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!!!
