NATIONAL park bosses are examining calls to “supersize” the campaign for the Coast to Coast route to be given national trail status by also making it a trail suitable for cyclists and horse riders.

A meeting of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority heard improvements and maintenance of the route would be more easily financed with a variety of users included on the Cumbria to North Yorkshire route.

Member Cosima Towneley said a multi-user trail would “invite far more people in” to the park. She said: “By making it more viable for all users would we not be opening up the possibility of being eligible for pots of money to do the work we need to do?”

However, members were told parts of the Coast to Coast route ran through open access land rather than just being rights of way, creating a trail suitable for walkers, cyclists and horse riders could be problematic. Officers said the authority had previously examined the possibility of creating a Coast to Coast equestrian route and estimated the cost to the national park to be about £350,000.

There are six ‘official’ coast-to-coast cycle routes which are signposted,and under the auspices of Sustrans, each taking up to four days.