Thanks to all forum members who replied to my original enquiry about this route. Very helpful.
Myself and two friends (both over 60) completed the trip 2 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Like everyone, it seems, we found Morecambe a dump. We stayed at The Berkley B&B & found the 3 bed room good with a good breakfast and very helpful landlords. Our night out was quirky. We checked out some pubs and ate at Witherspoons on the basis of knowing what we'd get there. It was tolerable. The Palatine stood out as the main pub / restaurant worth visiting. It also has a view of the lake district hills accross the bay on a clear day and good (Lancaster Brewery) beer. The Smugglers is a lovely old pub in a back street that has folk music some evenings. It was an entertaining evening here but the beer was poor. We were directed here by a young estate agent who'd moved here from the midlands somewhere. "Why?" we asked. "See that 3 bed terraced house there?" he asked, "I sold that last week for £40k." It gave us food for thought but we decided even £4k might be too much to bear to live here. On the sightseeing front, let me just say that Eric Morecambe's statue and his famous catchphrases carved into the steps was the only highpoint. Next time we will stay in Lancaster, which seemed like an unrecognised jewel by comparison.
The cycle path to Lancaster is an easy nicely surfaced start. Good to get into proper countryside after Lancaster. Although we three are well capable of 100 mile days, we had decided on short days for this trip in order to get the best from it. It felt good only to need to get 35 miles to Settle on day one. Day one was all pleasure except for one small section off road. We were riding tourers but the slippery uphill rocky limestone track up through a long pitch black railway tunnel proved uncyclable in parts even for mountainbikers coming the other way. There was no pleasure in this at all. The ride over sheep fields along a rocky path was not suited to road bikes and probably caused the tear in my tyre wall that bulged and threatened to puncture for the rest of the trip. We should have missed this. Apparently there is a short road route but the signposting is not clear about this. If you find yourself on this on anything less than a full-suspension mud-plugger I suggest you turn back and take the main road. From memory this is just after crossing the bridge at Gressingham (going West to East). It is rideable on a road bike, as most things are, but no pleasure at all.
Lunch was spent at the characterful Helwith Bridge Inn. Simple pub food (sandwiches) was good and reasonably priced. An interesting little bunkhouse here know as 'Hotel Paradiso'. Locals in the bar were entertaining & had a knowledge of local history that enhanced our visit before an easy downhill ride into Settle. Back to civilisation. Nice bike shop here in the market square.
Settle was charming. We stayed at Whitefriars B&B which was superb. Two lovely elderly Scotts ladies in a big rambling house with the railway on the horizon across the gardens. Best B&B and best breakfast of the trip. We ate at The Craven Arms. More of a restaurant than a pub and a very good one. The owners have a farm and serve their own produce including their own sausages. Great for a splurge but very reasonable given the quality & level of service.
We expected a tough hill out of Settle and we got one. It is tough - steep and long - but the view and satisfaction at the top is worth it. Engage the 'Granny cog', keep your head down and just keep plugging rhythmically away. It's easier than walking anyway.
We stopped for lunch via a detour into Grassington. Very pretty little place with tea shops, pubs, cobbles, gentlemen's outfitters etc. Plenty of tourists & local cyclists but a pleasant stop. We ate in the main hotel / pub by the market in the main (only) street. Food was fairly good. Veggie cafe up the road looked good but lack of meat for our French member caused horror at the suggestion to eat here. The first part of the ride to Pateley Bridge from here provides great views but once you reach the climb up to Geenhow Hill it becomes a bit boring. This makes the tough long climb a bit of a trial. The ride downhill into Pateley Bridge is steep, fast and dangerous. I love fast downhills but with this one there's plenty of trucks, coaches and boy-racers coming at you around bends, gravelly corners etc. Brake blocks struggle to cope. Alain's advice "Always start braking early" seemed worth taking. My heart was in my mouth a couple of times.
Pateley Bridge is charming. A wisened and slightly eccentric old farmer near Masham the next day told me they'd moved from PB after farming there for 15yrs and never having a dry summer. It's one of the rainiest spots in Britain, but beautiful on a fine day. We were fairly lucky. We talked to a young guy in the Tourist Info shop about evening meal and decided to walk along the river to 'The Sportsman', a gastro pub of local reknown in Wath. It was superb. One to revisit.
