The "Three Peaks" of Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-Ghent dominate the skyline of the western part of the Yorkshire Dales national park. Although not the highest mountains in the country, these spectacular dark fells tower over the surrounding countryside near Settle, Clapham and Ingleton, and they are of course very popular with walkers, ramblers and mountain bikers. Geologically, the Three Peaks are all of millstone grit, but on a limestone base and the area is popular with cavers and potholers exploring the caverns which have been formed by the streams and rivers running off the fells. The tour takes us on an anticlockwise loop around Whernside starting from Ingleton and resting in Dent at the half way point. On the way out you pass through Scales Moor on the way up Whernside, here you will find the most amazing limestone pavements. If you have time at the end of your ride then Thornton Force and Pecca Falls are just up the valley from Ingleton and worth a visit.
The ride today was a nice steady ride, after the first initial hill which is a killer is all straight forward. We had a very special guest today riding with us, it was a baby roo, and it was so cute!!!
Now here is your history lesson for today, We set off from Barnoldswick, So I shall start there
Barnoldswick
Barnoldswick (colloquially known as Barlick) is a town. Barnoldswick is one of the longest place names in the United Kingdom without repeating any letters. Buckfastleigh in Devon, Buslingthorpe in Leeds, West Yorkshire are longer with 13 letters. Barnoldswick dates back to Anglo Saxon times. It was listed in Domesday Book as Bernulfsuuic, meaning Bernulf's Town (uuic being an archaic spelling of wick, meaning settlement, in particular, a dairy farm).
Shortly after the Norman Conquest, Henry de Lacey, a Norman nobleman, selected Barnoldswick as the site for an important monastery. He had pledged to build a structure to the memory of God if he recovered from a serious illness.
A Cistercian monastery was founded there in 1147 by monks from Fountains Abbey. However they left after six years, the climate proved just as inhospitable and the corn failed to ripen, the monks and brothers abandoned Barnoldswick and transferred their energies to the building of Kirkstall Abbey, near Leeds. A few depressions in the ground, thought to be fishponds, along with a spring known as St Mary's Well are all that remains of their work. The site is still known as Monkroyd and it is now home to a housing estate.
Ten years after their departure, the Brothers returned to build the isolated church of St Mary-le-Gill close to Barnoldswick to Thornton in Craven road. Legend has it that this was built so far out of town to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the locals!
Barnoldswick prospered as a result of the cotton trade and by the start of the First World War, 22,000 looms were in operation and 13 mills dominated the landscape. But, there was a huge slump in the woolen trade after the Great War followed by an upturn in the town's fortunes with the arrival of the Rover Company to manufacture and repair aero engines. Rolls Royce took over the local factories and remains one of the largest employers in town.
Weets Hill is a hill in the West Craven area of Pendle, It is 2.5 miles (4km) south-west of the town of Barnoldswick and is 4 miles (6.5km) north-east of Pendle Hill. The hill was originally situated in Yorkshire, the summit has a Triangulation Pillar and commands views over much of east lancashire, the north Ribble Valley, north Aire Valley and the Yorkshire Dales. The summit is approximately 247m (810ft) above the local towns of Barnoldswick; Stock Beck originates from the north face of the summit.
Gisburn
The Charter for GISBURN FAIR was granted by Henry III to the Abbot and Monks of Sawley Abbey in 1260, the market to be held every Monday and a Fair every year of three days duration, that is to say, on the Eve, Day and the Morrow of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8th September). From records ’wooden vessels’ were on sale at the Fair. It is assumed that meals were taken from wooden trenchers; buckets were also made of wood.
Gisburn was provided with two ancient ’instruments of justice’ – the Stocks and the Cuck Stool. The positions of these are not known. The Stocks were probably in the Market Place and were used as a punishment for men; the Cuck Stool was a type of ducking stool which would have been close to running water and was used as a punishment for women. North of the village of the Settle road is a Ringwork or earthen castle of Norman origin. Castle Haugh ringwork, known locally as Cromwell's Basin, occupies the north west end of a tongue of high ground overlooking the River Ribble and commands extensive views to the north east and south east.
Gisburn Park, which at one time was the home of the holders of the title ’Lord Ribblesdale’. In the park, cattle of fame used to roam. The two lodges at the entrance to the park are of beautiful Gothic architecture, richly ornamented with figures and pinnacles carved with the greatest taste from designs of a former Lord Ribblesdale. The Lister family, later to become the ’Ribblesdales’ once lived at Westby Hall on the Blacko Road. The first Lord Ribblesdale is reputed to have planted over a million oak trees in this stretch of the Ribble Valley; another Lord maintained Stags for hunting, and the Fourth Lord always used to carry his stirrup leathers in his bag when he travelled, being too keen a horseman to risk borrowed leathers. King Edward nicknamed the last Lord Ribblesdale ’the ancestor’ because of his dignified appearance.
