Cycling Back to Gargrave

Given the exertions of the first two days a descent into Dentdale (with the necessary climb to reach Kingsdale and Ingleton) was not an attractive proposition. It would be enough to climb to Ribblehead via Widdale into the continued ‘fresh breeze’. We were lucky to time our arrival at Ribblehead Station to be able see the last steam train of the summer crossing the viaduct. From Ribblehead the descent to Ingleton (pausing at the Old Hill Inn) was quite rapid and was only interrupted briefly by a harsh enough shower which forced us to take shelter at White Scar Cave. Despite being an easier day it was still a relief to arrive in Clapham early in the afternoon.

An excellent meal at our B and B set us up for our anticipated ‘big’ day. Leaving Clapham we travelled along the Eastern edge of the Forest of Bowland, with great views of Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent, to Settle. Our first steep climb, to reach Scaleber Force, followed in short order before we reached Gargrave via Airton. Whilst we enjoyed a lift into the village and lunch in a cyclist’s cafe the tandem was given the benefit of John’s expert attention. Before leaving, we were fortified with more tea from Ruth. We were also given useful advice by John, Ruth and Jim about the next stage of the trip. From Gargrave we cycled via Grassington and Conistone to Kettlewell where the road reared steeply immediately on leaving the village. This steep section turned out to be a prelude to the even steeper and notorious Park Rash. Needless to say, with a laden tandem, the 1:4 hairpins necessitated quite a lot of pushing. This was however, interrupted by some cycling on the gentler sections. Reaching the top felt like a significant achievement and we were rewarded with fabulous views over Wharfedale.

Given that we still had some way to go we weren’t able to stay too long at the top before beginning the descent into Coverdale. Just as we set off again we were treated to the sight of an owl quartering the high pasture searching for prey. Even with two or three steep but short climbs it was a delight to cycle through this relatively untraveled valley, especially in the late afternoon sunshine. Pausing only for a late and brief refuelling stop in Middleham we crossed Wensleydale to make the comparatively gentle climb to Finghall near Leyburn. By this time the sun was beginning to set and we had done 53 miles with 5000 feet of ascent. It would be fair to say that we were pretty tired by this stage.

Our final day took us mostly on familiar roads via Bedale and through the Vale of Mowbray to Hutton Rudby and home. The only minor interruption to straightforward progress was an unsignposted diversion on our planned route necessitated by road works on the A1 at Leaming bar.

By the time we reached home we were well pleased with our achievement and had enjoyed (if that’s the right word!) some memorable cycling and some magnificent views – all by riding from our front door. We also made a great start to retirement and gave our new tandem a good test (which it passed easily!).