but that actually went somewhere: I wanted a nice, long, flat journey I could do by bike. There aren't many old railway lines that fulfil that criteria, they've either been sold off, built on or still have trains running on them. It was then that I started looking at the British canal network, of which there are still thousands of miles in the UK, often very close to urban centres so easy to access and, as the original 'super-highways' of the country, travel for long distances.

That's probably why the Liverpool & Leeds canal came to mind. I knew the Eastern end well having grown up very close to it and having navigated it two years previously on holiday. However, I didn't know the rest of its course at all. Whilst researching I found a very useful website called Towpath Treks, dedicated to walking and cycling the Liverpool & Leeds canal. It was full of information about the route, distances, towpath conditions, where to stop, where not to stop, hints and tips and of course blogs from people who have previously cycled and walked the route.

The canal is (now) 127miles (205km) from end-to-end, with one end adjacent to Liverpool docks by the Mersey, the other at Leeds Wharf next to the mighty River Aire. The route starts and ends in very urban environments but in the middle passes through some of the loveliest countryside in Britain, i.e. the Pennine hills of North and West Yorkshire. It also passes through some post industrial mill towns (the Grim North), where the scenery and surroundings are not so pleasant. Having read many blogs on Towpath Treks, it seems that two days to cycle the length of the canal should be eminently achievable, some have done it in a single day, a few have even done the return journey within 24hours (hard core).

127miles over two days, that should be easy: at 10mph that's about 13hours in the saddle or four sessions of a little over 30miles each, ideal for a two day weekend cycle. When I've been out on my bike, I can easily average 15mph so 10mph should be straightforward, even with comfort and food stops. This 10mph average seemed to tally with many of the blogs on Towpath Treks. I could do this, I thought. But I needed someone with which to share this adventure, I didn't want to do it on my own, it would be very dull and boring and probably not wise from a health and safety point of view.

I knew my neighbour, Lewis, was a cyclist, we'd discussed cycling many times so I mentioned it to him and he said he was 'up for it'. The trouble was, Lewis does a lot of cycling and is a lot fitter than I am - he does Triathlons for fun. I needed to be able to keep up with Lewis, or at the very least not embarrass myself trying to keep up.

Preparation

I clearly needed some practice, I'd never even cycled as far as 30miles in one go (just one of the four sessions required to complete the whole route), let alone nearly 130miles. I started off cycling some of the old railway trails to build up the miles. A return journey on the Monsal trail was about 17miles, a circular route around the Tissington and Middleton trails about 48, a return along the Camel Trail in Cornwall about 30 and the Cornish Coast to Coast around 24. These were good practice I thought, particularly as the last two were very, very wet and gruelling. This was good 'battle hardiness' for the upcoming Trans-Pennine test. A final circular route around Coventry dispatched 30miles in less than 3 hours quite easily. Great, I can do this.

Planning

So, assuming four sessions of 3 hours over a weekend, we could get the train from Coventry to Liverpool early on a Saturday morning, set off around 10, stop for lunch around 1pm then be at the evening stop for beers at 5. Ditto for the Sunday then catch the train home from Leeds. Easy. So, here was the basis of a plan. A weekend was set and the logistics began.

How should we break the journey: a straight 50:50 split 65miles (ish) per day or try to 'break the back' of the journey on day one. We decided of the latter. Using the Mileage Matrix on Towpath Treks, half way is a place called Church in Accrington, about half way between Blackburn and Burnley. Burnley would seem a sensible place to stop then - this was about 75miles from Liverpool or about 3/5ths of our journey. We chose to stay at the Premier Inn Burnley which, handily, is right next to the canal. When we rang to pre-book they were very helpful, we explained what we were doing and that we'd be on bikes and was there somewhere to store them securely overnight. In fact, they allocated us a ground floor room so we could wheel our bikes straight in and keep them with us.

Arriving at Liverpool Lime St station

Getting to Liverpool was the easy bit, we catch a 7:30ish train from Coventry which would get us in to Liverpool at around 10am. A quick ride across the City centre would allow us to be 'on our way' at 10:30, lunch stop at 13:30 for an hour and then evening stop around 7:30. A bit later than the ideal plan but still doable. The Sunday could be more leisurely as we would 'only' need to do 50ish miles and no doubt we would be tired from Saturday's activities. We'd then need to catch the train back to Coventry from Leeds at the other end. As we didn't know what train we'd be getting back we couldn't pre-book seats or the bikes on board we would just have to hope there was room.

