- This topic has 40 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by B.A.Nana.
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The Dales (Grassington) slightly O/T
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pipiomFree Member
We’re just playing with ideas at the moment, but we’ve been having thoughts re spending medium/long periods in the Dales, possibly leading up to relocating there…..Grassington or similar.
As a MTB’er is this a good area?
Anyone currently living around here got any opinions on this area for standards of living/crime rates/general socialising etc.
As the topic states, slightly non biking related, but that is something that is very important, so I don’t want that topic lost in the advice that we get.
CowmanFull MemberCouldnt be a better area for Mountain Biking in my opinion. However some aspects of North Leeds or Skipton are nearly as close with better links and facilities.
Depends what you are moving for.
martinhutchFull MemberNot a bad place for biking, certainly. I’d probably pick somewhere slightly closer to major transport links for those days when I didn’t want to ride in the Dales though.
Signing up for the Dales village thing does require a little forethought though. You’ll only be riding for a minority of your week, and you don’t want to spend the rest of it wishing you didn’t have an hour round trip just to get to bigger shops, or that you’d moved somewhere more lively or welcoming.
The Dales communities can be very different even within a few miles, so do your research well, perhaps rent or at least visit extensively before buying etc.
I live in Skipton, and while I have an impression of what the local villages are like in terms of atmosphere, I’d be very cautious that I hadn’t jumped to the wrong conclusion.
Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition
Latest Singletrack VideosFresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...johnx2Free MemberI live down the valley in Ilkley and ride round there a bit. I go mainly from my front door so tend to be on crossbike or hardtail, head over Pockstones to do the leadmines ride or whatever. There may well be more technical/cheekier stuff about (the little valley down into Hebden looks very promising, with old mine workings mini-Swaledale way..?), but I’ve not really gone looking.
I like that you’ve got gritstone type riding in one direction (eg over Embsay moor towards Skipton, which is good on the boingy bike), limestone bridleway/landrover (v rarely used) type trails in the other. Good stuff up Buckden way which isn’t all in guidebooks – check strava. (Actually I must ride there all the bloody time…)
No idea what Grassington’s like to live in, but it’s near the Leeds edge of the dales and doesn’t strike me as having the rural/isolated feel you can get further in.
dangeourbrainFree MemberOne thing I wild point out beyond the good riding is, if you’re planning on commuting, be warned about the weather, it’s a fair way to any where and when it snows or (like today) gets foggy, it can make for a very very rubbish drive.
The fog especially up there sets in regularly and heavy, particularly up towards Appletreewick and Greenhow.
If you’re thinking of relolcating, spend a week or two up there in winter. It looks lovely in the sun shine but it’s often rather bleak in the winter.
duirFree MemberCouldnt be a better area for
Mountain BikingCyclocross in my opinion.🙂
Lovely place to live, just make sure you have a decent sized chest freezer and lots of long life products for winter! Joking aside I found the ideal bike for that area was a steel hardtail as riding is typical Dales, not difficult but potentially epic days out.
dominoFull MemberIf you are living and working locally then great. I live just out of Skipton and commute to Leeds, its enough of a commute and I wouldn’t want to move further into the Dales because of it.
In terms of riding, if you want to ride straight from the door then you get that, its not steep nor is it technical, but you can ride far and stay off road. The road riding in the Dales is lovely (apart from Bank Holiday weekends) too.
martinhutchFull Memberthe little valley down into Hebden looks very promising
Be a fun little run if it wasn’t for all the blimmin gates. One every 100 yards on that BW. Nothing particularly tech on it though.
pipiomFree MemberWe will be giving this a lot of thought, we’ve lived offshore (Jersey/IOM) for 38 years and have loved it, we still do. We both have family (Teesside/Leicester) and are looking at the possibility of being closer to both ie no ferry/flight reqd.
We are going for 2-3 weeks next May as a first step, this will give us food for thought at least.
We won’t be working,so commuting is not an issue, and we’re used to a bit of isolation in winter.
