Good 3 day cycle tour in England..?

[ColinJ]

Loving it mate! Gettign very excited now and reckon my mate is onboard too. Gave him the link this afternoon to have a good look.

Okay, Day 3: Into the Dales!

The idea is to start the day with 30-odd miles of scenic cycling taking you into the western fringes of the Yorkshire Dales. You then get on a train on the Settle-Carlisle line and head for Sheffield via Leeds. Whereabouts you get on the train depends on how far you want to ride.

So, leave Slaidburn on the fantastic road heading north to High Bentham via Tatham Fells. There is some tough climbing and great scenery up there, and then you are rewarded with a glorious 5 mile descent in which you lose 1,100 ft in altitude (briefly interrupted by a short 100 ft climb halfway down)!

From High Bentham it is an easy ride to Ingleton (caution crossing the busy A65) where there are good outdoor shops and cafes.

From Ingleton climb up Kingsdale to an altitude of over 1,500 ft, and then you have a fine 4 mile descent into Dentdale. I hope the weather is better for you than it was the day I went up there - it was so misty that I couldn't see anything, but I've seen photos, it's a lovely area. If by some chance it is misty - watch out! That road has at least one gate across it which nearly caught me out. I only spotted it at the last moment.

Dent village is really quaint and has a good pub and cafe.

Ride east along Dentdale (you can choose which side you prefer - there are roads either side of the river). Now you have to make a choice. You can ascend a very steep climb to Dent station to catch the train. I reckon the fact that the station is 4 miles from the village and up a climb which ascends 400 ft in just half a mile must have caught out hundreds of unwary visitors over the years! If you take that option, you will have ridden 31 miles from Slaidburn.

What I'd recommend is staying on the valley road and eventually climbing steeply up to Newby Head Moss on the B6255. That is a busier road, so watch out for mad drivers and motorcyclists, but fortunately you will be descending it so you can have fun getting it out of the way.

Descend southwards to Ribblehead. Take a good look at Ribblehead viaduct. It's a fantastic example of Victorian civil engineering. You can catch the train at Ribblehead station (38 miles for the day), but unless you are pressed for time, I'd suggest carrying on - you are literally on a roll - the road continues to descend for the next 11 miles so it is easy cycling apart from a couple of minor uphill bits.

Take the B6479 and bomb down to Horton-in-Ribblesdale (42 miles for the day) or continue to Settle (49 miles).

You can get a pretty good deal on the rail tickets to Sheffield if you book in advance. You'll probably have to change trains at Skipton and at Leeds. You might need bike reservations from Leeds to Sheffield.

[NB If coming back is on a Sunday, keep an eye open on the National Rail Enquiries website for rail replacement buses on the your rail journey. They sometimes sneak those in to catch out the unwary. It would be because of track repairs, so you might have to be prepared to cycle between a couple of stations if the track is out of action when you are travelling. It's highly unlikely the H & S regulations would allow you to take bikes on a bus]

Well, I reckon that would be a demanding but rewarding 3-day tour. The one thing I would say is that it would be terribly hard in bad weather because you go over some very exposed high level roads. I might try and figure out some easier shortcuts for you just-in-case.

If you do it. make sure you take lots of photos and do a good write-up for us here on CycleChat!

I'll post maps and profiles later.

 

[P.H]

ColinJ's route sounds perfect, some of the best cycling in the country IMO, fairly challenging in places but well worth it. I covered a fair bit of that on a route loosely based on the Pennine Cycle Way and have passed through the area a few other times, really I think the only way you could improve on it would be to spend more than three days. Don't underestimate it, I went in March, planning on 70 miles a day thinking I'd finish mid afternoon, it was tougher than I thought and I rarely got to the destination before 6pm. One thing worth mentioning is that the train ride between Skipton and Appleby is is enjoyable in itself not just a means of getting there. I've stayed at a good independent hostel, attached to a pub, in the Ribble valley, the name escapes me... reading and thinking about this makes me want to go again and there's not many places I feel that about. Ingleton to Dent has to be one of my favorite bits of road;

 

[ColinJ]

Ingleton to Dent has to be one of my favorite bits of road;

Oh, so that's what it looks like!

I tell you - it was a frustrating day when I rode round there. I cycled over to Keighley from Hebden Bridge and caught a train to Settle where I met some lads off the BikeRadar forum. We set off in mist and it was misty all bloody day until I got back on a train at Settle and headed back to Keighley. As soon as the train set off, the mist lifted and the sun started shining - typical!

