Way of The Roses

[Donmarcos]

Hi all

Any advice on 'The Way of The Roses' ride coast to coast (W to E) would be appreciated.

Planning to do it with two mates in June over about 4 days, giving time for checking out any breweries, beauty-spots etc on the way.

Advice on B&B's, Hostals, Campsites & Real Ale Pubs / Pubs with good food etc would be most useful.

Cheers

Mark

 

[Garz]

Unfortunately I have not done this yet but is on my 'to do' list. I'm pretty sure a couple of CC's have scoped this out though.

 

[vernon]

There's a web site dedicated to the route which you can find by Googling.

I know that the Station Inn at Ribblehead is en route. It serves a decent range of real ales, pork and black pudding pies and decent food as well as having bunk barns and traditional B&B accommodation.

 

[Soltydog]

I'm doing it in May, so may be able to offer some feedback after

 

[vernon]

I'm doing it in May, so may be able to offer some feedback after

Come to think of it I'm doing it in the first week of June. I've got the map somewhere but haven't looked at it since Christmas.

 

[400bhp]

I did a version of it in September last year and am doing another version on 9th April.

We are on road bikes so after conversing with Sustrans (who were very helpful BTW and who put us in touch with the route planner) decided to alter the route slightly.

We also decided to go to Scarborough rather than Bridlington due to the ease and frequency of trains back to Manchester.

This meant we followed the Sustrans route pretty much to Ripon and then went our own way from there.

It's a great route and is well signposted.

Couple of points that come to mind:
-Morecambe through Lancaster isn't particularly good- additionally the accomodation choices in Morecambe is pretty poor. So much so that this time we are starting in Canrforth.
-Have a break in Settle. There's plenty of cafes (We stopped at the Singing Kettle-nice scones and do the cyclists staple-beans on toast). You'll need a break as you immediately climb out of the town up what feels like a 1:3 gradient.
-Stop at Sun Parlour cafe in Ripon - very cycle friendly and we ran into the route organisers there last time!
-Don't be a slave to the Sustrans route. Plan in advance and use Google maps/bikeroutetoaster to take detours.

I am just finalising this years route to be downloaded onto my Garmin.

Any questions fire away.

 

[crisscross]

.... I know that the Station Inn at Ribblehead is en route. It serves a decent range of real ales, pork and black pudding pies and decent food as well as having bunk barns and traditional B&B accommodation.

May be worth reading the reviews on Trip Adviser before booking

http://www.tripadvis...nd.html#REVIEWS

 

[wormo]

Hi there,

I'm doing route in May, I have booked premier inns for lancaster (night before, nothing nice in Morecambe) and York ( on west side right next to route). £56 each twin room, evening meal and breakfast. Others looked at route and then looked at Tripadviser. Emailed a number of B&Bs to check whether had secure strorage for bikes. Quite a few B&Bs knew about cycle route and were very accomodating, although best places all booked up even during the week.

I just need now to see if I can get an electronic version of the map which I can download into my Garmin.

Also booked Virgin trains re the bikes as spaces limited. It looked to me that you really need to book a reasonable time in advance to get the accomodation you want.

Will feed back on accomodation when completed.

 

[vernon]

May be worth reading the reviews on Trip Adviser before booking

http://www.tripadvis...nd.html#REVIEWS

It all depends on one's expectations.

I organise beery overnight stays at the place and I have a waiting list of colleagues who want to join in.

We use the 11 berth camping barn and at £10 per head per night it does the job of keeping the occupants warm and dry.

The pub caters for hikers, fell walkers and pot holers and the accommodation is basic in the barns. None of the folk that I have taken there have encountered any of the 'problems' listed.

The evening meals are well presented tasty and tremendous value for money.
The beer is well kept and served with a smile.
The landlord and his wife are friendly.
The cooked breakfast is brilliant value and filling.

I recall reading a complaint about the mattresses being covered in plastic. I think that the complaint reflects an ignorance of the extreme weather that can be encountered in the area. Not all hikers and potholers are scrupulous at scraping off mud and grime from their bodies before going to bed. I'd rather sleep on an easily cleaned plastic covered mattress than coping with a grubby fabric covered one.

My only complaint is the lack of headroom between the bunks - I find them rather claustrophobic but the beer is a suitable sedative.

I have no commercial or private relationship with the place other than as a satisfied customer.