Oliver Cromwell stayed a night or two at Gisburne. His troopers stabled his horses in the village Church and broke the stained glass windows. The Listers of that day identified themselves in a cautious rational way with the cause of Parliament.
The following extract from a letter despatched by Cromwell after that decisive battle of 1648, ’Hearing the enemy had advanced into Lancs. we marched on 15th August to Gisburne; 16th to Hodder Bridge, over the Ribble, here we held Council of war’. Generals Cromwell and Lambert halted with Sir John Assheton at Gisburne Park, then called Lower Hall, a jointure house of the Listers.
At the north east end of the churchyard is the ’Priory’, though not the original house; it is reputed that the former house was occupied by Nuns. This could have been the resting place for the Nuns from Rayhead in Gisburn Forest, who were at one time Patrons of the Church.
It appears that, in the early 15th century, there was considerable lawlessness in this area. A reference is made that, in 1401, a Vicar of Skipton travelling between Sawley and Gisburn was murdered. We read also that Thomas Banaster, then Rector, in 1425 sent a communication to the Bishop to ’reconcile the churchyard after the shedding of blood’. Later we have a story of the GISBURNE MARTYR. In Robert Smith’s book entitled ’Ye Chronicales of Craven’, there is an interesting story of Richard Simpson, Priest, Schoolmaster and Martyr. Richard vas, at one time, a Protestant Minister and a Schoolmaster. He became a Roman Catholic member and, for this, he was imprisoned in York. In 1577, he became a Roman Catholic Priest, after his imprisonment at York. He was hounded by the Protestants and, though doing missionary work in various parts of Lancashire, he appeared to go into hiding from time to time. Whilst at Gisburne as School Master, he was known by the nickname ’Guile’. In l582 he was captured whilst on the run and, after a time in prison, he was banished, but returned and was captured again and condemned in 1588. He was reprieved for a few months but was later caught, so he, repenting of his mistake, punished himself by fasting, watching and wearing hair cloth next to his skin. In July 1588, he met his end. He was executed near Derby with two other men. ’Their heads and quarters were set on poles in divers places’. Later, these were stolen by night and given a decent burial.
The ride began in Hebden Bridge. Hebden Bridge is fascinating and moving. But the original settlement was the hilltop village of Heptonstall. Hebden Bridge (orig Heptenbryge) started as a settlement where the Halifax to Burnley hilltop packhorse route dropped down into the valley. The route crossed the River Hebden at the spot where the old bridge (from where Hebden Bridge gets its name) stands. The steep wet hills and access to major wool markets meant that Hebden Bridge was ideal for water powered weaving mills and the town developed during the 19th and 20th centuries; at one time Hebden was so well-known for its clothing manufacture that it was known as "Trouser Town".Drainage of the marshland which covered much of the Upper Calder Valley prior to the Industrial Revolution enabled construction of the road which runs through the valley. Prior to this, travel was only possible via the ancient packhorse route which ran along the hilltop, dropping into the valleys wherever necessary, as was the case with Hebden Bridge.
Hebden Bridge also had its own cooperative society. However, during the 1960s, it was defrauded and went bankrupt. The old Co-op building became a hotel and was later converted into flats. The Co-op returned in the 1980s with a supermarket on Market Street on the site of an old mill.
The Cavalier and the Roundheads
Hebden Bridge was put on the map in 1643 when an important battle in the Civil War took place over the very bridge from which the town derives its name.
Having travelled the main road from Halifax the royalist army, the Halifax Cavaliers, gathered at the river’s edge in Hebden Bridge. On the other side of the old humpbacked bridge was the Butress, the steep medieval packhorse trail which climbs the hill towards Heptonstall. Colonel Bradshaw and the roundheads knew the local terrain. He instructed his men to take up their positions. As the soldiers began to climb the 500ft climb to Heptonstall they were met with a cascade of falling rocks shortly followed by the roundheads. The royalist cavalry soon realised that the terrain was not suitable for their attack. Many were trampled underfoot by their own panic stricken horse’s running back down the Butress. The army beat their retreat over the narrow bridge and those who could not get over the bridge plunged into the river to escape only to be swept away by the raging torrent following heavy rain.
The royal army was fiercely pursued as far as Luddenden. Following the battle the Halifax Cavaliers no longer held undisputed sway over the district while Colonel Bradshaw’s army could continue its hostile tactics with greater resolution. Apparently they only went there to look for food….
The Luddites
To those travelling through the valley of Calderdale, which seems such an obvious route through the Pennines west of Halifax, it may seem strange that until about two hundred years ago most habitation and transport in this area happened on the uplands rather than the valleys. Until the early 19th century the community was based at Heptonstall, high on the hillside, where there were farmers and handloom weavers. Hebden Bridge consisted only of - unsurprisingly - the bridge over the Hebden Water and the White Lion Hotel. Heptonstall is the oldest settlement in the immediate area; the original church (ruined by a storm in 1847) was founded in the 12th century.
