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 95 Yorkshire Ridings posts)
- Morley: Gone for a Beryl Burton
‘BERYL BURTON OBE / Was a cycling phenomenon’, states the blue plaque in Morley town centre. The ‘Yorkshire housewife’ (as they called her then,… - Dark matter: York to Bridlington night ride
‘Night riding has a strange fascination of its own,’ opined a recent Cycling Plus article. ‘It’s not about the views, for obvious reasons. The… - Huddersfield Narrow Canal: Picking locks
I’ve cycled most of Yorkshire’s canals, from the aquatic urban highway of the Leeds and Liverpool, to the backwaters of the Pocklington. But I’d… - Cockayne: It’s far out, man
Yorkshire’s most remote hamlet? Cockayne’s few houses, farms and church sit at the head of Bransdale, in the North York Moors. It’s at the… - Wakefield: Rhubarb, rhubarb
Yorkshire schoolkids know their triangles. Equilateral; isosceles; scalene; rhubarb. This last, of course, being a three-sided geographical shape with Wakefield at an apex. It’s… - Yorkshire Whisky Trail 2: York to Filey
It may be a whisky trail, but it wasn’t a day for shorts. In fact, it was nippy. Day 2 struck north from York…
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 – Cockayne – Coldstones Cut – Cottingley – Dean Head – Easingwold – Eboracum – Emmerdale – Greenwich Meridian – Filey – Football – Halifax – Hambleton Drove Road – Haworth – Hebden Bridge – Hessay – Hornsea Mere – Huddersfield Canal – Hull – Hunmanby – Ilkley – Ingleton – Kilburn – Kiplingcotes – Malham – Market Weighton – Middlesbrough – Millington – Morley – Norber – North Cave – Nun Monkton – Pocklington Canal – Rudland Rigg – Rudston – Scarborough – Semerwater – Sheffield – Skipsea – Tan Hill Inn – Thirsk – Wakefield – 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’