Early doors,and much research before we decide to take the plunge, but many thanks for input so far, keep it coming.
johnx2Free MemberI’d meant a couple of the side valleys to that as it goes – I was up there last Friday on the crossbike, – scope for some short rocky runs in the mineworkings.
People seem to be a bit more coy about non-bridleway stuff in the dales than in the lakes, say…
(that was to martinhutch)
martinhutchFull MemberFirst rule of cheeky club…
There’s certainly some bits which look worth a play off to the side of that, perhaps a slightly more direct way down from the mine tracks above. I’m normally too knackered or pressed for time by the time I get there, though.
Sorry for the diversion OP.
I assume you’re coming up to Grassington in May. Might also be worth looking out Settle way – Austwick/Wharfe/Feizor are my favourite villages in that area. Grassington does have a lot of retired folk, but isn’t as dead as places like Malham and Airton.
whitestoneFree MemberWe live just outside Skipton, like others have said don’t expect lots of super techy riding – there’s the odd bit of BW that is technical but they aren’t like Jacob’s Ladder for example. Most of the BWs are weather resistant, snow/ice probably being the only thing that really blocks them, you soon learn which ones these are. A (steel) hardtail is more than enough for the riding.
Not sure why there isn’t more cheeky riding – possibly because the cultivated ground is more extensive than in the Lakes
The Aire Valley and the bit of Wharfedale as far up as Threshfield/Grassington seem particularly bad for fog and allied with a lot of the local drivers not using lights in such conditions it can be quite fraught on the roads (in car or on bike). Other than the couple of hard winters a few years ago the winters tend to be damp rather than snowy so unless you are intending to live in one of the isolated properties up on the tops you aren’t going to get snowed in very often. We live at the end of a steep lane and if it’s forecast to snow overnight we just leave the car at the end of the lane and walk to it in the morning.
Crime is at a low level really, there’s the usual alcohol related stuff in Skipton, but I’ll see a cop more times in the local Co-op than out on patrol. Check out the Craven Herald (local paper) website for more info – once you get past the “Newt found in pond” style headlines. 😕
The only downside – it’s full of Yorkshiremen! 😳
clarkpm4242Free MemberHow about Swaledale???
Must be good, I live here/there 😉
Ace XC mountain biking and superb road riding.
Other comments above about climate, villages & shops apply.
Has been very dry here since May…
…not now though 🙁Good luck
PaulEcky-ThumpFree Memberduir – Member
Couldnt be a better area forMountain BikingCyclocross in my opinion.That pretty much sums it up for me.
Nice wide open moorland crossings and plenty of mud.
Great if you like XC and measure rides in miles rather than smiles… but Calderdale/Lakes tech it certainly ain’t.woodnutFree MemberThey are a special kind of Yorkshire up there, have to say some of the villages are full of mardy wierdos & duelling banjo types. Grassington is big enough to be not so bad in that regard.
B.A.NanaFree MemberI work in Skipton and bike in the dales frequently. You won’t have any issues with the amount of mtbing available, however it’s mostly relatively tame farm tracks, Land Rover tracks, old drovers roads. There are plenty of big climbs and big descents, but there are often plenty of gates and your descent is likely to be on a fairly uninspiring farm track. If you’re mostly in it for the pure exercise and just getting out, then there’s masses to go at.
As others say, it is quite isolated up there and a long drive to get anywhere, have you considered somewhere off the A65?.
As far as crime is concerned, it’s very low, I believe the worst of it is occasional theft from farms (quad bikes, diesel etc)pipiomFree MemberCheers again, I’m 60, but still able to ride all day on our mixed terrain….we did go to Dales bike centre last year (3 days guided) and that was good and quite techy in parts…..I’m not looking for any DH/jumping, crazy stuff, just want to ride….might try and find some local riders when I’m there in May, and team up with them for a ride or two.
Any ideas re local groups near or from Grassington?
You guys proper sorted me in Surrey in September by the way (Nirvana riders)cheers for that.