The centre of activity came down into the valley during the Industrial Revolution. The river was harnessed to power the cotton mills of the Calder and its tributaries.
With these improvements came innovations in the textile industry which transformed it from a home- into a factory-based activity. Spinning and weaving machinery was introduced, and the steep, wet valley walls provided ample opportunity to use water power to fuel the new mills.
A local entrepreneur, William Barker, then realised in the 1850s that there was a market for Hebden Bridge to produce its own clothes, rather than simply make the material to be transported out of the area. By the end of the century the town was a major centre for the manufacture of workers' clothing. The town underwent a population explosion, with nearly all of what makes up today's central Hebden Bridge being built in the 1880s and 1890s. In the early months of 1811 the first threatening letters from General Ned Ludd and the Army of Redressers, were sent to employers in Nottingham. Workers, upset by wage reductions and the use of unapprenticed workmen, began to break into factories at night to destroy the new machines that the employers were using. In a three-week period over two hundred stocking frames were destroyed. In March, 1811, several attacks were taking place every night and the Nottingham authorities had to enroll four hundred special constables to protect the factories. To help catch the culprits, the Prince Regent offered £50 to anyone "giving information on any person or persons wickedly breaking the frames".
Luddism gradually spread to Yorkshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. In Yorkshire, croppers, a small and highly skilled group of cloth finishers, turned their anger on the new shearing frame that they feared would put them out of work. In February and March, 1812, factories were attacked by Luddites in Huddersfield, Halifax, Wakefield and Leeds.
In February 1812, Parliament passed the Frame Breaking Act that enabled people convicted of machine-breaking to be sentenced to death.
The beginning of roads starts as long ago as the Stone Age when track ways were made by primitive man to help him trade with other primitive people. However, it was the Romans who first built roads as we know them today. These roads were one of the greatest achievements of the Roman Empire; some of them remained in use for more than 1,000 years after the Empire finished. The first Roman road was the Via Appia and it was built in the year 312 B.C. This road stretched for over 6,018 kilometres across Western and Southern Europe. Roman roads were built mainly for the armies to conquer other countries, letting them travel quickly and safely, but, they were soon used for trade and for people to simply go from one city to another. Roman roads were built in a straight line as they did not have to worry about who owned the land or the effect of the roads on the environment. They would also have been able to see enemies approaching. These roads show how skilful the Romans were as engineers and planners as their techniques meant that the roads lasted for centuries. Today the Highways Agency is responsible for all the users of this network - the cyclist (ROADIES), the pedestrian, the horses and their riders, not just the cars and lorries! We provide safe routes for ROADIES,and pedestrians, including bridges that enable them and horse riders to cross our roads safely. We build tunnels under some of our roads for badgers, frogs, toads and other animals to get across the roads, and we also provide fences along our roads where they are needed to stop deer getting on to the road. So Dick where does it state in this short history MOUNTAINS, SINGLE TRACK, SIX DAYS OF FANTASTIC RIDING ALL OFF ROAD ACROSS SCOTLAND???
The Road Bike
What do the following have in common: a derailleur gear, an aluminum frame, the freewheel, disc wheels, anatomical saddles, clipless pedals, suspension, folding bikes? Answer: they were all ideas that originated in the late 1800s, by a ROADIE to ride the Roads!! Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously (unless riding a handicap event) with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course (individual and team time trials are another form of cycle racing on ROADS). Road racing is popular all over the world, but especially in Europe. Road bicycle racing began as an organized sport in 1868.The first world championship was in 1893 and cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the modern sequence started in Athens in 1896. ROADS ROADS ROADS….NO MOUNTAINS HERE!!!
The Mountian Bike
Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. This individual sport requires endurance, core strength and balance, bike handling skills and self-reliance. Mountain biking can be performed almost anywhere from a back yard to a gravel road, but the majority of mountain bikers ride off-road trails, whether country back roads, fire roads, or singletrack (narrow trails that wind through forests, mountains, deserts, or fields).
The Mudpackers have endurance, core strength and balance, bike handling skills and self-reliance. What are you going to be Dick….hahaha
I was not riding this week and there was a vote that I was would do the write up, I won the vote due to my love of Embsay moor…. Here goes another history lesson for the leisure ride from Embsay around Rylstone cross and back for tea and scones!!
Embsay has two pubs, the Elm Tree Inn at the north end of the village, and the Cavendish Arms at the southern end of the village near the station. The Elm Tree Inn and surrounding Elm Tree Square take their names from the elm tree that stood in the centre of this junction for many years. It was replaced in the late 20th century due to Dutch elm disease, but in 2006 that replacement was also taken down. A replacement tree was planted in 2007.