We used Strava to plan the route and stops for snack and lunch breaks. Their route planner allows you to see distances from the start point and work out where the most appropriate places to stop are. Using this we determined that we should stop for lunch at the top of Wigan Locks at a pubs called the Kirless Hall inn. For the Sunday, we decided to stop at the Bay Horse, just East of Skipton, which I know well and they do great food and beer.

The ride

[EDIT: 21/05/17]: Since writing this I have realised that many of the difficulties, particularly the massive mood swings I had can be attributed to 'bonking' or glycogen depletion: http://www.bicycling.com/training/health-injuries/the-5-emotionally-charged-stages-of-bonking-on-the-bike/slide/2

At the start in Liverpool

When the day came, the weather was pretty much perfect, dry, warm, but not too hot or sunny. We arrived at Liverpool on time and cycled the couple of miles across the city centre to where we thought the start of the canal was. It's not as easy to find as we thought and is hidden in the middle of a housing estate. Eventually we did and after setting various GPS devices, phones and watches we were ready to go at 10:40, very slightly later than planned.

The swing bridge in Maghull

The first few miles run along the back of the docks are very urban with well paved or Tarmac'd paths (although you do need to watch out for broken glass and dog mess) we made good progress and had done 12miles in the first hour when we stopped at a swing bridge in Maghull. Things quickly went downhill from there: by chance, we had picked the weekend when a national angling competition was taking place on the canal between Maghull and Wigan. Every twenty yards was an angler with their rod across the path. Almost to a man they were very obliging and did their best to move their rods out of the way as quickly as possible, however, by the time we cleared them, we'd lost a good hour out of our schedule.

Kirkless Hall Inn - Wigan Top Locks

After 3 hours, we'd only covered 2/3rds of the distance we needed to get to our lunch stop but we needed some food. We had a break in Parbold, where there is a lovely cafe by the side of the canal. Despite the route from Parbold to Wigan being very urban, there were long sections of the towpath that were smooth tarmac or concrete which made progress quite rapid, even so it would be another hour before we made our lunch stop at the Kirless Hall Inn at the top of Wigan Locks.

 

The Top Lock at Wheelton

Despite now being very behind schedule, we needed a good break. We left "lunch" at about 3:30, we still had nearly the same distance again to go until our overnight stop in Burnley and we were a little concerned that we might run out of daylight. Getting going again after lunch was difficult, the food was sitting heavily and it was w hile before we settled into a rhythm again. At about 5pm we stopped for a quick rest at a lovely pub called the Top Lock in Wheelton. I'd have loved to spend more time there but we couldn't stay - we needed to press on.

Church - Halfway marker

We finally reached Church - the half-way point on the canal at 7pm, the light was beginning to fade already but we had to pause for photo and quick rest and sustinance. By now, my left knee which had been grumbling since late morning was really beginning to cause me discomfort and it made progress difficult. Other than the stops, I don't really recall the journey from Wigan to Burnley, I was just focussing on keeping going and ticking off the miles. Raising the saddle and adjusting my position helped a little, but I was beginning to wonder if I would be able to resume the journey in the morning.

As we approached the outskirts of Burnley, we lost the light entirely but we still had a way to go. For safety's sake, we considered laving the canal and proceeding to the hotel via the roads. In the end we didn't but were it not for the spill-over from the urban lighting around Burnley then we would have really struggled to stay on the tow-path. That was brought home to us then next morning immediately after we set-off, the first bridge over the canal was so low that had we tried to clear it in the dark, we'd have surely hit it. Also on the outskirts on the way in to Burnley is one of the two tunnels on the canal - Gannow. Navigating this requires leaving the towpath and cycling under the M65 motorway and over a large roundabout before dropping down the other side of the hill to rejoin the towpath. Fortunately, the route is now well signposted and easy to follow. 

We arrived at the Burnley hotel completely shattered having been travlling for almost 10 hours since we left Liverpool. The hotel were very helpful and friendly and as they had booked us a ground floor room we were able to wheel our bikes straight in to keep them safe. Having quickly washed and changed we hobbled across the car-park to the restaurant. I had expected to be starving hungry, however, we were almost too tired to eat.

