The three Ridings – North, West, East – are the historic divisions of Yorkshire. My ‘ridings’ are series of bike trips exploring England’s largest county, as defined by its traditional borders.
Latest posts
(Or see full list of all 88 Yorkshire Ridings posts)
- Hull: Larkin about
Britain’s favourite 20th-century poet (whose centenary is in 2022) wasn’t initially impressed by Hull. Nice and flat for cycling, was Philip Larkin’s faint-praise damn…. - Millington: Pump up the volume
Britain’s best phone box is in East Yorkshire. The Wolds village of Millington boasts a disused K6 – the standard red cast-iron British phone… - Scarborough: Benchmark resort
Three relaxed days exploring ‘Britain’s first seaside resort’ in the winter sunshine. It boasts Britain’s longest bench, a science pioneer, Yorkshire’s fourth or perhaps… - Filey: Brigg day out
Filey Brigg is one of Yorkshire’s small-scale geological gems: a natural jetty of rock sticking out into the North Sea which, I was pleased… - Yorkshire’s Greenwich Meridian: Prime Factors
East, West, Yorkshire’s best. We have everything here, including the very first bit of the Greenwich Prime Meridian: zero longitude, the dividing line between… - Sheffield: Rise and fall of the Paternoster
We all have ups and downs, but a paternoster – half-escalator, half-lift – has both at the same time. Britain now has only two…
Yorkshire Places
Rides in quirky places: giants, narrow alleys, white horses, tiny ferries, fairies at the bottom of the garden…
Barkston Ash – Barwick – Beverley – Bingley Arms – Bradford – British Library – Buttertubs – Coldstones Cut – Cottingley – Dean Head – Easingwold – Eboracum – Emmerdale – Greenwich Meridian – Filey – Football –Halifax – Hambleton Drove Road – Haworth – Hebden Bridge – Hessay – Hornsea Mere – Hull – Hunmanby – Ilkley – Ingleton – Kilburn – Kiplingcotes – Malham – Market Weighton – Middlesbrough – Millington – Norber – North Cave – Nun Monkton – Pocklington Canal – Rudland Rigg – Rudston – Scarborough – Semerwater – Sheffield – Skipsea – Tan Hill Inn – Thirsk – Wentworth Woodhouse – Wharram Percy – York
Yorkshire A to Z, and B to B
Two End-to-Ends of Yorkshire in May–June 2021.
The A to Z went north up the west side of the county, from the first place alphabetically (Abbeydale in Sheffield, down on the southern border) to the last (Zebra Hill near Richmond, up by the northern border). This was a leisurely four-day ride of about 150 miles through magnificent Pennines and Dales scenery, on my tourer.
The B to B went north up the east side, linking two famous bridges: the Humber, down by Hull, and the Transporter, up in Middlesbrough. This was an equally leisurely two-day ride of 90 miles through equally magnificent Wolds and Moors scenery, on my offroad tourer.
River Rides
Yorkshire’s eight main rivers ridden from source to mouth in 2018–2020. The Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe, Aire, Calder, Don and Derwent all flow ultimately into, or become, the Ouse not far from York. Their dales and valleys cover the county.
The rides were 50–130 miles of 2–3 days, on a variety of bikes: folder, trekker, tourer…
Compass Rides
In 2017 I enjoyed eight rides that each followed a compass direction directly from my home in York – in the centre of the county – to the cyclable extremity of the historic border.
The rides were 60–100 miles of 1–3 days, on either trekker or tourer…
Top Ten Quirky Yorkshire Phone Boxes
White, green and rainbow coloured booths; libraries; museums; historical rarities; even a bike repair station… Yorkshire has some remarkable phone boxes for cyclists
York Route Guides
Leisure rides round York, with maps, photos and info.
Dick Turpin Trail In search of Swift Nick
York Monopoly Ride the board game’s squares
Inexplicable York The city’s most bizarre sights
York Bridges All nine in one lovely ride
York Lakes and Ponds Hidden gems great for picnics
York Orbital The city’s bike-path ‘inner ring road’