The first settlers in this area were probably the Angles and the Danes, who followed the river routes and settled on the hillsides. They avoided the valley bottoms which were thickly wooded, swampy and difficult to clear; they also avoided the higher bleak moorland. The Anglian group came to rest at Embsay, a name believed to be derived from two words: Embys - an enclosure, and ay - an island. Another settlement developed at a later date at Eastby or Esteby, derived from Norse words meaning a hamlet or farmstead to the east. The Danes chose slightly higher ground just below the moor. (As I have Scandinavian blood in me I can now see why I love Embsay Moor….its my second home). The choice of location was obviously influenced by the plentiful water supply, the presence of woods for the provision of timber to give shelter, and suitable land which could be cleared for cultivation. Stone could be quarried on the moors, bracken gathered for bedding, peat for fuel, and rushes for floors and lighting.
Spared from large scale housing or industrial development the parish of Embsay-with-Eastby is pleasantly situated between the grouse moors of Barden to the north and the limestone bank of Haw Park to the south. The rocky outcrop of Embsay Crag stands out from the moor to the west, whilst a similar outcrop Eastby Crag, is set above the village to the east.
Shaphaw is a small but challenging hill on the Grassington road, close to Skipton. This is a fairly short circular route climbing sharphaw and decending near to the village of Fasby. Its also pretty tough physically. You’re either going steeply uphill or downhill. There are superb views into Wharfedale Lancashire and the Aire Valley with some very testing riding. Sharp Haw, being the last outpost of the hills before the broad Aire valley, and with a sharp summit from many angles, it is prominent from much of the area to the south.
What can I say about Rylstone, nothing much other than Rylstone is the village from where the Calendar girls came, made into a film starring Helen Mirren and Julie Walters. Rylstone is the name given to the long broken escarpment on the hillside above the village of Rylstone, some five miles north of Skipton. Rylstone cross was apparently it was erected to commemorate the 1815 Treaty of Paris that finally ended the Napoleonic Wars.
It is always customary after a ride to write about the route and point out points of interests, fast descents, steep ascents, turn left at the tufted mound etc etc. As you may have noticed the write ups have turned into a history programme, which are a little different from the norm. Today’s ride is no exception. We all set off to ride the Bingley Bash (the chuckle brothers, Des, Craig, Dazza, Paul and Darryl) from the Sun Inn at Cottingley.
The Sun Inn was built in the early 1900s as a replacement for Nancy's, the old court house, coach inn and poacher's meeting place. After closing for a recent refurbishment, the doors are open once more to patrons who have been flowing through for over 300 years. We all ended up in the Sun Inn to have our lunch…..double rack of ribs or the all day breakfast, just what you want after a ride. Back to the history script.
Cottingley or Cottingelaia was named after the Cota or Cotta family and means meadows of the sons of Cota but long before the naming of the land, it was the site of a proud and ancient beginnings.The geological composition of Cottingley consists of mainly of millstone grit, boulder clay and some alluvial deposits. The "Bingley Bypass" has been the centre of controversy for many years and will certainly have an environmental impact especially as Bingley Bog carries near complete vegetation history from the Ice Age to the medieval period. In 1753, one of the most notable events in Cottingley history, the passing of a road and waterway toll act , gave rise to the first toll bar at Cottingley Bridge which was later relocated at Cottingley Bar in 1823. The old Cottingley Bar toll building was demolished about 90 years ago but the name survives the test of time.
As this ride is the Bingley Bash it will be rude not to mention Bingley itself. Bingley was probably founded about the time of the Saxons; certainly its name is Saxon in origin, meaning “Bing's clearing”, though this would not be the original spelling or pronunciation of Bing. Bingley is thought to have been founded around a ford on the River Aire. This crossing gave access to the villages of Harden, Cullingworth and Wilsden on the south side of the river. Bingley's entry in the Domesday Book. 1086 AD is listed as "Bingheleia", with the following entry:
m In Bingheleia hb. Gospatric iiij car' tra e' ad gld. tra ad ii car' Ernegis de burun h't. & Wast' e'. T.R.E. val, iiij lib'. Silva past' ii leu' lg' & i lat'. Tot' m' e iiij leu' lg' & ii lat'
Which roughly translated reads:
In Bingheleia, Gospatric has a manor of four carucate of land to be taxed, land for two ploughs. Ernegis de Burun has it and it is waste. In the time of King Edward the Confessor it was valued at four pounds. Woodland pasture two leagues long and one broad. All the manor is four long and two broad.