That night I slept very badly, my aching knee and some very bizzare dreams reliving the day's activities kept me tossing and turning all night. In the morning it was clear from the pain in my knee that I would not be able to get back on the bike straight away. Having had a very hearty breakfast we went for a walk to Sainsbury's for pain-killers, supplies and to ease our aching muscles back into life.

As a result of that and a little light bike maintenance it was nearly 11am before we set-of again. We almost had a nasty incident at Borrowford Reservoir with a group of cyclists coming the other way. One popped out from the back of the group directly into our path and we only just missed them, with our combined speed would have meant the end of our adventure.

Not far past the reservoir is Foulridge tunnel - much longer than the previous Gannow Tunnel in Burnley. Navigating this requires climbing up over a steep hill and following public roads for some 2.5km before rejoining the canal at Foulridge.

The next section of the journey was, for me, by far the hardest. The towpath was, at best, rough and uneven with small stones, fallen leaves and protruding roots. Once we got past Barnoldswick we were into the middle of no-where - the canal snaking back and forth across empty farmland where the towpath was little more that rutted grass strewn with hidden rocks and stones. At times we were going little quicker than walking pace. In fact, we kept leap-frogging a runner who caught us up at each gate and in the rougher sections. It was at this point that I had the first and only "off". We'd stopped at a gate and I didn't unclip my pedals quickly enough, I leant on the gate for support but it just swung out of the way and I ended up on the ground bending my rear derailleur bracket at the same time. I now couldn't select "top gear", not that this was much of an issue given the terrain.

This was the lowest point for me: my knee was giving me serious problems now and my morale was very low. If I hadn't been travelling with Lewis I would have given up at this point, I certainly felt like doing so, and wanted to - so much. But travelling together does make things easier and if I had stopped, what would he have done? Stopped with me, carried on? This was his adventure too. I just needed to dig-in and keep going.

I kept thinking that if I could just make it to Gargrave, that's somewhere I knew and I'd be back in Yorkshire, plus I'd have the choice of leaping on a train to Leeds if things got really bad. But I couldn't stop here no matter what, there was no way out (to Gargrave) other than to keep going, either on foot or on the bike. I HAD to make it to Gargrave.

Thankfully, I did make it to Gargrave where I would have liked to stop for lunch but we had to push on to Skipton. For a while around Gargrave the towpath improved and progress was much easier and less gruelling.
 
Gargrave was the turning point for me and it felt like we were then into the "home" stretch - literally. We were now cycling directly towards where I grew up in and around Bradford, Shipley and Saltaire. The further we progressed the more familiar it felt and the higher the motivation to get to the next town or village.

Now, as we left the Gargrave area the towpath deteriorated back to rutted grass but at least the scenery had improved and I knew where we were - it wasn't far to lovely Skipton where I knew the towpath was better and where there would be another train option if I needed it. This became my next goal and I was entirely focussed on reaching it.

Skipton Canal basin and the Springs Branch

Skipton and it's canal basin thankfully came soon enough, but not before time, we desperately needed a rest but our lunch stop was 3km further on the way out towards Keighley.

The best pint I've EVER had.

The Bay Horse, near Snaygill is a lovely pub. They do great food, have super local beer (the Copper Dragon brewery is literally across the road) and they have a wooden deck that backs directly onto the canal towpath. It is here that we stopped for lunch at about 2pm. Rightly, or wrongly, I treated myself to a pint of my favourite Timothy Taylors Landlord - I needed something to lift my spirits.

I could have happily spent the rest of the day at the Bay Horse, but all too soon it was time to get underway again. Buoyed by our hearty lunch and a pint, the improved towpath and the welcome familiarity of the scenery, the journey became a little easier. The actual act of turning the pedals was no less hard, my knee was still causing me serious pain and at times all my effort was just using the one leg (that's the benefit of clips) but the travelling was more enjoyable. I didn't know how long my knee would last, even with the painkillers. From here on, it was just mind over matter to make it to the next milestone, somewhere with a station where I could jump on a train if needed.

