FNRttC Friday Night Ride to the Coast - suggestions for 2011 please

[Danny]

Bizarrely, the train to York routes through Seamer with 30 minutes' wait, but 1.5 hours to York from Filey ain't bad.

Naturally, I'd suggest any of York-Brid/Filey/Scarb (check my location), but can I also suggest York-Whitby? The distance is equivalent to Scabs or Filey, the route is virtually straight line through Pickering, and I suspect even the A64 would be safe at that hour when attempted in numbers. If it ain't, it adds a few turns but only a couple of miles:

Google Maps

However, the train access to Whitby is definitely slightly less than Scarb/Filey, with basically one chance out Saturday mornings via Middlesbrough.

York-Scarborough or York-Whitby would both be good - but we might struggle to find anywhere that would open for a late night cake stop.

I guess there would be possibilities in both Malton and Pickering.

 

[Danny]

How about Manchester to Blackpool?

 

[dmoan]

Belfast City Hall to Portrush - follow the A2 all the way (easy navigation). 85 miles (ish) of riding by the coast, a train station and the seaside capital of Northern Ireland at the end, with the Giants Causeway to the East anf Derry to the West for anyone wanting to make a century out of the ride.

A halfway stop at 3:00am in the morning might be a problem, but a chippie van near Ballycastle might not be out of the question if there was enough interest...

 

[GrumpyGregry]

how about exeter to somewhere like torquay, with a sizeable dogleg through dartmoor national park? i think it would be tough but rewarding...

good call, you can get to Exeter on South West Trains from Clapham Junction. (but you knew that already)

 

[Flying Dodo]

Cambridge to Kings Lynn*. About 67 miles on the route I've got in mind, on the B & C roads, but you can easily make it longer.

Start from the dreamy spires (oops, that's Oxford isn't it) somewhere in the centre of Cambridge (with or without a bear), head out north, going to view the Cathedral in Ely, pick up the B1411, then across to March, and hopefully organise somewhere there for a halfway stop after 40 miles, then north on the B1101 and then just zig zag across the flatlands to Kings Lynn.

Lots of trains from London and other places to the start in Cambridge, whilst coming back Kings Lynn has 2 per hour up to 10 am on a Saturday, and then hourly.

Flat and lots of history, so that's a couple of good things.




* Yes I know technically Kings Lynn isn't actually on the coast, but it has many important historical connections to the sea.

 

[Bollo]

S....Greg's idea of Winchester-Poole could be good. How about, as I've previously mentioned, doing a nocturnal round the IOW ride? Well-established canonical route (would probably want a few tweaks considering the halfway stop, the lack of lighting etc), fairly straightforward transport options (plus campsites etc for those who'd want to make a weekend of it)...

Another + for Winchester to Poole

Here's my pitch.....


Excellent train service from London - couple of trains an hour with much cycle capacity and usually pragmatic guards. Also, for those watching the pennies, you could buy a return to Winchester from London and just top up with a single from Poole to Winch on the way back as they're on the same line.

Setting - think of the resonance; instead of starting from the current capital we'd be starting from England's ancient capital. The cathedral makes a fine starting point.

Route - Winchester -> Test Valley -> New Forest -> Christcurch -> Bournemouth -> Poole. Up until Christchurch this route is a joy. Some hills, but gentler than London-Brighton. The couple of miles from Christchurch to Bournemouth along the A35 aren't particularly pretty but they'll be quiet at that time. There may be alternative routes that go across to Fordingbridge and Verwood and then drop down, but I'm less familiar with them. Bournemouth to Poole will have us mixing with the early morning Ferraris and Lambos in Sandbanks.

Like anywhere else, mid-ride stops might prove difficult, although there may be potential around Brockenhurst for refreshment. Failing that, there should be something open in Bournemouth by dawn.

The IoW is also a great idea, although Stu is right in pointing out that a mid-ride stop leaves us on the underpopulated south of the island. For lighting, we could follow the faint glow from 'Bludge's ciggies.

 

[StuAff]

Another + for Winchester to Poole

Here's my pitch.....


Excellent train service from London - couple of trains an hour with much cycle capacity and usually pragmatic guards. Also, for those watching the pennies, you could buy a return to Winchester from London and just top up with a single from Poole to Winch on the way back as they're on the same line.

Setting - think of the resonance; instead of starting from the current capital we'd be starting from England's ancient capital. The cathedral makes a fine starting point.

Route - Winchester -> Test Valley -> New Forest -> Christcurch -> Bournemouth -> Poole. Up until Christchurch this route is a joy. Some hills, but gentler than London-Brighton. The couple of miles from Christchurch to Bournemouth along the A35 aren't particularly pretty but they'll be quiet at that time. There may be alternative routes that go across to Fordingbridge and Verwood and then drop down, but I'm less familiar with them. Bournemouth to Poole will have us mixing with the early morning Ferraris and Lambos in Sandbanks.

Like anywhere else, mid-ride stops might prove difficult, although there may be potential around Brockenhurst for refreshment. Failing that, there should be something open in Bournemouth by dawn.

The IoW is also a great idea, although Stu is right in pointing out that a mid-ride stop leaves us on the underpopulated south of the island. For lighting, we could follow the faint glow from 'Bludge's ciggies.