During the ride we had to pass through a busy farm, all the farm hands were busy shearing their sheep for the summer. The process of removing the wool from a sheep is known as sheep shearing. The wool is clipped by skilled shearers once a year from the sheep. Raising and shearing sheep is one of the world's oldest industries, thriving for thousands of years. The many uses of wool are the reason for the huge success of the sheep shearing business. The fleece removed from sheep is spun and woven for carpets, clothing, yarns, insulation, blankets, felt and crafting. Sheep were first domesticated over 10,000 years ago and raised as a food source in Central Asia. Shearing sheep did not begin until 3500 B.C. when man learned to spin the sheep's wool. The production of wool is the oldest trade commodity known to man. The wool industry is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible and was the first widespread international trade throughout ancient civilizations. Most of the explorations organized by Queen Isabella of Spain were financed through her wool trading business. In the 1400's, she paid for the voyages of Columbus and the conquistadors with profits from sheep shearing. The sheep were also used as a food source for Columbus and he left sheep in the New World when he sailed to Santo Domingo and Cuba. These sheep, known as Churras, became the ancestors of American sheep and were bred by the Navajo tribe for food and wool.
The ride for today was a short one, the ride is only around 12 miles but the ride takes in some breathtaking countryside. The mis-shaped group all met at Clapham. Clapham is a small village in the Craven District of North Yorkshire. The church of St. James in Clapham was founded in Norman times, and was originally dedicated to St. Michael. It is mentioned in records dating back to 1160. Unfortunately, it and the rest of the village were burned during a Scottish raid following the Battle of Bannockburn in the early 14th-century. The church tower was probably erected following this incident, but the rest of the church only dates from the 19th-century. In the 14th century John de Clapham, who took his surname from the village, was a supporter of the earl of Warwick and lived at Clapdale Castle. His ancestors also took part in the Wars of the Roses, albeit on the side of the House of Lancaster.
Since the 18th century Clapham has been home to the Farrer family who established their Ingleborough estate. The family owns and is responsible for much of the land, walls, woods, fields and moors of the village, surrounding countryside and farms.
Electricity has been generated on the Ingleborough estate since 1893. There is still an operating water turbine-powered generator at the top of the village next to the waterfall. It was installed in 1948. Originally it supplied the church, Ingleborough Hall, Home Farm and 13 street lights. There is another turbine in the sawmill, which is also still in use although it is now helped by an electric motor when the larger saw is in use.
In August 1947 the Trow Ghyll skeleton was discovered in a cave above the village. Although the identity of the body has never been ascertained, it has been claimed that they were those of a German spy. The unexplained death has been described as "the most notable" mystery over a possible Nazi agent in Britain.
Running through the village is Clapham Beck. This is fed from Fell Beck which starts on the slopes of Ingleborough and sinks into Gaping Gill, England's highest waterfall, where Fell Beck drops 110 metres vertically down a pothole, and exits via Ingleborough Cave into Clapham Beck. The beck
Clapham lies on the Craven fault zone. This is a complex geological fault which marks the division of the sandstone rocks of the Bowland area and the limestone of the Ingleborough area.
We then rode into Feizor, now Feizor is somewhere between a hamlet and a village, and is, for those interested in Ordnance Survey maps, to be found at SD790677, between Austwick and Giggleswick/Settle in the "Three Peaks" sector of the Yorkshire Dales - but nicely hidden from the A65.
It is a very old place. The name is apparently made up of an Old Irish personal name "Fiach" and the Old Norse word "erg", meaning "sheiling" (source), which itself can mean hut, small-holding, etc.. So Feizor was in fact Fiach's Pad, and there is a house in Feizor with the word "Sheiling" in its name.
Many of the houses, such as Old Hall Farm (on the right as you enter Feizor), are extremely old (Elizabethan) although this is not always obvious as there has been a bit of a surge in renovation and conversion. This seems to have happened particularly since the foot and mouth epidemic and the subsequent (apparent) relaxation of planning controls for barn conversions and the like.
Then it was off up to Thwaite Scar….and a long descent back down into Clapham, an excellent ride, not to far but is very much steeped in history.
I am not very good at doing a write up on the actual route as I rely heavily on everyone else knowing where they are going (it’s a perk of being at the back!!) I will begin with the history lesson of the places I can remember. The ride began in Appletreewick. Appletreewick is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England; situated 12 miles north-east of Skipton. The main road running through the village is Hazler Lane. A popular place for visitors especially in the summer months, people from nearby cities often visit Appletreewick to relax on the banks of the River Wharfe, Or like the Mudpackers ride through it to enjoy the surrounding countryside.
