The suburban village of Cottingley, a few miles northwest of Bradford, is one of those placenames you can’t help mentally auto-completing. Ilkley Moor… Baht ’at; Piltdown… Man; Loch Ness… Monster. And, thanks to capers by the stream in the back garden of this house (pic) in Main St, Cottingley… Fairies. Because in the 1920s, after…
Category: Yorkshire Ridings
Nun Monkton: Lighter moments
I’d wanted to ride the new Nun Monkton Ferry, over the Ouse about eight miles northwest of York (pic), for ages. Particularly when I found they welcome bikes. In the 1800s, Yorkshire’s (and England’s) rivers were plied with tiny boat crossings. There apparently were seven between Aldwark Bridge and Nun Monkton alone. Now there are…
Wharfe 2: Bolton Abbey to Cawood
Day 2 of the River Wharfe ride featured a cyclists’ favourite back lane, the inadvisability of no headgear, a beer town’s strange tendency for unfinished bridges, and the unscenic dénouement of this most scenic of rivers in a field. As I was camping last night, I had the bike fully loaded — front and back…
Wharfe 1: Beckermonds to Bolton Abbey
River Wharfe Source Oughtershaw Beck, Beckermonds Mouth River Ouse, Cawood Length 65 miles Towns Ilkley, Otley, Wetherby, Tadcaster The third of my Rivers Rides was a beautiful two-day, 102-mile trip from Dales highlands to York flatlands along the River Wharfe. Day 1 featured England’s most awesome viaduct, a Roman road, thrilling scenery, beer for dogs,…
Bradford: Currying favour with cyclists
We’ve explored Bradford by bike many times. Of Yorkshire’s seven cities (Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Hull, Wakefield, and, er…) it’s the most surprising and intriguing, thanks to its ethnically diverse history (…ah yes, Ripon), from Little Germany to the authentic, tasty curry restaurants that feel like you’ve stepped into Pakistan (where 1 in 5 residents…
Ingleton: Peak blinders
So. I was cycling round Ingleton, nestled between the Forest of Bowland and the Yorkshire Dales 50 miles northwest of Leeds, exploring routes for a well-known bike magazine. If you wish you could make a living doing this, well, so do I. Surrounded by spectacular limestone landscapes, the village is a centre for groups walking…
Calder 2: Dewsbury to Castleford
Day 2 of the River Calder ride featured three aspects of Yorkshire: world-renowned sculpture, a traditional Leeds welcome, and riverside rubbish. I stayed in a cheap and cheerful pub room in Dewsbury. It’s said to be one of England’s most divided communities, and not only by Brexit: just over the river in an area called…
Halifax: Calder mobile
Halifax (pic), home to almost half Calderdale’s 190,000 folk, is not short of associations. Cat’s-eyes; Quality Street; the eponymous bank; the Eureka family attraction; victim of gratuitously infernal slander along with Hull. For telly viewers it’s the setting of comedy-drama Last Tango in Halifax, while for cyclists it’s the venue of Shibden Wall, a famously…
Calder 1: Cornholme to Dewsbury
River Calder Source Ratten Clough, Cornholme Mouth River Aire, Castleford Length 45 miles Towns Todmorden, Hebden Bridge, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Castleford Create Routes or Search for a route from millions at MapMyRide The second of my Rivers Rides was a two-day, 58-mile trip from the Lancs border to the Aire following the River Calder. Day 1…
Easingwold: Narrow escape
Easingwold, a dozen miles north of York, is a pleasant market town (pic) – pubs, handsome square, friendly local vibe, farmers chatting by the bus stop – but is unlikely to make those tedious ‘1000001 Places to Visit Before You Die’ lists. Yet it has one very odd, virtually unknown, attraction, and that was why…