Cycling adventures across Yorkshire, Britain and beyond
England’s highest motorway; Britain’s biggest single-arch bridge; Europe’s deepest roadway cutting; a farm stranded in the middle of the M62. Welcome to Dean Head. It may sound like a 1980s Aussie cricketer – father, perhaps, of Travis – but for civil engineers this is one of Yorkshire’s most renowned places. It’s up in the Pennines…
I was in Aberystwyth for a photoshoot, so came a day early, intent on a ride in the hills. However, my plans to ride a circuit involving Nant-y-Moch Reservoirs was foiled by a road closure – the viaduct was completely out of action – and my backup plan of investigating a cycle cafe was also…
The final day of the Guided Tour involved a cycle cafe, more London canals, a cable car ride, and (for some) a wait mean time – well, it was Greenwich. Adrian had a mystery puncture in the morning – one of those that presents as a totally deflated unredeemable flat, but when you’ve gone to…
Today involved a lost dog and lost wife (both found), a scientific trial on the efficacy of toothpaste as an anti-histamine, a great park, and a great Italian restaurant. There was an incident in the morning. We were just enjoying our slap-up breakfast – well, actually, a paper bag with a yogurt and sandwich, because…
Brooklands Museum is a motor-sport Mecca, full of racing memorabilia, with bus and plane museums too. But it also has a very good little bike museum, mainly vintage Raleighs, and I enjoyed poking round it today. The museum itself is conveniently accessed by bike, traffic-free from Weybridge station (though their website irritatingly does not mention…
In the Top 10 of world river cycle paths, the Thames comes about 86th. Because most of it isn’t cyclable. However, the stretches between Staines and Putney, and a few miles round Greenwich, are fabulous. For these bits, and for some canals and cycleways round the centre of London, I was serving as unofficial guide…
‘A journey of a thousand miles’, Lao Tzu said, ‘begins with a single malt. But a pint will do.’ Medieval pilgrims en route to the Holy Lands would, it’s said, start off with an ale or two at Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, a pub that’s been refreshing travellers since 1189. (It claims to be…
Heavy rain scaled down today’s plans. Less emphasis on distance, and more emphasis on avocado and salmon breakfasts on sourdough toasts in the lovely cafe in Castle Ashby. It was already drizzling when we struck east along the Nene and through the Wetlands, which were living up to their name, except perhaps the ‘-lands’ bit….
A gentle, pleasant, sunny day of Northants countryside: thatchy villages with churches and cottages in orange-red stone, none quite fetching enough for a picture postcard, but all pleasant. Though with stamps the price they are these days, that was just as well. We headed west from the centre along the River Nene, which is pronounced…
The place still makes a few boots and shoes, none of them for cycling though. But on Day 1 of my route research around Northampton, the boot was on the other foot: my gravel foot, not my road bike foot. Having paused to admire the Guildhall, and come away from the tourist office in the…