Day 2 of the River Nidd ride featured the world’s first unicycle, Yorkshire trompe l’œuil, my namesake’s cave home, the UK’s tallest maypole, and the slightly flooded end of the ride at the mouth into the Ouse. Resuming at Knaresborough railway station, I made my way into the main square. A monument there (pic) celebrates…
Author: Rob Ainsley
Nidd 1: Scar House to Knaresborough
River Nidd Source Nidd Head, Great Whernside Mouth River Ouse, Nun Monkton Length 59 miles Towns Pateley Bridge, Knaresborough The sixth of my Rivers Rides was a varied two-day, 80-mile trip from remote moortop to muddy estuary along the River Nidd. Day 1 featured monster chess pieces, alpine views, snow and sun, unusual pork pies,…
Bury St Edmunds: Who was Clare Castle?
Splendid day researching cycle routes with Nigel in friendly Suffolk. Definitely not Home Counties here. Everyone smiles and says hello to you.
York: Floody but unbowed
I’ve lived in York since 2011, so it’s about time I blogged about it. It’s a tourist Mecca of course, with a large and important religious building – the Minster – like Mecca. Though unlike Mecca, it has 365 pubs. (Actually the figure is more like 200, but it’s nice to think that a year’s…
Oxford 2: Time travel
More cycle route research in and around Oxford, my alma mater. It seems like only yesterday I was here, naive, foolish, and barely engaged with the real world. That’s because it was yesterday, on my first day of research.
Oxford 1: Cotswolds
Day researching cycle routes west of Oxford. Bright and breezy but cold and wet, and only a little lumpy. But that’s enough about me.
Newcastle: Bridges, tunnels, cake
Day in Newcastle on my disposable folder researching routes and facilities, ie tunnels, metro, cake.
Petersfield 3: Cricket, sharks
Final day investigating cycle routes in Hampshire. We visited the historic home of cricket, Broadhalfpenny Down, which excited me very much. Sorry for mentioning religion.
Petersfield 2: Butser busters
Another very nice half-day cycling the South Downs, on the East Hampshire Cycle Route. We got back to the hotel just as the heavy rain started, as forecast accurately by the Met Office. As opposed to the BBC website, which was hopeless as usual.
Petersfield 1: The Treachery of Images
Ace day researching cycle routes in the South Downs, down Hants way. None of your Northern mud here. It’s posh Home Counties mud.