Cycling adventures across Yorkshire, Britain and beyond
Before the railways, drove roads were how livestock got from farm to market. Drovers followed well-drained ridgeways, avoiding both bogs and costly turnpikes down below; they were used to handling stubborn, lumbering beasts. All of which also applied to me today, with my trekking bike as the beast in question, and the route being Hambleton…
Day 4 of my Yorks Bottom to Top ride involved Yorkshire’s top shepherdess, a zebra crossing a zebra crossing, illegally altered signs, zebra-free MOD ranges, a solar eclipse washout, a Roman Bridge, the northern border at the Tees – and of course the highlight of the trip, Zebra Hill itself. I earned my stripes today….
Day 3 of my Yorks Start to Finish ride involved a gender-identity pioneer, Britain’s toughest cycle climb, smoots and lunkies, Ilkley Moor baht ’at, mighty tunnels, viaducts and canals, and wonderful Wharfedale. My rather confusing morning tick-list consisted of Shibden Hall, Shibden Wall, and Shibden Great Wall, but not Shibden Great Hall. Shibden Hall is…
Day 2 of my Yorks Alpha to Omega ride was watery. Countless reservoirs, linked by vertiginous Pennine lanes; canals; puddles; incessant drizzle. But plenty of variety, including a mystery sculpture, a comedy legend, Huddersfield’s most famous son, and Halifax’s remarkable Regency plaza mayor. With Abbeydale investigated yesterday, I could ride on through Sheffield centre and…
Yorkshire is a country in its own right. Sort of. So, with my international End to End collection on hold, I was happy enough to ride it from bottom to top. But this trip had a twist. I started in Abbeydale, down on the Derbyshire border south of Sheffield, and cycled the length of the…
Yorkshire has several imposing canals, which often sound like other things. The mighty Leeds–Liverpool (grudge football fixture). The remarkable Huddersfield Narrow (prize rhubarb variety). The amazing Calder & Hebble (Perrier-award-winning female comedy duo). Not so Pocklington Canal, an isolated spur of water connecting the Derwent with the market town, a dozen miles east of York….
After being delighted by Coldstones Cut just west of Pateley Bridge earlier in the day, I still had a few hours before my bus back home, so I headed east to Brimham Rocks. I passed through the village of Glasshouses. It put me in mind of the previous week when I’d cycled through Stone in…
Mysterious sacred temple of an ancient civilisation; most perfectly preserved prehistoric hillfort in Britain; ancient stones aligned to tap the energy of ley lines that overlook vast panoramas… Coldstones Cut might look that way, but it’s none of these. It’s a hilltop artwork from 2010 that overlooks a dusty, noisy, working quarry – but it’s…
The Archers is set in a West Yorkshire village. Well, its theme tune is, anyway. And my trip to the place in question formed a lovely little half-day ride on this sunny morning. The BBC Radio 4 soap may take place in ‘Borsetshire’, somewhere round Worcestershire or Warwickshire, but the signature music is explicitly about…
Hornsea Mere is Yorkshire’s biggest body of water. The great county is big on many things liquid – rivers, reservoirs, beer – but not naturally-occurring lakes. In fact, its four largest aren’t even lakes at all, at least not in name. At joint No. 4, Scarborough Mere and Gormire, each 6.5 hectares; at No. 3,…