WillHFull MemberGrassington has one of the best sweet shops in the civilised world (and I don’t just mean Yorkshire). Row upon row of big old sweet jars like the ones when you were a kid.
On the downside it’s very picture-postcard-y so you can’t move for tourists in the summer.
martinhutchFull MemberYep, trying and failing to leave your house and walk up the high street during the Grassington Festival or that Dickensian thing they do at Christmas could get old, very very quickly.
OP – don’t buy anywhere that relies on street parking!
pipiomFree MemberWe’ve got our Dales recce trip booked now, and after reading some of your comments we’ve split the 3+ weeks (in May) into:
1 week Grassington;
1 week Masham;
and 1 week Skipton.Does anyone know of any regular group/shop rides from any of these places? I’m as interested in the social (pint/cafe afterwards) as I am the riding.
Just know that I’ll be leaving a brilliant social MTB scene here (IOM) so would like to get involved in same.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
devashFree MemberWe moved to Skipton last November and I’ve only just touched the surface of riding round here. Quality place to live if you’re into cycling, whether that be road, gravel or MTB.
troutFree MemberThere`s these lads who get out in the dales quite often good set of lads too
martinhutchFull MemberThree weeks in the Dales is a lot of recce-ing! You could probably combine the Skipton/Grassington side of things in one trip – they’re only 15-20 minutes apart.
With your Teesside/Leicester split in mind, check out the Pateley Bridge area too. That’s not too bad for both. Hebden is a good village with this in mind. It’s worth trying to get up to the Lakes to get a feel for journey times – it’s an important factor if you want a variety of riding.
Villages I like: Kettlewell, Austwick, Giggleswick, Feizor, Langcliffe, Burnsall, Appletreewick, Arncliffe, Conistone, Hebden, Clapham. Not so keen on Hetton, Grassington itself, Stainforth, Malham, Airton. Mixture of atmosphere, balance of proper locals and incomers, the weight of tourism, friendliness (that I’ve experienced).
I think Skipton CC have informal MTB rides, but I’m a miserable loner, so I’ve never experienced this.
pipiomFree MemberMany thanks guys. It’s as much a holiday as anything else, just using it to look to see if we’d like to live there.
I’ll defo contact the “Mudpackers” trout.And Devash, Skipton is a real possibility,how’d you find it: socially,safety,friendliness etc.
DracFull MemberLovely place to live, just make sure you have a decent sized chest freezer and lots of long life products for winter!
’77 is long over.
ianfitzFree MemberDoes stuart at riders cycle centre have a group ride? Well worth popping in to see him at skipton. Top bloke
whitestoneFree MemberI don’t think Stuart does do group rides – he certainly does bikepacking intro weekends.
martinhutchFull Member‘And Devash, Skipton is a real possibility,how’d you find it: socially,safety,friendliness etc.
Well, I live here, so it’s not that friendly.
Social and safety – it’s all relative really. Every town that size has a criminal element, but it’s safer than Keighley! Depends what kind of social you’re after.
It’s a fairly friendly town, again depends on your approach, and what you’re judging it by. I found it less welcoming than the last place I lived, but that was Middleton-in-Teesdale, so it’s not a fair comparison.
whitestoneFree MemberCrime wise it’s no better or worse than any other rural town, we moved here (actually a village a few Km outside) from a similar rural area plus I grew up in rural South Lakeland so used to the general milieu. There’s the usual Saturday night stuff between drunks and the long running family feuds: ” your great granddad nicked my great granddad’s pencil when he was six and we are still mad about it” type of thing. Have a look at the local rag http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/ for a general feel. There’s the various crime logging sites that you can check out as well.
Friendliness is as much about what you put in as anything, act the grumpy “why can’t it be like …” incomer and you won’t make friends, approach folk with a smile and an open attitude and you’ll be fine.
Keighley: I work with a couple of Keighley born and bred lads and they make the same jokes about the place that everyone else does! There’s probably only two or three pubs in Keighley that I would feel safe in.
