Day 2 of the fourth of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a morning of misty hills, the setting of a comedy that wouldn’t die, the magnificently bleak Saddleworth Moor, some awesome reservoir views, and a border that wouldn’t die either. From Grange Moor I headed on back lanes (pic) past the village of Lepton. This…
Category: Compass Rides
SW 1: York to Grange Moor
The fourth of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a two-day trip out to the southwestern extreme in what is now Oldham. Day 1 involved Yorkshire’s old brewing capital, the site of England’s bloodiest battle, the tallest freestanding structure in the UK, and a psycho cat. I headed out south on a sunny afternoon on the…
E: York to Bridlington
The third of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a wind-assisted glide through the Wolds to seaside Bridlington, and the eastern promontory of Flamborough Head. It included the area’s most scenic downhill, a Roman Road, a lighthouse-rich chalkberg, and a land train. There’s always something nice about returning home. Less so this morning, though, as I…
S: York to Harthill
The second of my Yorkshire Compass Rides took me south to the county’s most obscure extremity, and was a day of planets, power stations, pints, and a place called Wales. I rode south alongside a mirror-flat Ouse out of York and down the planets trail, a fantastic scale model of the solar system where the…
N: York to Redcar
The first of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a glorious day offering some characteristic Yorkshire views – stately homes; the North York Moors; beaches with hardy bathers; closed factories; and penguins. I headed north out of York through the misty Howardian Hills (pic). They take their name from the Howard family, who still own much…