A much cooler day, but just about dry and light winds allowed an expedition into Bowland. I began a long climb through Wray and up to cross ‘o’ greet. It’s a stunning route through very empty moorland. Bird of the day was the Kestrel which I saw on a number of occasions, most of the time trying to avoid the attention of crows that were taking objection to its presence. I made it to the top of the col just before a large group of scooters crested from the other direction. I descended quickly down the lovely Hodder valley and found myself in Slaidburn. I’d have thought about a coffee stop at the Riverside Café but found it is now on Winter opening hours, which for some reason doesn’t include Sundays. Never mind, I continued through Newton and Dunsop Bridge before turning south through Whitewell and then had lunch in Chipping. As usual, the shop provided an excellent bacon sandwich and I was joined by a good group of other cyclists. I took a less travelled route out of Chipping, up some steep climbs to the gliding station and then westward to Bleasdale. At this point I realised I could bag my final lunacy climb target and so I climbed up over Harrison end before descending backward Scorton and Glasson Dock. Overall a cool, cloudy but excellent bike ride with 100.3 km and 1405 m of climbing.
Photos are of the descent down the Hodder Valley, a barn in the middle of nowhere and the bike admiring the view
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Photos are of the descent down the Hodder Valley, a barn in the middle of nowhere and the bike admiring the view
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