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…
Author: Rob Ainsley
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…
NE 1: York to Thornton-le-Dale
The fifth of my Yorkshire Compass Rides was a two-day trip up to the northeastern extreme at Robin Hood’s Bay. Day 1 was a hot, cloudless summer day, and involved a nettle making a phone call, an anti-fracking camp, and the best coffee shop in Yorkshire. I’m doing this trip on my hardtail mountain bike,…
SW 2: Grange Moor to Saddleworth
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…
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…
Calderdale 2: Singing Ringing Tree
More fab cycle-route research round Calderdale. The Singing Ringing Tree is a moortop artwork outside Burnley. Its pipes turn the wind into a low moaning sound, much like me after the long climb up from the town.