Say what you like about lies, damned lies and statistics, but not even Clarkson could spin this stat to make the car lobby look good: 85% of bike journeys taken on the National Cycle Network stick to just 33% of the available routes. Why? Because they’re traffic-free.

However you dress it up in jeans and jacket, the meaning is plain — people prefer fresh air to carbon-monoxide poisoning, birdsong to engine rumble, a pint at journey’s end to a brush with someone’s bumper.

Which is why more traffic-free routes are being wheeled out every day. There are 4,000 miles of them at the moment, probably a few more by the time you’ve polished off your porridge.

From Limerick to Llanelli, Derbyshire to Devon, we round up a perfect dozen routes and loops even beginners and families can enjoy, with transport links to get you back to your train or car.

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• Ilfracombe: The gem of the West Country

• North Devon: not for novice cyclists

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1 LOCH KATRINE Stirling

Surrounded by summits, piercing the heathery heart of the Trossachs glens and bens, this 14-mile route follows a tarmac road along the northern shores of Loch Katrine. There are waterfalls and shingle beaches, clan graveyards and stags bellowing from the hills, and you’ll pass Rob Roy’s childhood home before skirting round the end of the loch to Stronachlachar. Here, after soup at the Pier Tea Room, the Sir Walter Scott steamer (£10, children £7, hire bikes free) will whisk you all the way back to the Loch Katrine pier car park. Note: you may meet the odd water-board vehicle on the route, but with so many kids on bikes, they always go slowly.

Toil rating: 6/10 — stiff westerlies can blow, and little kids will have to dismount for the odd gentle climb.

How to do it: Loch Katrine Pier (01877 332000, www.lochkatrine.com) lies 10 miles west of Callander, off the A821; parking is £2 per half-day. Katrinewheelz (01877 376316) has bikes for £4.50 per hour (kids £2.50) or £14/ £8 per day; trailers, tagalongs and tandems available.

2 COMBER GREENWAY Belfast

Completed last year, Comber Greenway takes cyclists from the bustle of east Belfast to the shores of Strangford Lough. Following the track bed of a disused railway, the seven-mile paved Greenway offers a fantastically rich glimpse of Belfast, minus cars and lorries. Starting in Dee Street, you pass the CS Lewis statue at Holywood Arches, with views of the iconic Harland & Wolff cranes and Stormont, finally emerging into the countryside along the Enler River. Here, it drops into Comber, with views of the Belfast Hills behind. After a quick visit to the shores of Strangford Lough, a Thai prawn curry at McBrides on the Square (02891 871744), in Comber, will put power in your pedals for the return ride.

Toil rating: 4/10 — flat and easy, but with no buses, you need to cycle back.

How to do it: Bikedock (02890 730600, www.cyclehireni.co.uk) has kids’ and adults’ bikes for £20 per day. Visit cycleni.com for information and maps.

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