Day three we had planned a detour to visit 'Black Sheep Brewery' at Masham. Just over the hill. Our B&B hosts (Foxfield) are cyclists and recommended we take the more scenic lower Wath Rd rather than go on the main route via Ripon. "It's a steep hill, but you've got to get over it one way or another", he told us. Lovely ride along the reservoir past Wath then headed North at signpost to Masham. The hill was more of a wall really. It must have been 25%. I tried to save my lowest gear as usual but needed it before the top. The views across the valley and over the reservoir were breathtaking. We would not have wanted to miss this. Followed this with a ride over high moors then down into Masham at about 18 miles. Very beautiful route. Well worth the detour. The brewery tour was good. The White Bear pub / hotel next door (Theakstons) served great blue wensleydale & beetroot sandwiches but has a proper restaurant also. We then headed across country to York and (2 of us) picked up the excellent riverside cycle path into the centre. Do this rather than brave the tail end of the A19 into York as I mistakenly did.
York was excellent. The Groves hostel is more of a hotel. Very good with helpful staff and a great location. We ate at The Punchbowl pub in the centre. Very entertaining camp barman and good pub food. In the same street the excellent 'House of The Trembling Madness'. A Belgian beer shop with medieval bar above. Betty's Tearooms in the centre was our last stop after a walk around the old city in the morning then heading off on the National Cycle Route (R65) south via Selby & Barmby-on-the-Marsh then west to Welton Brough where we stayed the night at the Green Dragon Inn (Marsden Inns). We didn't have high hopes for this place on the outskirts of Hull but it was great. Nice staff, fairly luxurious accommodation, fairly good food and very nice service in a country village setting. We planned to get the train into Hull for fish & chips and some downbeat pubs but opted to stay and eat at The Green Dragon, such was the welcome we received.
The following day Alain & I cycled back to Canterbury via Lincoln, Peterborough & Harlow (a dump) whilst Martin took the sensible option of the train from Brough to London via Doncaster. It took 2.5 days to cycle. Nothing too tough. Mostly not pretty but some of the back roads around Linclon and Peterbrough were pleasant. Next time I'd take the train though or find a more attractive route.
We'll do it all again without a doubt but perhaps give Morecambe a miss and maybe end in Scarborough. A great experience.
Myself and two friends (both over 60) completed the trip 2 weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Like everyone, it seems, we found Morecambe a dump. We stayed at The Berkley B&B & found the 3 bed room good with a good breakfast and very helpful landlords. Our night out was quirky. We checked out some pubs and ate at Witherspoons on the basis of knowing what we'd get there. It was tolerable. The Palatine stood out as the main pub / restaurant worth visiting. It also has a view of the lake district hills accross the bay on a clear day and good (Lancaster Brewery) beer. The Smugglers is a lovely old pub in a back street that has folk music some evenings. It was an entertaining evening here but the beer was poor. We were directed here by a young estate agent who'd moved here from the midlands somewhere. "Why?" we asked. "See that 3 bed terraced house there?" he asked, "I sold that last week for £40k." It gave us food for thought but we decided even £4k might be too much to bear to live here. On the sightseeing front, let me just say that Eric Morecambe's statue and his famous catchphrases carved into the steps was the only highpoint. Next time we will stay in Lancaster, which seemed like an unrecognised jewel by comparison.
The cycle path to Lancaster is an easy nicely surfaced start. Good to get into proper countryside after Lancaster. Although we three are well capable of 100 mile days, we had decided on short days for this trip in order to get the best from it. It felt good only to need to get 35 miles to Settle on day one. Day one was all pleasure except for one small section off road. We were riding tourers but the slippery uphill rocky limestone track up through a long pitch black railway tunnel proved uncyclable in parts even for mountainbikers coming the other way. There was no pleasure in this at all. The ride over sheep fields along a rocky path was not suited to road bikes and probably caused the tear in my tyre wall that bulged and threatened to puncture for the rest of the trip. We should have missed this. Apparently there is a short road route but the signposting is not clear about this. If you find yourself on this on anything less than a full-suspension mud-plugger I suggest you turn back and take the main road. From memory this is just after crossing the bridge at Gressingham (going West to East). It is rideable on a road bike, as most things are, but no pleasure at all.