 

[Paladin - York]

Hi,

I started the Way of the Roses just a day or two after your posting. I did it in four days. I arrived in Morecambe by train @ 1239 and started from the sea front @ 1300. My first night was at Dalesbridge in Austwick, the second in Pately Bridge, the third night near York, ie at home, the fourth I spent night in Bridlington. On reflection I could have made it home to York, by train, on the last day as I arrived in Bridlington at 1520 having done 60 miles, partly due to the prevailing wind.

For once I was fortunate with the prevailing wind. I did the ride on a mountain bike with off road tyres and I was clocking 18-22 mph from near Ripon to Boroughbridge.

Where do I start with your questions? The first day was not too hilly but it did give a hint of what was to come on day two. Day two, Settle to Airton - WOW! Clocked just over 40 mph on the way down into Pately Bridge later on, with the brakes on! - make sure your brakes are in working order and don't "drift" around the bends. Exhilerating. Day three, After Brimham Rocks the route levels out and is relatively flat across the Vale of York. Day four is the flattest part of the trip so I made it the longest in distance of all the days.

There are cafes, tea-rooms & pubs all over the place but it will depend on your timing as to whether they are open when you arrive. I missed out on a main meal at the Croft Cottage, Austwick because I arrived too late in the afternoon, but there was the hotel.

I could rattle on forever.

You'll have a great trip.

 

[oldredeyes]

Nine of us did the WotR last weekend. Friday was Morecambe to Bishop Thornton (just off mile 72) and was hard going; Saturday to Pocklington (40 odd miles) was easy with plenty of pub stops (we had a birthday in the group); Sunday saw a "sprint" to Bridlington. My thoughts are that we did too many miles on the first day; the climbs out of Settle and Appletreewick were taxing, then we had another slog out of Pately Bridge (which may have been relatively OK starting fresh on the Saturday morning) and didn't take the turn off at Brimham Rocks, adding five miles. Paladin mentioned the descent into Pateley Brdige - an hour before we got there on Friday afternoon, the air ambulance had just taken another WotR cyclist to Leeds with serious injuries - heading down the hill at 50mph and overtaking a car (according to his mates) is not to be recommended.

We stayed at the Berkeley B&B in Morecambe, which was good for Morecambe; Duke's Place Courtyard in Bishop Thornton which was lovely; and three different places in Pocklington. There were too many upsides to mention; the downsides were that the WotR signs seemed to disappear at points (I'm sure this will be corrected in time with feedback) and the massive dog from the gypsy camp a couple of miles outside of Brid (boy, he was fast!). As I write this with sore knees, we're already planning next year's ride. Have fun!

 

[vernon]

Paladin mentioned the descent into Pateley Brdige - an hour before we got there on Friday afternoon, the air ambulance had just taken another WotR cyclist to Leeds with serious injuries - heading down the hill at 50mph and overtaking a car (according to his mates) is not to be recommended.

It's Greenhow Bank I had a close scrape descending it when I was resting on the hoods of my drop barred bike, hit a bum and had the handlebars rotate forwards leaving me resting on my forearms on the tops. I managed to contort enough to be able to brake and come to a halt but it was a close thing. I lost my appetite for fast descents after that.

 

[Soltydog]

It's Greenhow Bank I had a close scrape descending it when I was resting on the hoods of my drop barred bike, hit a bum and had the handlebars rotate forwards leaving me resting on my forearms on the tops. I managed to contort enough to be able to brake and come to a halt but it was a close thing. I lost my appetite for fast descents after that.

I'll watch for them when I'm that way

 

[Paul_L]

We are on road bikes so after conversing with Sustrans (who were very helpful BTW and who put us in touch with the route planner) decided to alter the route slightly.

Would you mind me asking which bits of the route aren't suitable for road bikes so i can make sure our route takes this into account.

10 of us are doing it over 2 days in July, stopping in Boroughbridge at the half way point.

Most of us are experienced, regular cyclists but a couple of the group are under the impression it's mroe a work social!!!

 

[vernon]

Would you mind me asking which bits of the route aren't suitable for road bikes so i can make sure our route takes this into account.

10 of us are doing it over 2 days in July, stopping in Boroughbridge at the half way point.

Most of us are experienced, regular cyclists but a couple of the group are under the impression it's mroe a work social!!!

Have a look at the Sustrans map and there's two stretches that appear to be 'off road':

The first seven miles from Morcambe and a 3 mile stretch from Skelton into York.

To be honest, I'd not worry too much about suitability. Ridden with care nearly all surfaces can be cycled on with a road bike - there's no compulsion to do a time trial on the off road sections.