The village prospered from the year 1300 when Bolton Priory acquired its manor with its extensive sheep ranges and valuable lead mines. Charters for markets and a fair were granted and the latter remained important until the impact of the railways in the mid 19th century. Stone houses line the steep, main street between High Hall at the top and Low Hall at the bottom. The Tudor-style High Hall was restored by Sir William Craven (known as Appletreewick's own "Dick Whittington") who became Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London at the beginning of the 17th century. Craven was born in a cottage almost opposite High Hall, one of a pair converted into St. Johns church. Lower down is Monks Hall, largely rebuilt in 1697 on the site of Bolton Priory's grange. The pub, the Craven Arms, was also owned by William and has much of the village history on display including a fully heather-thatched cruck barn to look round.
The ride took us down into Pateley Bridge. Pateley Bridge is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, on the River Nidd. Originally settled as a lead mining village, it takes its name from 'Pate' - an old Yorkshire dialect word for 'Badger' it has the oldest sweet shop in Britain and is the home of the Nidderdale Museum.
After Pateley Bridge it’s a swift ride to the Stump Cross Caverns, I must add here that it’s a STIFF climb out of the village, The beast did scare the women and children of this village with a massive blow out, resulting in Darryl using the infamous tyre!! Now back to the history lesson.
Stump Cross Caverns is one of Britain's premier show caves, located in Nidderdale on the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The formation of Stump Cross Caverns began millions of years ago, when the area which is now the Yorkshire Dales was covered by oceans. Sediment from the ocean floor would eventually form limestone, the basic material from which the caves are made. The caves at Stumps Cross were discovered in 1860 by miners who were looking for lead seams in the Yorkshire Dales. Although they didn't find any lead, they did find the natural caverns which you can see today. Miners often didn't see any commercial value in the caves, however a man named William Neubold had vision enough to see that they could be a profitable enterprise, and opened the caves to the public at a cost of 1 shilling per visit. The cave system at Stump Cross extends well beyond the show caves which are open to the public, to an overall length of approximately 6km. Many of the deeper caverns are only accessible to experienced cavers.
As we headed back to Appletreewick across moorland, I took a wrong turn and ended up at Parcevall Hall , now Parcevall Hall overlook skyredale an Simon's Seat and are situated near Skyreholme.Parcevall hall has some fantastic gardens and adjacent to the gardens is a path which leads up Trollerdale to the the eerie limestone gorge of Troller’s Gill - said to be the haunt of the fearsome "Barquest"... I will stop there.
Back to Appletreewick and the New Inn, The pub does serve good food and good beer but can take a very long time getting it!!!
This ride is fantastic when the weather is dry, The ride takes in 2 large hill climbs, once you get to the top the views are fabulous. We started in Buckden, Buckden is situated in the Upper Wensleydale. It is situated where Buckden Gill, which rises on Buckden Pike, joins the River Wharfe. Up the Gill is an old, long disused, lead mine - Buckden Gavel Mine. The village has a large hotel, the Buck Inn, One famous connection of the Buck Inn is that Lord Healey (Denis Healey) - the former Labour Chancellor of theExchequer (1974-1979) spent his honeymoon staying in the barn that was then attached to the pub. But he wasn’t allowed to park in the car park and he didn’t get fed after 2pm!!!
From there we headed towards the old Roman road the Cam High Road. The Roman Road runs from Ingleton to the Roman Fort at Bainbridge. After skirting around Wether Fell it follows a rigidly straight alignment before curving down the valley side to Bainbridge. Although now edged by stone walls it is evident that the road was constructed on a slight agger (curve-topped platform) about 4.6 metres wide. No trace of the road survives on the other side of Ingleton but it probably ran on to join another Roman road near Lower Bentham. In the late 18th century the road was resurfaced and formed part of the Richmond to Lancaster turnpike. A long stretch can be walked from Bainbridge to the top of Sleddale (about 5 1/2 miles). From Buckden there are Footpaths that lead from the village up to the top of Buckden Pike, up the river to Hubberholme and down the river to Kettlewell via Starbotton, and over the ridge opposite Buckden Pike to Litton, above Arncliffe, in Littondale
Just up the dale, where Langstrothdale joins Wharfedale, is the old village of Hubberholme, noted for its Norman church and old inn.
Pen-y-ghent is a mountain in the Yorkshire Dales. It is one of the Yorkshire Three Peaks, the other two being Ingleborough and Whernside. It lies some 3 km east of Horton in Ribblesdale. The Pennine Way links the summit to the village; the route is around 5 km in length as the Way curves initially to the north before turning east to reach the summit.
The more direct route that traverses the southern 'nose' of the hill is the route usually taken by the those attempting The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, as the walk is usually (but not exclusively) done in an anti-clockwise direction starting/finishing in Horton in Ribblesdale.
In the Cumbric language 'Pen' means hill or head, but 'Ghent' is more obscure. It could be taken to be edge or border the name "Pen-y-Ghent" could therefore mean Hill on the border.
