My ride along Britain’s most unusual new cycling trail began with a taste of bikers’ hell and finished in adrenalin heaven. But at the start, all I could think about was the devil on my back, weighing me down as I slogged up the kind of hill nightmares are made of.
I’d picked up the bike in the stone-built town of Settle, on the edge of the vast Yorkshire Dales National Park, to ride part of a new long-distance trail designed specially for mountain bikes and horses. Traversing for 205 deeply rural miles from Matlock in Derbyshire to Ravenstonedale in Cumbria, it is the only national trail in the country, built for wheels and hooves, as well as feet . Officially opening on June 12, the Pennine Bridleway is largely off-road and car-free, serving as a reminder that cycling is brilliant fun when it’s safe. But the truth is, I didn’t care much at first, hauling out of Settle on a bright morning, sweating into my T-shirt. Miles would pass before I came to realise that the uphill bits were more than matched by what followed.
The scenery of the Yorkshire Dales is exquisite — a collection of far valleys, high tops, isolated barns and endless moors — and when I finally managed to raise my head and look around, I could see 20 miles at a stretch. No motors, no noise. And the pleasures grew as I bumped over rough tracks to villages such as Stainforth and then the end-of-day joy and overnight stop at Austwick.The next day, I was joined by Peter Lambert, a trail officer for the national park who has been painstakingly developing the 50-mile Dales section of the Pennine Bridleway for four years. He believes “there’s something here for every riding standard”.
Highlights included a lunch stop in utter peace at remote Ling Gill Bridge, where we ate pies while slouching on warm grass, watching Cam Beck flow past. We passed stunning viaducts on the outrageously beautiful Settle to Carlisle rail line. And sometimes we got off and pushed. But often the trail was grassy, undulating and beautifully easy and scenic.
Just before the end of the day, I experienced the best moment of the entire journey; it was the opposite of that nightmarish opening uphill grind. What happened was that Lambert paused near a spot called Cold Keld Gate — nowhere, really, just another wild high point on a magnificent ridge, from which a snaking trail plunges downhill like a river, twisting and turning over rocks and gravel towards a valley floor more than two miles below.
Advertisement
He said this should be fun, and set off in a spray of stones. I followed with whitened knuckles.
The wind tore at my eyes, sheep scattered and rocks flew from my wheels as we sped down the empty track, the valley roaring up to meet us at numbing speed. Twice, my bike took off so that I actually flew through the warm Yorkshire air, and at the end I felt incredibly alive. The next day, there was more of the same until I’d completed most of the Yorkshire Dales section of this lovely trail, and I loved, not every mile, but every day.
Need to know
East Coast trains (08457 225225, eastcoast.co.uk) operates a half-hourly service between London King’s Cross and Leeds, where Northern Rail (08450 000125, northernrail.org) connects to Settle. Advance returns cost from £31.20.
3Peaks Cycles (01729 824232, 3peakscycles.com), in Settle, rent mountain bikes from £20 daily.
Advertisement
Where to stay
The Traddock Hotel, Austwick (01524 251224, thetraddock.co.uk) has doubles from £89.
The Stone House Hotel, Hawes (01969 667571, stonehousehotel.com) has doubles from £110.
More information
Yorkshire.com; for Pennine Bridleway details, see nationaltrail.co.uk/PennineBridleway
Advertisement
Safe cycle rides
West Country Way 250 tranquil miles between Bristol and Padstow, opening up the West Country.
Details westcountryway.co.uk
Way of the Roses 170 miles coast-to-coast from Morecambe to Bridlington, with some steep Yorkshire sections. Details www.wayoftheroses.co.uk
Tweed Cycleway 95 miles of Scottish Borders, mostly on quiet lanes, from Biggar to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Advertisement
Details visitscottishborders.com/Downloads/tweedcycleway.pdf