 

[gussington]

Like the sound of those short cuts - but will have to make sure I'm not tempted by them just for the sake of extra drinking time in the evenings!

Gonna have to make sure I get out for a serious ride this weekend - start getting fit again and shifting the Christmas pounds (stone)

thank you so much for this - really appreciate it!

 

[ColinJ]

I'd forgotten about posting more details!

Okay, here is the map for day 1. 82 km (51 miles).

I've put you on the Calder Valley Cycleway at Mytholmroyd but if you want to stick to roads, just drop on the A646 there, turn left for Hebden Bridge ride straight through and carry on for another 4 km or so before your left turn for Mankinholes.

You'll need to be pretty fit, have low gears and very good brakes ...

The Top Brink Inn is less than a 10 minute walk from the YH and about a 30 minute stagger back!

 

[Ticktockmy]

ColinJ's route sounds perfect, some of the best cycling in the country IMO, fairly challenging in places but well worth it. I covered a fair bit of that on a route loosely based on the Pennine Cycle Way and have passed through the area a few other times, really I think the only way you could improve on it would be to spend more than three days. Don't underestimate it, I went in March, planning on 70 miles a day thinking I'd finish mid afternoon, it was tougher than I thought and I rarely got to the destination before 6pm. One thing worth mentioning is that the train ride between Skipton and Appleby is is enjoyable in itself not just a means of getting there. I've stayed at a good independent hostel, attached to a pub, in the Ribble valley, the name escapes me... reading and thinking about this makes me want to go again and there's not many places I feel that about. Ingleton to Dent has to be one of my favorite bits of road;

That pic take me back to my caving days, and lots of jugs of fine ale..lol

 

[gussington]

Looks mega! Think I am going to need a serious bit of fitness work before this. Colin - do you know the figure for total elevation over the day? Hope to compare them to what I have done other times out to get an idea on some training before.

Ed - If you're reading this - -pick a bloody May weekend before mine get booked up!

Gus

 

[ColinJ]

Looks mega! Think I am going to need a serious bit of fitness work before this. Colin - do you know the figure for total elevation over the day? Hope to compare them to what I have done other times out to get an idea on some training before.

Ed - If you're reading this - -pick a bloody May weekend before mine get booked up!

Gus

It's not just the amount of climbing, some of it is seriously steep! Ewden Bank soon after Sheffield is a pig. First time I tried it I had Look shoes on. I only got 1/3 up it and had to walk, which meant taking my shoes off! I got up it in 2007 though with panniers on my bike, so it is doable.

My software makes it 2,000 m of climbing but that tends to count every single contour line crossed rather than just significant hills. I looked at the profile and added up all the lumps I could see and those came to 1,750 m so let's take the average - 1,875 m (6,150 ft). That's a lot of climbing in 82 km!

I'll upload the 3 variations for day 2 to Bikely tomorrow and knock up some profiles for them too.

 

[Bigsharn]

You could give the east coast (from Kings Lynn - Hull) a go? It's 125 miles so easily doable in 3 days, it's only two trains back to London (Hull-Leeds then Leeds-London) and your mate can join halfway up if he can't make it to Kings Lynn.

 

[HelenD123]

You could give the east coast (from Kings Lynn - Hull) a go? It's 125 miles so easily doable in 3 days, it's only two trains back to London (Hull-Leeds then Leeds-London) and your mate can join halfway up if he can't make it to Kings Lynn.

There are some direct trains, otherwise you change in Doncaster.

 

[ColinJ]

Okay, forgetting Hull ...

Day 2: Mankinholes YH to Slaidburn YH.

Make your way back to Hebden Bridge on the A646 below Mankinholes, or ride along the canal towpath. I've started the day's route from the Watergate cafe in the pedestrianised area in the town centre. You could have breakfast there if you wanted to, or stock up on supplies at the shops.

If you look at the map, you'll see that there is a little u-turn just after leaving Hebden Bridge. That is to use a turning circle to come around to go back up the Heptonstall Road. (On a bike you can sometimes get away with turning straight up the hill at the traffic lights, but you are not supposed to.)

The hill is fairly steep so I've taken pity on you and sent you the easier way through the woods halfway up. If you prefer you can continue up through the old village of Heptonstall where there is another cafe on your right that would be good for breakfast. If you ride through the village you rejoin the other road a few hundred yards further on.