The Canal at Saltaire

The next major milestone was Bingley Five Rise locks. I know this place very well having spent many Sunday afternoons there in my childhood. From here the canal is very much urban rather than rural and the towpaths are now well maintained and much easier to ride. The sun was shining and were it not for my discomfort it would have been a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

Not long after Bingley is the closest point to "home", Saltaire. The canal runs right past Sir Titus Salt's magnificent weaving mills and model village. I just had to stop and take a photo. I'd hoped to meet up with an old school friend here, but time was against us and we had a train to catch in Leeds so we couldn't stop.

East of Saltaire is a stretch of the canal that I've never explored, and so, although we were getting closer to reaching our goal, leaving Saltaire felt like going back out into the unknown and became much more difficult again. Once outside the environs of Saltaire and Shipley the towpath was less well kept and was harder going again. Even now, only 20km from our goal, I was still wondering if I'd be able to make it - if my knee would hold-up. However, by this point, it would have been quicker and easier to keep going rather than resorting to the train - so that's what I did - kept going.

Between Shipley and Kirkstall the canal runs through much more rural countryside, you can still see the urban sprawl around you but largely, you're cycling through fields and woods again. Approaching Kirkstall, there is a road that runs adjacent to and parallel with the towpath next to an electricity sub-station. The chance to roll on some smooth tarmac instead of the rough and rocky towpath was too much of a temptation and a welcome relief. Almost as soon as that came to an end we were into urban Leeds proper and the towpath was smooth and wide. Sensing the closeness of our goal we picked up speed for the final push to the finish, however, in my head, I still wasn't sure if I'd make it. It's funny what tricks the tired mind and exhausted body plays on you.

The canal meets the River Aire at Leeds Wharf

All of a sudden, as we rounded a corner, under the railway bridge we could see the finish. For the first time I realised that we'd made it, we'd cycled the length of the Liverpool to Leeds canal. We just had to make our way over a bridge and around a couple of buildings and we were there, we'd done it.

The obligatory selfie at the finish.
Lewis (L), Andy (R).

And not before time, it was 6:30 already, the light was beginning to fade and we still had a train to catch back home.

There was little time for celebration other than the obligatory selfie, a couple of tweets and a text. We had a train to catch.

Leeds station is less than five minutes ride from the Wharf. On arrival, we had enough time to buy some food and drink and make our way to the right platform - which at Leeds, is not that straightforward. Ticket barriers and stairs need to be negotiated. The platform was busy and we knew there was only one carriage on the train with the rack for the three bikes allowed. We didn't have reservations for either us or the bikes. Not knowing which train we would catch we couldn't pre-book or reserve. Unfortunately, there was already one bike pre-booked on the train and three people wanting to get on with bikes we'd have to just get on and hope. The train manager did come to find us, but thanksfully let us continue on out journey - he could have asked us to leave the train at the next stop.

Of course we were still in our cycling gear and if for no other reason than respect for our fellow traveller's noses, we needed to change into clean, dry clothes. Getting changed in a train loo whilst it is moving is not something I ever expected to do - and I'm in no hurry to do it again any time soon.

The train journey home was spent quietly, muching on our food and drink and catching up on the Tweets we'd sent. A final change at Birmingham New St saw us at last on the final leg of our journey - the train back to Coventry. We got off at the local stop rather than Coventry main station as we really didn't fancy having to cycle up the hill back home out of Coventry.

After two hours of inaction, I could barely move my knee and once more I wondered if I'd have to wheel my bike the mile or so home. However, once I had bent my knee, movement was easier and we trundled the mile or so home. By this point it was after 10pm and completely dark.

We stumbed through our respective front doors, abandoned our gear, washed quickly and fell into bed. As with the night before, sleep did not come easily, nor did it for several nights after. Exhaustion, aching bones and muscles and reliving the weekend's activities over and over again put paid to that.

The after-effects

I was back in work the next morning, and limping dreadfully. I don't know what I did to my knee, but it was several weeks before it was close to being back to normal. In fact it would be ten weeks until I got back on the bike and eleven before I rode seriously again. Even then, my knee curtailed my ride. In the end I diagnosed incorrectly positioned pedal clips/cleats as the cause of my discomfort. Once they had been adjusted (by just a few mm) my knee no longer gave me problems.

Summary

So, would I do it again? Maybe, possibly. I've been asked to do it again this year, but the calendar won't allow. I certainly don't think I'd do it in the same way again - I might take a more leisurely trip and do it over three or fours days exploring the towns and countryside (or the many hostelries) along the way. There's so much beautiful scenery and things to see, it seems a shame to charge right through/past it as quickly as possible.
 
