More cycle route research, in Llangollen and around the Dee valley.
Author: Rob Ainsley
Hessay: Journey to the Centre of the Earth
We all know Yorkshire is the centre of the world, but where’s the centre of Yorkshire? In other words, if the historic county was made of plywood instead of rocks, where would you be able to balance it on the point of a pencil stronger than the one in my WH Smith Pocket Diary? There…
W 3: Slaidburn to Dunsop Bridge
Day 3 of the seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides involved the westernmost limit of historic Yorkshire, Little Copenhagen, a surprising notice about cats, and the very centre point of Great Britain. Reeking of kerosene, and fearful of any encounters with cigarette smokers, I set off the few miles from Slaidburn youth hostel to Dunsop…
W 2: Harrogate to Slaidburn
Day 2 of the seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides involved some worm-themed naive art, a pervasive smell of kerosene, and rain. Lots. The weather forecast could be summed up in one four-letter word, though ‘rain’ is probably a politer one. I set off early to make the most of the dry morning, heading up…
W 1: York to Harrogate
The seventh of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a three-day trip to the westernmost reaches of historic Yorkshire in the Forest of Bowland. Day 1 involved some railway curios, Britain’s most surprising gorge, and the Greatest Living Yorkshireman. I headed out of York on the cycle track alongside the A64 to Tadcaster, which I passed…
Lincoln 2: Curious sights
More cycle route research in Lincs and Notts.
Lincoln 1: The smallest pub
Route research in and around Lincoln for a few days. A fine ride to Cleethorpes today, to the centre of the world, and back.
SE 2: Ferriby to Spurn Point
Day 2 of the sixth Compass Ride was a blustery bright summer day, and involved two lots of Alternative Wright Brothers, a crossing over to the Eastern Hemisphere, Britain’s newest island, and an inexplicably stranded satnav-fail lorry. The Wright Brothers? Forget those minor mechanics from Kitty Hawk. For real achievement you want Ferriby’s own Wrights,…
SE 1: York to Ferriby
The sixth of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a two-day trip down to the southeastern extreme of Spurn Head, one of Britain’s strangest places. Day 1 was a hot, bright summer day, riding across the flat, quiet farmland between York and Ferriby, the village where I was born. It involved York’s other scale model of…
NE 2: Thornton-le-Dale to Robin Hood’s Bay
Day 2 of the fifth Compass Ride was another lovely hot summer day, and involved some wonderful countryside, a priceless painting, Britain’s best or worst railtrail, and a concluding dip of the wheels in the North Sea. It was an early start into the blazing morning sun from Thornton-le-Dale – too early, alas, to visit…