I've included an optional stop at Spring Wood picnic centre above Whalley, just after you reach the busy A671. I usually nip to the right along 100 yards of quiet footpath to avoid crossing the flow of traffic twice. There is a toilet block off the car park with a separate drinking water tap above the washbasin. (It's marked 'D' - people don't spot it for some reason!). There's usually an ice cream van at the car park entrance.

There are shops in Whalley if you need to stock up.

When you get to the B6243 just after Great Mitton, you need to make a choice - if you want to take one of the easier 2 options via Waddington, turn right (options a and b below). If you want to take the longest and most rewarding option, turn left (option c below)

I've tried to make the 3 profiles roughly the same scale (when enlarged) to let you compare them more easily. I'd say if you are already very tired at Great Mitton, take option a. If you are starting to get tired but can handle one more big hill, take option b. If you are full of energy and raring to go - enjoy option c!

a) Via Waddington and Holden - map. The little u-turn in Waddington is to the Country Kitchen cafe. 67 km, 1,050 m (42 miles, 3,450 ft).

b) Via Waddington and Waddington Fell - map. The little u-turn in Waddington is to the Country Kitchen cafe. 58 km, 1,225 m (36 miles, 4,000 ft).

c) Via Chipping and the Trough of Bowland - map. Cafes in Chipping and Dunsop Bridge. 93 km, 1,750 m of climbing (58 miles, 5,750 ft).

 

[gussington]

This looks incredible. Can't wait to see day 3 map/s. Love the different routes to the same place, as having the option and not having to decide beforehand would be useful on a challenging route like this.

 

[ColinJ]

Okay, details of day 3, Into the Dales:

I've given you three options, though one of those can be extended, and one can be shortened!

I'm assuming that you will be doing day 3 on a Sunday. There aren't many trains so keep an eye on the time when deciding which station to catch your train back from.

a) Slaidburn to Settle via Dent - map. 78 km, 1,450 m (48.5 miles, 4,750 ft) (This is the route you will want to do if at all possible!)

This will be tiring, especially after 2 hard days of riding, but make the effort if you can. Be warned though, you will be really out in the wilds in places. If you crash or have mechanical problems, it could be a long way to get help and I wouldn't count on getting a phone signal in some of those places! Be prepared, and watch what you are doing.

If you get to the end of Dentdale and have really had enough, you could do the very tough climb up to Dent station to cut the day short. To be honest though, if you've got that far, you might as well carry on at least as far as Ribblehead. That is a stiff climb too, but it doesn't look quite as bad on the map, and you have a nice run downhill to the station.

NB The route on the map doesn't take you to Ribblehead station itself because I'm assuming that you will turn left down the B6479 and on down to Horton-in-Ribblesdale or Settle.

If you want to catch the train at Ribblehead, stay on the B6255 another couple of hundred metres beyond past the junction.

Stay on the B6479 as far as Settle or stop at Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

b) Slaidburn to Ribblehead via Ingleton - map. 35 km, 800 m (21.75 miles, 2,625 ft).

This option lets you tackle the first set of big hills, but then takes a shortcut from Ingleton to Ribblehead up the B6255. It misses out some lovely scenery, so only do this if you really need to. You'd have the option of going on down the B6479 to Horton-in-Ribblesdale or Settle if you had time to spare before catching your train.

c) Slaidburn to Settle via Rathmell - map. 20 km, 270 m (12.5 miles, 890 ft) This is your emergency bailout option! It basically abandons day 3 and gets you to Settle by the easiest possible route. Clearly you won't do this without a good reason, but the option is there if you need it.

I've done a combined set of profiles at the same scale to show you what to expect:

 

[ColinJ]

While waiting for your train ...

• Dent station - as I mentioned before, the station is miles from the village and the old station building is now private accommodation so there isn't much to do up there while you wait! I'd advise you to carry on to one of the other stations unless you are in danger of missing your train if you do.

• At Ribblehead - take a good look at Ribblehead viaduct and then eat and drink at the Station Inn.

• At Horton-in-Ribblesdale - there are a couple of pubs, a cafe and tea-rooms.

• At Settle - spoilt for choice! Quite a few pubs, and several cafes including Ye Olde Naked Man and Settle Down which I've used on audax rides.

And here are a couple of videos you might like to watch to whet your appetite ...

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]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBEXqaojAzM[/media]


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]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezEOSNftc7c[/media]

 

[ColinJ]

(Final part)

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]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AJhDk0tRGc[/media]