Clitheroe area riding advice

[arranandy]

Hi folks,

I'm going to working in the Clitheroe area for the next few months and I was wondering about rides to do, roads to avoid, state of the roads, etc.
I'm going there Monday to Fridays most so it will be after work/evening rides on my road bike. Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[Slow But Determined]

Have you had a word with Jimmy?

 

[NorthernDave]

Paging @ColinJ ?

 

[PaulSB]

@arranandy

You will be on the edge of the finest riding Lancashire has to offer. There are many great climbs but it is equally possible to put together some good rolling routes.

If you want climbs you'll have the Nick o' Pendle, Jeffrey Hill, Birdy Brow, Waddington Fell, Trough of Bowland, Cross o' Greet, Jubilee Tower, Whalley Nab all within easy reach of Clitheroe.

There is no need to climb all the time and studying a map or a bit of time on RWGPS will show you plenty of rolling routes.

Generally the surfaces are good though there are some rough ones in places. These are noticeable because they aren't common. I can't think of any road to avoid.

If you ride round Langho, Ribchester, Longridge, Chipping, Dunsop Bridge, Sawley, Grindleton, Downham, Slaidburn you won't go far wrong.

If you want flat head to the Fylde but it's a bit of a haul from Clitheroe

 

[Accy cyclist]

I live 7 miles from Clitheroe. I was there this afternoon just having a walk (dodging the showers,not always successfully) round and buying a few odds and ends. Just thought i'd mention it.

 

[ColinJ]

As @PaulSB stated - it is a fantastic area for cycling! If you want hard climbs there are plenty of really steep ones, but you don't have to go over them. There are plenty of ways to ride around them or go over easier ones.

@Sea of vapours and I have actually organised a ride from Clitheroe for the coming Saturday. After an easy start we will be doing some tough climbs over in the Yorkshire Dales which a fit rider could get to in just over an hour from Clitheroe.

 

[Globalti]

I live about 5 miles from Clitheroe and along with Whalley it's a great departure point for rides in many directions. Being on the edge of the Lancashire mill towns most of the riding heads west, north and east because not far south you're into busy traffic and shocking driving on poor surfaces.

From Clitheroe you can head east towards the Dales and reach places like Settle easily. North takes you into the Bowland Fells and the famous Trough of Bowland. West takes you to Longridge and the flat Fylde. North from there takes you to some ColinJ destinations like Knott End.

In Clitheroe there's a bike shop and cafe called Green Jersey, the owner Richard organises local rides and events and even trips to Europe. On Mondays he often lays on an easy-paced ride.

 

[Blue Hills]

Have you had a word with Jimmy?

Showing your age there
On roads to avoid, be wary of much of the A59 heading towards barnoldswick and skipton. Particularly not nice at night. There have been some serious and fatal car crashes, particularly at the bottom of sawley brow, near the sawley turnoff.
If coming through sawley heading back to clitheroe you can avoid the A59 by turning on to a not too visible cycle track on a pavement. Would be a bit bumpy on a full on road bike but I would use it. It then joins the quieter chatburn road for the run into town.
You can avoid the A59 to barnoldswick by using the lancashire cycleway route from downham. Nice if very up and down. But beware the closed gate you will find round a sharpish bend on a downhill. Folk have been known to crash into it.
Enjoy - great cycling country. Carry 2 tubes with you - I find punctures are more common in those parts.
Check out the old clarion hut for some cycling history.
Pm me if you want a couple of gpxs - one round local villages, another round pendle. Also have a fair few others including ones to manchester and, er, crewe and Wolverhampton. Most have been ridden. Simple point to point gpxs which just mark turns.

 

[Globalti]

For someone new to an area it makes sense to buy an OS map, which would give a bigger picture of the area and topography.

From Clitheroe there are lots of loops you can do as evening rides, climbing out of the town and up the sides of the Ribble Valley in either direction then finishing at pubs. One we use a lot is the Swan With Two Necks in Pendleton, a couple of miles south of the town, which has a nice garden and keeps an excellent pint. Unfortuately it is Nigel Evans's local but if you don't think your pint will be spoiled by drinking alongside that Brexit xenophobe you'll be fine. Another is the Aspinall Arms at Mitton, although the beer is rather pricey. In Clitheroe there's a proper beer drinkers' pub, the New Inn, just under the castle and the Bowland Brewery, though I wouldn't dare enter either pub in cycle kit!

When the weather is fine I join a couple of buddies also in their 60s for a midweek short social ride, starting in Whalley. We usually do 17 - 21 miles at a fastish pace although I'm still recovering from my shoulder injury so we are taking it a bit easier this year. Part of the fun is stopping for a pint near the end, usually in Pendleton. As the days shorten we use lights to keep going until it gets icy. If you fancy that, drop me a PM.

 

[Accy cyclist]

On roads to avoid, be wary of much of the A59 heading towards barnoldswick and skipton. Particularly not nice at night. There have been some serious and fatal car crashes, particularly at the bottom of sawley brow, near the sawley turnoff.

This is one of the reasons why I stopped going out with the Wednesday club/group ride. The kind of leader of the pack insisted we rode on the A59 when travelling towards Yorkshire,when it would've been safer to ride through the small villages nearby. He said it was 'character building'. Some of those wagons miss you by what seems a couple of feet and the narrow lane which was probably intended for cyclists was and probably still is full of road debris .I'll never forget that dead pheasant which the rider in front of me didn't point out to those behind him. I rode fully over the thing nearly falling off my bike when a very large wagon was overtaking us!

 

[Blue Hills]

Yes it's a dangerous road. Fast, but very little spare room.

That leader sounds like a nit, or just too lazy to come up with a good route.

Especially when you consider all the great cycling in the area.

 

[Globalti]

Well, funnily enough when I had grown tired of mountain biking after 21 years of mud and club squabbling I bought a road bike for £300 and tried it out on a few local trips, which seemed long to me at the time. One was to ride from home to Clitheroe and as it was a road bike I automatically took the road route I knew as a driver, which was the A59. It was horrible but it took me a couple of rides to realise that the B roads were a nicer, safer alternative.

I guess it's like those muppets you see using their camera phones in portrait; they never considered the other way is better for filming a scene.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Yes it's a dangerous road. Fast, but very little spare room.

That leader sounds like a nit, or just too lazy to come up with a good route.

Especially when you consider all the great cycling in the area.

One of the 'leader's' Thursday ride out group which goes a lot faster than the Wednesday group was hit by a car on the A59 the other month. He fractured his skull! According to reports he waved a car out at a junction off the A59,but he only meant one car not the one behind it which also pulled out hitting him in the process.

 

[Globalti]

That's why you should NEVER wave or flash another driver out.

 

[Blue Hills]

If you want flat head to the Fylde but it's a bit of a haul from Clitheroe

If the OP wants it I have a circular route gpx to St Annes and back*

Haven't ridden it yet but my gpxs are simple and pretty reliable.

But I think he's only doing evening rides so may be a bit of a push.

* OK, actually to the quite nice (good outdoor seating) spoons