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  • Pennine Bridleway takes a big step forward
  • ChrisE
    Free Member

    (From Yorshire Dales National Park website)
    Grassington, 6 June, 2012.
    We’re nearly there!

    After more than seven years and thousands of hours of hard work, the last sections of the Pennine Bridleway national trail – a 52-mile route through the Yorkshire Dales National Park – are almost finished.

    When it is completed, the whole trail will stretch about 200 miles from Derbyshire to Cumbria along ancient packhorse trade routes and drove roads that have been connected by new links.

    The creation of the trail for mountain bikers, horse riders and walkers has been made possible to date mainly through financial support from Natural England and a Sport England award of £1.8 million.

    The section through the National Park from the A65 at Long Preston to the Cumbrian border was funded by Natural England, with support from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) and North Yorkshire County Council, with additional funding from Yorkshire Forward.

    Plans are now underway for an official opening of the whole trail by Natural England on June 12 in Clapham.
    Peter Lambert, the YDNPA’s Pennine Bridleway Officer, said: “It’s fantastic that, after so many years of work, our section is almost finished – it will be one of the final pieces in the national trail’s jigsaw.

    “It has been a long process involving a huge amount of planning as well as hours of discussions and meeting with farmers and landowners and all the other organisations whose help has been vital.

    “There were times when the end seemed a long way off but we can all now look forward to the big day of the official opening.

    “I would just like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped us in the process – without them it wouldn’t have happened.”

    The first section of the Trail in the Yorkshire Dales National Park – the10-mile (16km) Settle Loop – was opened in August 2005.

    Anna Righton, Natural England’s Pennine Bridleway Project Manager, said: “I’m delighted to see the Pennine Bridleway National Trail being opened – it’s a fantastic Trail through some of England’s most beautiful landscapes and the best possible tribute to the hard work of our staff and partners. It’s very exciting that horse-riders and mountain bikers and walkers have this brilliant flagship route through the Yorkshire Dales.”

    Horseriders in the Yorkshire Dales National Park will be able to celebrate the launch of the National Park section of the Pennine Bridleway with an eight to 11-mile ride on June 17 from Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

    The event is being organised by Ride Yorkshire, a non-profit organisation formed to promote horseriding in the Dales. Details about the event are available on its website at http://www.rideyorkshire.org and from Janet Cochrane on 01759 368303 or 07773422413 or by emailing her at janet.cochrane@rideyorkshire.org.

    Fact file
    •The creation of the section of the Pennine Bridleway through the Yorkshire Dales National Park has involved:
    •Repair work to National Trail standard on 53 kms of existing routes
    •The creation of 12 kms of new bridleway ‘links’
    •The building of a major new river crossing, Far Moor Bridge at Selside, which, with a 53-metre span, is believed to be the longest of its kind in the world. The bridge, held together by 17,000 screws, has since won two national awards
    •Hundreds of tonnes of stone being airlifted by helicopter to locations that were inaccessible by road
    •The installation of 97 new timber gates.
    Background
    The Pennine Bridleway is a new National Trail in the north of England, being planned and designed specifically for horse riders, off-road cyclists and walkers to enjoy.

    The Settle Loop starts and finishes in Settle and stretches east towards Malham. It was created to provide a day trip excursion for horse riders, mountain bikers and walkers wanting to spend time exploring the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales rather than just passing through on their way up or down the Trail.

    In 1986, Mary Towneley rode from Derbyshire to Northumberland to highlight the state of the country’s bridleways and support the need for the Pennine Bridleway National Trail. A circular route, called the Mary Towneley Loop, includes Hebden Bridge and Todmorden and forms part of the 130 miles of the route already open to the public.

    The Pennine Way was designated in 1965 as Britain’s first National Trail and is today one of the most famous and popular walks in the country. There are now 15 National trails in England and Wales. The Pennine Bridleway is the first purpose-built long distance bridleway for horse riders, mountain bikers and walkers.

    Anyone wanting more information about the Pennine Bridleway National Trail can visit its website at http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/penninebridleway or the ‘Promoted Routes’ section of this website http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/penninebridleway

    pennine
    Free Member

    major new river crossing, Far Moor Bridge at Selside, which, with a 53-metre span, is believed to be the longest of its kind in the world. The bridge, held together by 17,000 screws.

    pistonbroke
    Free Member

    I rode it with a group from Penistone 12 months ago, it seemed pretty well finished then, the bridge at Selside was 95% complete. Don’t know what has taken a year to finish, probably a funding issue as usual.

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    pennine
    Free Member

    funding issue as usual.

    Nope – Railtrack I believe (trail goes under one of their bridges)

    ChrisE
    Free Member

    The holdup was getting Network Rail to sign up the legal agreement to create about 8m of BW that goes under their railway (through an existing bridge!)

    C

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    How long before the first Pennine Bridleway in <24hrs, PBW double, PBW triple(!) record attempts.

    😉

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