RSF - The Off Road Cycling Club

The Adventure Starts Here

NPSP Ride from Mytholmroyd

2nd October 2016. Twelve riders turned up at Mytholmroyd on what was a glorious autumn day.

Myth 2 

It was decided by our leader that we would get the climb to Midgley, the village at the top of the hill, over and done with first. Once we had regrouped and got our breath back, we proceeded along the contoured road which follows around the hillside, looking down on Mytholmroyd and the Hebden Valley. We stopped a couple of times along the way to look over the other side of the valley at the huge landslide that took place during the Boxing Day floods, revealing what was the tipping area for the deadly asbestos from the infamous Acre Mill which used to produce asbestos up to the 1950’s.

A couple of miles along the lane at Old Town we diverted round by the cricket ground, opposite which, built into a wall are three engraved stones which explain how the local water rights were to be divided between the estate and the local mill. Hence the title.

From Old Town we came out onto the main Hebden Bridge/Keighley Road which we had to negotiate through Pecket Well before being able to turn onto Haworth Old Road for the descent to Crimsworth Dean. This area is a MTB riders paradise. Here we finished with the tarmac and turned onto the bridleway back towards Hardcastle Craggs. About a mile up the track is a ruin which is known locally as ”cow sh**  barn”, this marks the junction to the Calder Aire Link.

Taking this we climbed up onto Shackleton Moors to the hamlet of Walshaw. At this point the hunger pangs took over and the swift descent down to the National Trusts Gibson Mill was taken to satisfy our cravings.

 Myth 1

After lunch and an inspection of the eco loos, we climbed out of the valley on a nicely graded track to the top car park, for Hardcastle Craggs, at Clough Head on the Widdop Road. Turning right we headed for Widdop Gate and the bridleway which leads to Gorples Reservoir. Coming out by the Water Men’s houses, opposite the junction that take us through the gate and up the Pennine Bridleway over to Edge Lane for a welcome cup of coffee and cake at May's Emporium. The farm shop just off the Pennine Way which supplies anything and everything a traveller could need.

As it was now turned three o'clock and it takes about three quarters of an hour to get from May's back to our starting point, we took the long sweeping bridleway down from Jack Bridge through the woods to Mytholm in the valley bottom. Then returned back to Mytholmroyd via what turned out to be a very busy canal towpath to Hebden Bridge and picked up cycleway route 66 back.

Thank you all for your company, for a brilliant days riding around the hills, yet never far from our starting point.

John Hitchen. Myth Map

 

 

 

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