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Heavenly Yorkshire 2012 - By Tom McQuiggan
North Yorkshire has me firmly in its grip. I never tire of visiting its many beauty spots and never more so than on a dry, bright day. Luckily, I live fairly close to it and better still, when setting off from my holiday home in Scorton, I have the luxury of going to The Dales via the Trough of Bowland.
I usually leave Scorton, travel through the Trough to Dunsop Bridge, onto Slaidburn and over to Higher Bentham, then on to Settle, Grassington, Kettlewell, Muker and over to Hawes. From there, it’s usually a case of heading home via Dent and Kirkby Lonsdale. No matter where you choose to go in North Yorkshire, you’re virtually guaranteed to enjoy the day’s ride.
Today’s journey starts in Bolton and I’m heading to Scorton to meet my wife and grandchild – there’s a kiddies Xmas Party tonight and woe betide if I’m late! I decide that I’m going to make the most of this beautiful day by going via Grassington, Kettlewell and Muker. So I switch on the SatNav and enter the place names followed by my route option. Needless to say, I choose “Winding Roads”.
Many people dismiss SatNavs on bikes and usually, they’ve never actually tried one. Their blinkered view of them is based on car satnavs and the myriad funny stories told in the pubs about someone being sent up a lane which led to a cliff edge, etc, etc, etc.
The truth is, bike SatNavs are really useful for bikers and the most used option is the “Avoid Motorways” button. No need to open up a great big paper map and search for a sensible route adjacent to motorways – just enter the destination and hit that button. It’s fair to say that the “Winding Roads” option may (very occasionally) take you down a dodgy track that sees more farmers than bikers, but it is very rare. In the main, you can expect to be taken along some amazing roads which you have never ventured down before.
So, off I go through Langho onto the A59 and over to Gisburn. There was a market on but I didn’t feel that I had the time to stop, so I carried on to Gargrave. I would have normally ridden straight through Gargrave, but there was an exhibition on in the Village Hall by local artists, so being an amateur painter myself, I decided to stop and take a quick look. Inside was a guy called Harry Caunce who I’ve met before and I spent a little time watching him do a live demo. Twenty minutes later I was back on the bike heading through Hetton. The only reason I stopped here was to grab a photo of the range of autumn colours in the trees and shrubbery. I love this time of year. It makes Yorkshire look even more beautiful!
Next stop was Grassington. This place always puzzles me. It looks like a very wealthy little town and yet there seems to be nothing around to support it. Luckily, I sat down on a bench next to an old guy who was resident in the town and he told me that in years gone by, it was lead-mining which brought people to the area and later, limestone mining. He told me where to find the ‘oldest building in Yorkshire’ but being such a warm day, I decided to skip the uphill trek and call into the pub for lunch instead.
After filling myself with ‘Award Winning Pork Sausages’, I had a mooch around and then headed off to the village of Kettlewell. This is another gorgeous place and one that I go to often. I only wish that I could afford to live in one of these places – ah well, one day!
100 years ago, someone said this of Kettlewell….
“The charm of Kettlewell is an abiding charm, and to those of us whose life is spent amid the hurley-burley of city life, the village seems the peculiar abode of peace and quiet beauty; its limestone terraces, with their fringes of hazel and rowan coppices give to the district a characteristic beauty. But the special glory of Kettlewell is not that of colour, but of line. Situated at the junction of the main valley of the Wharfe valley, which descend from the Coverhead Pass, Kettlewell is the converging point of many contour lines, and to the eye which delights in the flow and ripple of sky line there is a beauty in Kettlewell which is all its own”. That still holds true today!
After a refreshing pint of Bitter Shandy at the Blue Bell Inn, I was reluctantly on my way again. I felt so chilled out, I could have stayed there all day just chatting to the other visitors and soaking in the beautiful surroundings.
A little further up the road is Buckden. When the weather’s nice, you can’t go past without taking a photo. The only difficulty is waiting for the rare moment when no one is walking into shot. Imagine waking up each morning, opening your curtains and seeing this kind of view. Certainly beats Horwich.
Next up was Askrigg, where I turned right onto the Cross Top road which would lead me to my next stopping point. This road feels very much like the Trough Road in Bowland and shares a similar beauty.
Needless to say, these aren’t sportsbike roads - they’re the sort of roads you use when you want to slow down the pace of life and soak in your surroundings. In fact, I never once saw another biker while heading over these Swaldale hills. I just pottered along and took time to appreciate this amazing area of natural beauty.
At the end of the road, I swung left and headed for Muker. The only reason I went there was because of the local Art Gallery whose contents always leave me in awe – because of the high standard of work and the ridiculously high prices! Amazingly, inside the shop a guy said to me “I saw your brother in Gargrave”. With a smirk on his face, he revealed that he’d also been in the village hall looking at the art exhibition and had remembered me ?
From there, I went over to Sedburgh, stopped at Kirkby Lonsdale and finally to Scorton where I was just in time to see Santa give my grandson his present. Phew!
Tom McQuiggan.
Reader's Comments
Ren - The Ed said :-
It's been a long time since I was last up The Yorskshire Dales. You're story has made me realise I really ought to get up there and take a proper look around. Many thanks for the story and more importantly many thanks for giving me another place I need to explore...properly!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Emma Lovatt said :-
Great write up, and such a great place!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Nikki said :-
Great write up Tom ! Ii have done a few of those roads one of my favourites being the Eden valley heading towards Dent off the Hawes road . I usually leave Settle for Hawes but turn into a Tarmac track in your right that leads straight to Kettlewell . One for the Girlies ! Calender girls was shot there :-)
Has anyone ever seen the old guy who drives slowly around Masham playing classical music ? All the locals seem to know him , he's a right character
Wish I had enough money to own two bikes ! I'd by a bike that I could play on these roads with .
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
John Almond said :-
Great write up.
I don't think I have been around that area, at least not any apart from Grassington, and that would be 40 odd years ago when I went with the school youth hostel trip. we stayed in a place called Linton, which as far as I know isn't that far from Grassington. Must try and get up to that area sometime.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Chris J Hughes said :-
What a thoroughly enjoyable read, I look forward to reviewing the other items. I have a caravan in Settle and enjoy rides around Yorkshire, their are some lovely roads which a lot of Bikers miss it's great to share these so others can take a trip outside the usual Settle to Hawes (although that is an excellent ride).
Thanks Chris JH
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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