The tour of Pen-y-Ghent is a well known classic for good reason. Great rocky track is followed by a superb moorland crossing on a mixture of purpose and built and natural surfaces. A steep rocky climb up Dawson Close (completed by Darryl, king of the mountains) takes you onto a lovely track, and then there is the final descent from the shoulder of Pen-y-Ghent before a spin out back to the car.
Now the actual ride that we did
Start and finish Horton in Ribblesdale
ROUTE DESCRIPTION
1. Turn right out of the car-park and look for the wooden finger-post sign after 150m directing you
left and along the Pennine Way. It’s uphill from here on a firm stone base but with plenty of
loose stuff on top in places. The track flattens out and ends at a gate leading out onto Horton
Moor.
2. The Pennine Way footpath goes off to the right. Straight in front is Hull Pot, a spectacular
entrance to a pothole, about 250m away, which is worth looking into if you have the time. The ride takes a single-track section through the moorland reeds between these two routes. Through a gate and follow a rough track up. This meets a path coming down from Pen-y-Ghent. Turn left, then right to follow wall in the same direction as you have been travelling. Thetrack starts to improve as you reach a single-track with a sandstone base and is easier to ride.Keep on single-track to the highest point on the ride on Foxup Moor under Plover Hill. A few stream crossings will have tested your technical skills with alternative stone bridges for those not up to the task. The route is undulating over moorland for a while before reaching a gate.
3. This is the start of the downhill to Foxup but the next 4.5km will test the technical skills of any rider. Soft moorland, mud, rushes and moss lay ahead along with ruts, tricky stream crossings and slippery rocks protruding through the surface. There is then a steep and often slippery descent towards Foxup.
4. Having gone through the gate an option drop steeply to Foxup Farm turn right onto the road and on to Halton Gill. Around 4km on road with a downhill bias gives a chance to stretch the legs for a little while.
5. Go right at a junction at New Bridge over the river Skirfare. Immediately over the bridge turn
right up a gated track and start to climb up the steepest section on the whole route. A 2km climb levels out onto a good track that runs along the edge of the valley. An undulating route takes you off the hillside to join the metalled road near Dawson’s Close.
6. Turn left and ride for 2km on the quiet road with a great view of Pen-Y-Ghent to your right until you come to a cattle-grid just after a parking area with an ‘honesty box’ on the left.
7. Turn right and drop down on the hard-packed stone track to Dale Head. Keep right at the farm and through the gate on a solid-based track. Turn left at a track junction by Churn Milk Hole, another of the innumerable potholes in this area. Up the stony track takes you to the start of the 4½km downhill section to Helwith Bridge.
8. Turn right onto the road for the final 3km stretch on the road.
The Mudpackers had ventured further a field this weekend, and they treated their wives to a Tour of Skiddaw. Skiddaw is a mountain in the Lake DistrictNational Park. With a summit at 931 m (3,054 feet) above sea level it is the fourth highest mountain in
England and the lowest above 3,000 feet (910 m). It lies just north of the town of Keswick, where I might add the ladies enjoyed a nice relaxing day shuffling around this lovely market town, they also had the fantastic view of Skiddaw as this dominated the skyline and as they looked from a distance comments were said that it looked as thought it had a thick velvet blanket had been draped over a supporting frame….. Nicely put.
On our travels we came across Skiddaw House, a stone building which has variously served as a shooting lodge, shepherd's bothy and Youth Hostel. Its windbreak comprises of the only trees in SkiddawForest, and it is reached via a long access track up the Dash
Valley.
On the Sunday we cheered on our young ‘tups’ as they took part in the Whinlatter Bike Challenge. Whinlatter is England's only true mountain forest rising to 790m with a large variety of terrain and boasting fantastic views of the Lake District and the surrounding mountains, making it the ideal location for such an event. Approx 450 riders took part in a grueling 30mile race.
This ride was organised by Paul…I have to start with saying that most of our rides are organised by Des and he cannot be blamed for getting the wrong day!! It was not entirely Pauls fault as the Settle Cycle Festival did say that the Settle Loop was on Saturday at 1pm….it actually turned out it was Sunday 1pm….Paul’s face was priceless. The 5 of us that made the journey was not going to be discouraged and we decided to do the loop regardless. It was all going well until we was going to turn left up to Stockdale lane when ‘the beast’ (Dick) Beast…..Beast…..Beast….Beast, suggested we carried on a further to make the most of the good weather….we was all in agreeance and off we carried on following Dick. George made the most of pushing and baiting Dick into racing up hills…..
‘ I must point out here that Dick used to race mountain bikes and hates being behind anyone and will do anything to be in front’ George took great pleasure trying to wear out the ‘Beast’
The ride carried on…..and on…and on…..track after track….hill after hill……….villages passed, Malham, Kirby Malham, Airton, Bell Busk, Gargrave…..and then lots of wilderness and eventually a knackered group ended up at Settle. It was a fantastic ride but we only took enough food out for 10 miles…..how wrong we were.
