Oi, Londoners! Fancy 2 days riding in the Yorkshire Dales for under £55?

[ColinJ]

I've been having a bit of fun researching a possible 3 day mini-tour for CC member gussington and I've stumbled across something that has me gobsmacked...

You can stick your bike on a train at London Kings Cross and be up in the Yorkshire Dales before 11:00 on a Saturday morning for £17.50!

Ride about the Dales all day, ending up at Malham Youth Hostel which is a mere £18 for the night.

Leave the YH on Sunday morning and cycle round other lovely bits of the Dales, get back on a train just after 18:00 on Sunday evening and be back at Kings Cross at 22:48 - another £17.50!

How's that for an affordable mini-break!

 

[dellzeqq]

That sounds great.

Are these tickets to York?

 

[ColinJ]

That sounds great.

Are these tickets to York?

Nope - Settle. Go to National Rail Enquiries and plan a return trip from London Kings Cross to Settle. Outward trip Saturday 23rd April, first thing. Return after 18:00 the following evening. £17.50 each way.

You could try other dates and other Dales stations on the line like Skipton, Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Dent, Ribblehead etc. I'm amazed at how cheap that is.

 

[ColinJ]

Strewth - if you catch the 07:10 from Kings Cross and change at Leeds for Skipton, it's only £12 each way! You'd arrive there at 10:24.

If you fancied a day trip, you could return on the 18:48 train from Skipton for £12, arriving at Kings Cross at 22:21. You could get a fantastic Dales century ride in and be back in time for a couple of pints at your local!

 

[gbs]

This sounds amazing. I cycled that way once more than 50 years ago when we lived in Beverley. If I feel up to it I would love to join for a day. If I bring the trusty mudguarded Van Nich I will have to avoid Dellers - that probably will not be difficult given his rapidity uphill.

 

[gbs]

double post text deleted

 

[GrumpyGregry]

for the first time im my life I'm jealous I live south of the great wen.

hang on. I'd just have to come back on Monday and miss a Monday at work. What is not to like!

 

[ColinJ]

Be warned - the prices are only available on certain trains on certain days to certain stations and the tickets would have to be booked way in advance! Surprisingly, you can get those prices on some mid-week trains as well.

Also, AFAIK you can normally only book 2 bikes on the trains between London and Leeds and I wouldn't risk trying to take your bike without a reservation. I've seen people do it, but why take the chance?

You'd be committed to a particular train to and from Leeds, though you'd probably have more flexibility on the trains after Leeds.

What you don't want to do is to miss your connection at Leeds coming back or you could be stuck with buying another ticket for the following train. It looks like that could be about £44 - probably not a complete bank-account-buster, but it would be really annoying.

PS I've just thought of a potential gotcha!... Sundays on the trains can be a bit iffy because it's often when track repairs are done so you'd be taking a chance on that. (Much less likely to affect a Saturday day trip.)

For example - there is a rail replacement bus on the return journey I mentioned above, between Shipley and Leeds and of course - no (non-folding) bikes on buses! It's around 11 miles of busy A-roads with 780 ft of ascent and 920 ft of descent and you'd have 73 minutes to do it in on your bike - very doable, but something you'd have to bear in mind if planning one of these trips involving Sunday travel.

 

[Garz]

Don't put the cockney's off Colin!

 

[Dayvo]

Don't put the cockney's off Colin!

And if it puts the cockneys off, the other Londoners might still make it though!

Good work, Colin!

Too bad I'm not in the south east anymore (or maybe it isn't) otherwise I'd have come along for the ride!

 

[ColinJ]

Don't put the cockney's off Colin!

Well I reckon I'd get them up here okay, it's just the thought of them having a fun weekend in the Dales, then catching their train back to Leeds and just starting to doze off when the train pulls into Shipley station and a crackly voice comes over the intercom:

"Would all customers please leave the train here and make their way to a rail replacement bus which is waiting at the far end of the station car park. Please remember to take all your luggage and belongings with you and mind the gap when stepping down from the train. Oi, you cyclists, where do you think you are going? On yer bikes!"


I reckon I'd be in for some stick on the Monday morning!

 

[Garz]

Haha.. eeeevil Colin!

But seriously, it is a great opportunity to experience the awesome Dales and proper scenery and I guess leave the concrete and smog for a few hours.

 

[fossyant]

Oh the YH at Malham. We had a weekend club run up there, stayed overnight then came back. Before the days of GPS etc, the 'organiser' worked out it was about 90 miles each way..... ended up being 60...argh - more time in the pub though.