Lunch was spent at the characterful Helwith Bridge Inn. Simple pub food (sandwiches) was good and reasonably priced. An interesting little bunkhouse here know as 'Hotel Paradiso'. Locals in the bar were entertaining & had a knowledge of local history that enhanced our visit before an easy downhill ride into Settle. Back to civilisation. Nice bike shop here in the market square.
Settle was charming. We stayed at Whitefriars B&B which was superb. Two lovely elderly Scotts ladies in a big rambling house with the railway on the horizon across the gardens. Best B&B and best breakfast of the trip. We ate at The Craven Arms. More of a restaurant than a pub and a very good one. The owners have a farm and serve their own produce including their own sausages. Great for a splurge but very reasonable given the quality & level of service.
We expected a tough hill out of Settle and we got one. It is tough - steep and long - but the view and satisfaction at the top is worth it. Engage the 'Granny cog', keep your head down and just keep plugging rhythmically away. It's easier than walking anyway.
We stopped for lunch via a detour into Grassington. Very pretty little place with tea shops, pubs, cobbles, gentlemen's outfitters etc. Plenty of tourists & local cyclists but a pleasant stop. We ate in the main hotel / pub by the market in the main (only) street. Food was fairly good. Veggie cafe up the road looked good but lack of meat for our French member caused horror at the suggestion to eat here. The first part of the ride to Pateley Bridge from here provides great views but once you reach the climb up to Geenhow Hill it becomes a bit boring. This makes the tough long climb a bit of a trial. The ride downhill into Pateley Bridge is steep, fast and dangerous. I love fast downhills but with this one there's plenty of trucks, coaches and boy-racers coming at you around bends, gravelly corners etc. Brake blocks struggle to cope. Alain's advice "Always start braking early" seemed worth taking. My heart was in my mouth a couple of times.
Pateley Bridge is charming. A wisened and slightly eccentric old farmer near Masham the next day told me they'd moved from PB after farming there for 15yrs and never having a dry summer. It's one of the rainiest spots in Britain, but beautiful on a fine day. We were fairly lucky. We talked to a young guy in the Tourist Info shop about evening meal and decided to walk along the river to 'The Sportsman', a gastro pub of local reknown in Wath. It was superb. One to revisit.
Day three we had planned a detour to visit 'Black Sheep Brewery' at Masham. Just over the hill. Our B&B hosts (Foxfield) are cyclists and recommended we take the more scenic lower Wath Rd rather than go on the main route via Ripon. "It's a steep hill, but you've got to get over it one way or another", he told us. Lovely ride along the reservoir past Wath then headed North at signpost to Masham. The hill was more of a wall really. It must have been 25%. I tried to save my lowest gear as usual but needed it before the top. The views across the valley and over the reservoir were breathtaking. We would not have wanted to miss this. Followed this with a ride over high moors then down into Masham at about 18 miles. Very beautiful route. Well worth the detour. The brewery tour was good. The White Bear pub / hotel next door (Theakstons) served great blue wensleydale & beetroot sandwiches but has a proper restaurant also. We then headed across country to York and (2 of us) picked up the excellent riverside cycle path into the centre. Do this rather than brave the tail end of the A19 into York as I mistakenly did.
York was excellent. The Groves hostel is more of a hotel. Very good with helpful staff and a great location. We ate at The Punchbowl pub in the centre. Very entertaining camp barman and good pub food. In the same street the excellent 'House of The Trembling Madness'. A Belgian beer shop with medieval bar above. Betty's Tearooms in the centre was our last stop after a walk around the old city in the morning then heading off on the National Cycle Route (R65) south via Selby & Barmby-on-the-Marsh then west to Welton Brough where we stayed the night at the Green Dragon Inn (Marsden Inns). We didn't have high hopes for this place on the outskirts of Hull but it was great. Nice staff, fairly luxurious accommodation, fairly good food and very nice service in a country village setting. We planned to get the train into Hull for fish & chips and some downbeat pubs but opted to stay and eat at The Green Dragon, such was the welcome we received.
The following day Alain & I cycled back to Canterbury via Lincoln, Peterborough & Harlow (a dump) whilst Martin took the sensible option of the train from Brough to London via Doncaster. It took 2.5 days to cycle. Nothing too tough. Mostly not pretty but some of the back roads around Linclon and Peterbrough were pleasant. Next time I'd take the train though or find a more attractive route.
We'll do it all again without a doubt but perhaps give Morecambe a miss and maybe end in Scarborough. A great experience.
