Yorkshire being a sort-of-country in its own right, it was only a matter of time before we got a National Whisky. Wales has one after all: Penderyn, based in the Beacons and launched in 2004. And England – the nation bordering Yorkshire – has had St George’s, in Thetford, since 2006. But in May 2016,…
Author: Rob Ainsley
Saffron Walden: Cake stop
Cycle-cafe article research in Saffron Walden, which sounds like a singer-songwriter rather than a well-to-do Essex town. It has a Wetherspoon, a Waitrose, a castle, and quite a lot of cafes. Something for everyone, then.
Derwent 3: Kexby to Barmby
Day 3 of the River Derwent ride featured a lot of flooding, and… well, that was it, really. Flooding. But also a fascinating end, with an unexpected tour of a tidal barrage opposite a mighty power station. Now having switched to my touring bike, anticipating a day of tarmac on-road cycling, I resumed. The first…
Derwent 2: Malton to Kexby
Day 2 of the River Derwent ride featured the world’s biggest Yorkshire Pudding recipe, kamikaze hedgehogs, a fine old ruined abbey, and a satnav-cockup legend. Malton doesn’t make much of its position on the Derwent: no riverside cafes, promenades or costanera tapas bars. It’s equally uninterested in encouraging cyclists, to judge by the total absence…
Derwent 1: Lilla Rig to Malton
River Derwent Source Lilla Rig, North York Moors Mouth River Ouse, Barmby Length 72 miles Towns Malton, Stamford Bridge The fifth of my Rivers Rides was a varied three-day, 120-mile trip from remote moortop to muddy estuary along the River Derwent. Day 1 featured full-size plastic cows, a Dark Ages assassination, Cold War espionage, white…
Stevenage 2: Puddled up
Another very good, if puddly, day researching cycle routes round Stevenage in Bucks, Herts and Beds, which sounds like a dating agency.
Stevenage 1: Old Town, New Town
Excellent first day researching bike routes with Nigel around Stevenage, a traditional New Town with a modern Old Town. And two Wetherspoons.
Chilterns: Ups and Downs
Excellent first day researching bike routes in the Chilterns. Good job Nigel got his low gears fixed up beforehand. They’re hilly. Fine picnic lunch at Dunstable Downs, but no, we didn’t have those mushrooms. We had sandwiches from Tesco.
Aire 2: Shipley to Airmyn
Day 2 of the River Aire ride featured a river under a railway station, a tale of three power plants, more reminders of the county’s cycling pre-eminence – and a lot of mud, both under my wheels and at the mouth of the river. I was out bright and early along the canal, heading to…
Aire 1: Malham to Shipley
River Aire Source Tarn Foot, Malham Mouth River Ouse, Airmyn Length 92 miles Towns Skipton, Keighley, Shipley, Leeds, Castleford, Knottingley The fourth of my Rivers Rides was a splendid two-day, 100-mile trip from Yorkshire’s one-lake Lake District to its three-power-station powerhouse along the River Aire. Day 1 featured England’s highest lake, a disappearing river, stunning…