A circular ride today, Aysgarth – Bishopdale – Coverdale – Aysgarth, involving racehorses, Richard III, a grand castle, and Britain’s weirdest attraction.
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I breezed through some Bishopdale villages, including the comparatively metropolitan West Burton, with its fine green and friendly pubs and shops (most miraculously still going).
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It also has a lovely hidden waterfall I hadn’t seen before, which looks ideal for a hot-day skinny dip. Today was not a hot day.
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The racehorse town of Middleham is dubbed the ‘Newmarket of the North’. Morning is a good time to visit, as that’s when you’ll likely see the nags and their riders commuting between the gallops and stables. Middleham’s square is, typically for Britain, a fine public space ruined by having blooming cars parked everywhere. They should make it horse- and bike-only if you ask me.
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Middleham’s castle is an impressive ruin, and apparently Richard III’s favourite place to live, and it’s certainly better than the Leicester car park he ended up in.
A few miles away, up Coverdale, is the Forbidden Corner, a bizarre folly-maze that started as a private whim and is now a very popular attraction. Certainly the families who were going round with me today were having a great time, with excited kids shouting in appealingly geordie accents that this was the best place they’d ever been.
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An exciting bridleway over the moortop took me back down to Wensleydale. I was pleased to ride along a fabulous little side-lane I’d not done before, between Wensley and Castle Bolton,. This is home of Bolton Castle, a very extensive half-derelict half-restored, medieval gem with sweeping views over the valley from the top.
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And views over my bike, parked down below, though I couldn’t have done too much about it if I’d seen anyone investigating my panniers.
En route back to the campsite I got a good view of the actual Aysgarth Falls this time, not the eponymous beer. But all that flowing liquid did give me a bit of a thirst.