Yorkshire Mucky Lane Riders
Wednesday 24th February 2016
Absolutely Airedale (A Ride From Gargrave)
Whilst sluicing mud, grass, animal droppings and gravel off my bike after this ride I wondered if a forensics expert could work out where it had been. To save them the bother I’ll try to describe it for you.
Fourteen riders met on a frosty and sunny morning in Gargrave. Neville and Jane led the ride, with some of today’s group coming from as far afield as York and the Saddleworth area. There were a couple of new members as well. We headed off for Eshton, where we left the lanes for the first time and crossed Eshton Beck. Firm going was found by keeping to the frost-hardened ground. The imposing Tudor house of Friars Head came into sight just before a long grassy climb/walk up by Scarnber Hill. Pillow Mounds and Giants Graves abound here. The former are old rabbit warrens, the others are bronze age burial mounds. However, we had no time for archaeology since we were ‘burying ourselves’ (as the cycle race commentators like to say) climbing the hill.
While we were regrouping at the top a couple of walkers greeted us and asked about our ride, to be told ‘Oh, we’re not riding anywhere, we just like to stand about on hill tops and look at bikes’. Some mirth ensued. A bit more green stuff led to an icy lane down into Hetton. Following a charming bridleway with an old clapper bridge over the beck brought us into Rylstone, with its duck pond but no Calendar Girls on this day. We footed it across the busy main road to take the narrow back lane to Cracoe, passing the small Victorian village church of St. Peter, basking in the bright sunlight.
We reached Cracoe, where we stopped at the café on the main road. Not the farm shop one, the other establishment. The proprietor seemed a bit put out by our potentially muddy-footed presence initially but the food came along quite promptly and all was well in the main.
Suitably refreshed, we emerged into the sunshine and bracing air and returned to Hetton by a different way, going over the old level crossing on the railway line that used to go up to Threshfield. The rails now terminate at Swinden quarry and carry limestone traffic. Quiet lanes, familiar to me from my cycling days many years ago, took us to Winterburn and Calton and then over the still youthful River Aire at Airton. Jane and Irene headed back to Gargrave from near here, while the rest continued to Coniston Cold via Otterburn and Bell Busk in search of some more rough stuff. On reaching the horror that is the modern-day A65 we each took a handful of braveness pills and made the crossing, being rewarded shortly afterwards by a good gravelly track over Moorber Hill. A fine descent with great views led to a fun grass section which presented some traction issues here and there for those spinning low gears or with tyres with a low knobble count. Then we were at Bank Newton, with C17th Newton Hall standing high over the hamlet. Arriving here was a bit of a weird coincidence for me, since I’d just spent most of the previous week there. You wait ages for a particular village, then two come along together, or something to that effect!
From Bank Newton we soon picked up the Leeds Liverpool canal towpath, just before it crossed the Priest Holme aqueduct spanning the Aire. Before long Gargrave came into view again and another bunch of golden miles had passed under our wheels (and feet on occasion).
An enjoyable and varied ride in what I consider to be a particularly attractive part of the lower Dales, with lovely sunny weather to boot. The distance was a touch over 20 miles, with about 1700 feet of climbing. Thanks are due to Neville and Jane, who had come up with a good route. My first taste of a Yorkshire Dales Group ride. I look forward to many more.
Andy Eatch
{gallery}/media/jw_sigpro/users/0000000365/from Gargrave 24 Feb 2016{/gallery}