North York Moors Circular MTB Ride

[foxy mars]

After my post Coast to Coast Walk, I'm looking forward to a week's holiday in September. I had a few idea's up my sleeve and still not yet decided. I fancied the Cleveland Way, double coast to coast cycling or the North Norfolk Coast Path. The Cleveland Way is a nice one to do, but I've done most of the Cleveland Way and a lot of it walking with the walking club, I've done the double coast to coast bike ride 1/2 dozen times and the Norfolk coast-line would simply be too boring for me.

What I'm looking for is something different and not done before, I've done plenty of walking this year and feet are getting fed up with pounding. So it's cycling, I guess.

So what can do for a week's tour, done the Yorkshire Dales last year, maybe the Peak District would be a nice area, but a pain getting there and back. So thinking back to the Cleveland Way, that maybe I could do a cycle circular based on that walk. One thing is you can't do is cycle on footpaths, so it's bridle-ways, by-ways and back lanes/roads.

So on the Memory-map, I've plotted a route starting from Glaisdale, using bridle-ways, lanes to Whitby and then the dis-used railway to Scarborough. I wanted to get to Saltburn-by-the-Sea, but not much scope in that area, so the Eskdale Valley would be a better choice. From Scarborough I will pick up a few back lanes to Langdale forest and take the forest drive to Lockton and then along the southern edge of the North York Moors to Helmsley. Here I will use again back roads and the odd bridle-ways to Sutton Bank and luck that as had it, I can use the Drover's Road to Osmotherley. here I can cycle up to Beacon Hill and most of the way to Huthwaite Green to Scugdale, over to Barker's Crags, Brian's Pond and Carlton Bank. From here I will use the old jet miners track to Clay Bank up on to Urra Bank and down Rudland Rigg for Monket House to climb out for Church House's and another steep climb to Blakey Ridge (Lion Inn) and along to Trough House for Glaisdale Rigg and to the finish for the train back home.

How does that sound.

[Meta menardi]

I love Rudland Rigg, it is a great ride down, but you will miss the best of it if you go down to Monket Ho. and I think you may find yourself in very tall bracken. I came up a track years ago, possibly from Horn End, and ended up dragging my bike behind me at head height as it was impossible to get through the bracken. My eyes, nose and mouth were full of flies and I was quite fed up. If you go down to Gillamoor, there is a pub, and you probably won't take much more time. Just a thought.

[SheffieldLass]

There is always the Pennine Cycleway, northern section, from Kendal to Berwick upon Tweed. A mixture of quiet minor roads, country lanes and off-road. The Northumberland B roads and lanes are superbly quiet, perfect for cycling.

The Peak District is good for cycling too, but you do have to pick your routes with care .... it is the most heavily used National Park I believe, and some roads are very busy and difficult to avoid, and off-road can also be somewhat busy, with cyclists. By comparison Northumberland is a cyclists dream if you like lanes and byeways pretty much to yourself ....

[foxy mars]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

I love Rudland Rigg, it is a great ride down, but you will miss the best of it if you go down to Monket Ho. If you go down to Gillamoor, there is a pub, and you probably won't take much more time. Just a thought.

That is a great idea, probably better for me. I can get back to Glaisdale via Rosedale Abbey.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

There is always the Pennine Cycleway, northern section, from Kendal to Berwick upon Tweed. A mixture of quiet minor roads, country lanes and off-road. The Northumberland B roads and lanes are superbly quiet, perfect for cycling.

I did the Pennine Way from Dent to Berwick upon Tweed a few year ago, then Northumberland is true what you say, a cyclist's dream. I have some good memories of Wooler when I spent a week at the youth hostel in 1985, cycling of cause.