Good pitch indeed. RE the IOW, the local CTC branch, the Wayfarers (organisers of the Randonnee) might have a few ideas for a midway stop- local knowledge also handy for the ride itself.

 

[dellzeqq]

How about Manchester to Blackpool?

nice thought - but a bit on the short side. You reckon to arrive on the seafront at about 7 in the morning. Hence the Morecambe idea - with a mainline station about six miles inland. I'm not ruling Blackpool out, but the odd thing is that the very reason for its great popularity - proximity to Liverpool, Manchester and the cotton towns - militates against it.

 

[dellzeqq]

I should have made clear at the outset - southwest routes are not top of my personal list. One of the merits of going north or to Wales is that you see people that you would probably never see on a London ride - for reasons of time and expense. There's also the Exmouth Exodus....

That doesn't stop people organising their own rides, but doing a ride away from London is a bit of an effort, not least because I have to ride the route at least twice beforehand, so I'm sort of pre-disposed towards more far-flung parts.

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/system/galleries/download/print_maps/uk.pdf

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/trainoperators.pdf - they've rather mucked this up in producing the 2010 version, but it is useful. If you trace your way around the coast you can see why Mike's choice of Cleethorpes was so clever - very few coastal towns are as well connected.

Morecambe is a strong contender - there's a train to London (with changes) every half hour - and trains from Lancaster to Leeds are plentiful. And, yes, I have spent time perusing train timetables, but it's a personal thing and I don't want to talk about it.......

 

[Danny]

nice thought - but a bit on the short side. You reckon to arrive on the seafront at about 7 in the morning. Hence the Morecambe idea - with a mainline station about six miles inland. I'm not ruling Blackpool out, but the odd thing is that the very reason for its great popularity - proximity to Liverpool, Manchester and the cotton towns - militates against it.

You could add some twiddly bits to the route to Blackpool - but Morecambe would be a good destination too.

 

[Amanda P]

York-Scarborough or York-Whitby would both be good - but we might struggle to find anywhere that would open for a late night cake stop.

I guess there would be possibilities in both Malton and Pickering.

York to Whitby would be great. The A64/A169 route would be quick and simple but rather dull. I would hesitate to use the A64 even in the wee hours: it carries a lot of lorries and there are some stiff climbs on narrow, twisty stretches: Golden Hill in particular has had a lot of deaths. There's less traffic at night, but that just means that what there is travels at even more insane speeds.

I would route it via Strensall, Sheriff Hutton (aka York-ish), Hovingham, Nunnington, Kirkby Moorside, then up Blakey Ridge. Wonder if we could get the Lion Inn to stay open? Blakey Ridge is a long climb, but a steady one, not a killer. Then Danby (avoiding Rosedale Chimney) and along the valley to join the A171 for a splendid descent into Whitby.

What could be a better destination than Whitby? The Abbey with the sunrise behind it would be skylined as you came down the hill. The harbour is as scenic as they come. The World's Best Kippers (it's official) are available from Fortune's (although it's a stiff climb to get there). My mate Joe runs a row of holiday cottages there for those thinking of spending the rest of the weekend there. Read Dracula before you come. Or don't if you're easily scared.

This is a route I've used and it's fantastic. The moors at night are something special: it's very, very dark. There are supposed to be ghosts associated with the moor crosses.

The route gets a little complicated in Eskdale, unfortunately.

An alternative might be to go via Pickering, then on the A169, but I really wouldn't use the A64 to get there. There are alternative routes via, say, Sheriff, Castle Howard, Amotherby, Kirkby Misperton.

From Whitby, riders would have a choice of trains back to York, or could go on the Moors Valley line back to Pickering to make a day out of it. Pickering back to Malton for a York train is a flat, straight run.

 

[Aperitif]

You sold that well Phil - Moors in the blackness is good. In fact, the Moor's the merrier for a Friday Night Ride to the Toast - sorry Coast!

 

[User10119]

Anywhere up here would be good. Preferably without too many hills, as I am woefully dreadfully comically bad at hills. But I'd put up with them if I had to

CL
(who still hasn't stopped grinning, despite getting dragged into work for two hours on my day off today, and who spent an hour last night checking how much trains down south would be for the remainder of this year's rides.... answer is probably too much and I don't think I could persuade my sister to come and pick me up from Brighton!)

 

[Aperitif]

Anywhere up here would be good. Preferably without too many hills, as I am woefully dreadfully comically bad at hills. But I'd put up with them if I had to

CL
(who still hasn't stopped grinning, despite getting dragged into work for two hours on my day off today, and who spent an hour last night checking how much trains down south would be for the remainder of this year's rides.... answer is probably too much and I don't think I could persuade my sister to come and pick me up from Brighton!)

Ride back CL! (But she'll come anyway...I saw her peeking at all the legs - she will not be able to resist!)

 

[Amanda P]

The Saltersgate Inn at the Hole of Horcum would be a good mid-way stopping point too. Anyone know if it's open again yet?

Failing that, for 60+ folks, I reckon you could get a burger wagon man to turn out in the wee hours and set up somewhere suitable.