UP TO 50 cyclists will travel through Wiltshire and Somerset to promote a new cycle and walking route through the two counties.

The Trailblazing Ride will start in Bath on Saturday, September 21, travel through Salisbury and finish in Frome on Sunday.

Riders will stop off at Longleat House and Were Lake in Warminster along the route for lunch breaks and to meet local dignitaries, including Warminster mayor Andrew Davies.

The ride is organised by transport charity Sustrans to promote the proposed 55 mile-long Bath to Salisbury cycle route. When completed it will become part of the National Cycle Network's Route 24 due to be built in the autumn as part of a $43m lottery grant from the Millennium Commission.

Sustrans route manager, Gaspar Sanvicens, said: "The trailblazing ride is a great opportunity to explore this route before construction work starts in the autumn, subject to final funding being awarded.

"This route will contribute to the economic welfare of towns and cities en route and restore for public use derelict stretches of former railway lines."