So, what did I learn from our grand adventure?

• Just because canal towpaths are flat - it doesn't make them easy to ride. 127miles could be completed in six or seven hours on the road, but on the towpath it'll probably take twice that.
• I hadn't done nearly enough preparation or get enough miles under my belt before doing the ride.
• We didn't leave Liverpool early enough, we should have started a good 90 mins earlier (9am-ish)
• We were fortunate that we had great weather and no mechanical problems or punctures along the way, otherwise we'd have never made it.
• We didn't eat enough food along the way to keep our bodies going properly.
• Don't cycle canal towpaths at night - it's no fun and not safe (for many reasons).
• You can do it the ride quite easily in a weekend, but travelling to/from home at each end is making things difficult for yourself.
• Do it with a friend or a group - it's much more enjoyable and you can help support and encourage each other along the way. It's also safer.

The final Strava stats for our ride were as follows (although I did forget to stop the clock in Parbold on day one):

• 215.8 km (134 miles) - the "extra" 7miles could be GPS inaccuracies.
• Moving time = 12h 49min - this would have been the expected 12hours if I'd stopped the clock.
• Average speed = 16.8km/h (10.5mph) - again, pretty much spot on against our estimate.
• Total time = 31h 53min

Advice for fellow riders

• Plan properly. Work out where you're going to stop and when. Make them easily achievable and frequent.
• Have a backup plan in case of injury or mechanical failure.
• Book your overnight accommodation in advance, you do not want to be searching around for somewhere to stop when your tired and hungry.
• Tell someone your plan.
• Wear a helmet and glasses/eye protection. Overhanging branches, bridges and kicked-up stones or twigs can ruin your weekend.
• Clip in pedals can make your ride much more efficient, but there are times and places where it's useful NOT to be clipped in, e.g. up cobbled bridges or along particularly rough parts of the towpath next to the water or bridges where you need your feet free. I used Shimano PD-M324 pedals, which are flat on one side and clips on the other. They meant I could clip when the going was good but have the safety and convenience of "flats" at other times.
• Lewis used a full suspension setup bike, whilst I used a hard-tail with front suspension. I think Lewis had the easier ride when the towpath got really rough and tricky, particularly on the second day before Skipton. I also think the lack of rear suspension on my bike contributed towards my fatigue and aches and pains. If I was to do the ride again I'd definately use a full suspension bike.
• Takes spares of critical equipment, e.g. inner tubes, repair kits, spare chain (and link extractors), brake/gear cables, brake pads.
• We both used rucksacks for our journey and they held just enough kit for the journey itself and two changes of clothes. However, even then, they did wear us down and meant getting under some of the lower bridges was more difficult. A better solution would have been to use cycle panniers which can carry more and put less strain on the rider.
• Wear sun-protection. It's going to be a long day and with the wind on your skin - you may not notice the sun burning you until it's too late.
• Put your phone/GPS other electronic equipment in waterproof protection. It's bad enough going in the water, much worse if you also lose your means of communication for help.
• Don't go in the water. You don't know what's under the surface. Look here to see what I mean.
• Fit a bell and use it, but don't expect people to move for you, they may not hear you. Many  towpath users wear earphones and won't hear you approaching. Be patient.
• If you're travelling in a group and come up behind other people on the towpath, the first rider past should say which side they're passing and how many bikes are coming through. Some people moved back into the centre of the towpath as soon as the first cyclist has passed, back into the way of the following cyclist.
• Check for activities along the canal in advance - don't suffer the same problems we did with the angling competition.

Links and resources

• Towpath Treks - http://www.towpathtreks.co.uk/LLC/index.html
• Towpath Treks Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/towpathtreks
• The Premier Inn, Burnley - https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/england/lancashire/burnley/burnley.html
• The Bay Horse at Snaygill (Skipton) - https://www.vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/yorkshire/thebayhorseskipton
• The Canal and River Trust (for closures/activities) - https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notices
• This is the Strava route: https://www.strava.com/routes/6839079
• My Strava activity log for the journey -
  Day 1 : https://www.strava.com/activities/1842661507
  Day 2: https://www.strava.com/activities/1842723089