Story of the day was by George, apparently he went on a night out which is all very normal but the following morning he awoke to find a randomer in his bed…..what is wrong with that you say……it was a bloke in Georges bed…..
’Who are you and how did you get here’ said George,
‘You brought me home’ said the bloke.
If you like to come out of the closet George its fine…..we are all friends!!! Darryl is waiting!!
The ride overall was a good afternoon out with the weather and the riding being fantastic ….cheers Lads.
PS It was confirmed by Darryl that the mileage was around 19 miles….mmmmmmmmmm
Only 3 of the Mudpackers made it this weekend, the sun was shining and what a day it was turning out to be. We decided to do the ‘loop’ the opposite way around; the thinking behind it all, was we had the long descent of Mastiles Lane at the end rather than ride up the lane out of Kilnsey. Mastiles Lane if you have not already been over it yet is probably the most ridden bridleway in all of the Yorkshire Dales (A lane I used to hate and loathe due to being fat and unfit). Mastiles Lane was once part of an important long distance monastic route linking the estates of Fountains Abbey in the northern Lake District with Pateley Bridge. Mastiles lane is also a historic drovers’ road.
We decided to head along the road towards the Hawkswick Cote caravan park, just after this entrance we headed up towards Hell, sorry Arncliffe Cote and Street Gate, sign posted 4miles. This is approx 2-3mile climb, very tough but rewarding, the views are spectacular. From here you head over to Mastiles Lane which is undulating until the final descent into Kilnsey, which Des and George flew down.... I lagged behind as always!! The ride itself is approx 80% off road, the off road mileage (13.5) which equates to 41 miles on the road
A couple of beers at the Tennants Arms rounded this quality ride off.
This route encapsulates all that's great about cross-country riding in this here Bronte country, locally known as The Forest of Trawden and Heptonstall Moors. The ride was chosen by our very own trail master...Des. The weather was very good in places and in others visibility was down to around 20ft, being the first week in March you would have thought that all the snow and ice would have disappeared....how wrong we were, it’s still here. When will spring arrive??? In the MBR this month there is an article about the ongoing weather and I think this statement is very true...’when will it fook off’
The photos which I have added will hopefully be the last that show the snow, but who knows we are going through a terrible time with global warming!!!!
The route Des chose was the opposite way around to the last one we have done, personally I think this is a better route, more enjoyable. The route begins at the bottom of the Gorple track and ascends to the very top, you don’t turn off down to Hurstwood, the rest of the day I spent following Des!!
Today riding on our country’s finest natural trails were Paul and I (Dazza). The rest of the Mudpackers were riding the country’s finest single track….so as you see variety is the spice of life.
What Paul and I decided to do (after I had fixed his rear brake) was to ride from Trawden over the Worsthorne and up and round the new bridleway that links the track with Wycoller. You can now follow the route from the Gorple Track (top of the Mary Towneley Loop) to Wycoller although it isn’t yet signed as Pennine Bridleway. From Gorple the new route is followed over the hill before zig-zagging down (these are not sweeping bends, rather tight air pins) to Swinden Clough and up the other side to a junction where we followed the route right (left is FP taking you towards a quarry). The track then continues on until another junction where you turn left in front of the fence (a FP continues through the fence and on and on and on). Having passed through a gate you zig zag downhill again (very tightly) ultimately reaching the road near a cattle grid. Here you follow the left hand road for a short way before turning right over a bridge and through a high gate and on into Thursden wood, or you can go straight up the road. At the top of the wood you reach the road which is followed for a few metres before you will see a route in the verge on the right that will lead onto a new section of BW over Will Moor (aka Moor Bottom) that then links to the existing BW towards Wycoller (via Turnhole Clough) and then the track into Wycoller. The overall mileage is 18 miles.
4 of us made the journey to Hubberholme, a place that I have never heard of! Hubberholme nestles beneath the rising fells of Langstrothdale (another place that I have not heard of), Hubberholme stands in a stunning location overlooking the infant river Wharfe.
This ride, according to the book is classed as a hard ride….in fact I would say it’s a medium ride if you start at Hubberholme. The ride takes in 2 large hill climbs that are in the past once you start the fantastic descents, one of them being an 8KM descent on the old roman road….the famous Cam High Road. The Romans knew how to build a straight road. This road descends into Bainbridge.
This is an excellent ride when the weather is good…I would hate to do this is if it was raining and strong winds.
Hopefully Des will add more about the route as he is the route master..ha ha
The official route can be found at http://www.bikemaps.co.uk/north_dales.htm
This ride is excellent, today was wet....muddy and wet. We was joined by Paul, who decided due to the weather to have some reflectors fitted to his bike. Paul loved the rain so much splashing against his face he had removed his peak from his helmet....look forward too you riding next week.