B.A.NanaFree MemberIt’s far enough away from Leeds and Bradford to be low on the radar as a destination for crime, something that I believe places like Otley and Harrogate suffer an element of. Like said above, occasional argy bargy outside the nightclub on a Saturday, you occasionally see a broken shop window in the town centre, it’ll have a few locals known to the police, but less or no more than you’d expect in any rural town IMO.
devashFree MemberAnd Devash, Skipton is a real possibility,how’d you find it: socially,safety,friendliness etc.
To be honest I haven’t had a chance to get stuck into the local community yet as I’ve been exceedingly busy with work (I work in Leeds) so I only have a couple of observations really.
I’m originally from Guisborough which is another similar sized Yorkshire market town on the way up to Middlesbrough so I’m in familiar territory here. Skipton feels a lot posher though and there seems to be a lot of younger professionals living here who work in Leeds / Bradford. I’ve noticed that the population is split between younger couples with families and older retirees / pensioners.
There’s some really nice pubs and a couple of hipster style micropubs, some of which do live music. I’m not a huge drinker but I do like good beer and Skipton really spoils you for choice in that respect.
There’s the usual small town violence at weekends, especially around the town’s local nightclub, but I rarely go out for big nights nowadays and on the rare occasion that I do its always in Leeds.
People-wise; very friendly. You get the odd grumpy local but speaking from the heart, that’s just a Yorkshire thing. As soon as they get to know you well enough then that goes away. People are much less aloof than Harrogate / Ilkley.
Overall, I prefer living here to Leeds.
dalesjoeFree MemberThere was a story in the Craven Herald a few years back that sums the Skipton crime scene up. Basically some drunk bloke decided it would be fun to ride his bike around the Tesco isles throwing products off the shelves. He was dressed in a chicken outfit at the time too. I think it even made it to court.
Skipton is grand but plenty of other decent towns nearby. Just avoid Keighley and your fine.
devashFree MemberJust avoid Keighley and your fine.
Cannot be stated enough.
Although there’s a lovely little steam railway that goes from Keighley to Haworth which is worth a day out. Just don’t loiter too long in Keighley.
mtFree MemberSkipton has good pie shop. That’s got to be a consideration if want to get on in Yorkshire.
pipiomFree MemberStill in the middle of our “exploring options” year: Grassington/Skipton area still looking favourite; if we chose,say,Grassington, how often,if ever, does the B6265 get closed,due to weather,or other circumstances? ie. in winter is it likely that stations/airports (Leeds/Manchester etc) would not be accessible?
whitestoneFree MemberRarely due to weather, it’s usually accidents that shut it – there was one last night at Kilnsey. There’s the Bolton Abbey road as an alternative (which is likely to be your route to get to LBA). Flooding can affect both the Airedale and Wharfedale roads but downstream of Skipton/Addingham. Snow is usually confined to the tops, I think there were two days this winter when it came lower.
We live in the hills outside Skipton and there was only one day during the really bad winter a few years ago that we couldn’t get out and that was due to area wide black ice rather than snow. If we know it’s going to snow then we leave the car at the top of the lane (it’s 25%). Not seen the need for 4WD.
martinhutchFull MemberNormally if it’s bad enough to close the 6265 (and I can only think of a few days in recent years when that’s the case), LBA would be shut too. They helpfully stuck it on top of a hill so it catches all the worst weather.
I think you have to factor in a couple of days each winter where you might have to wait for them to plough it or grit it, but they tend to work quite hard to keep it open because of the schools.
devashFree MemberRarely due to weather, it’s usually accidents that shut it – there was one last night at Kilnsey.
Funny you mention that as there seems to be a disproportionate amount of road accidents occurring in the area.
My girlfriend works for a company based in the Broughton Hall estate outside of Skipton and over the winter there was at least a couple of accidents a week on the stretch of the A59 outside of her work. It got to the point where I started to worry when she took the car to work (she hasn’t been driving for long in the UK).
The standard of driving seems to be quite poor in the area, coupled with all the huge livestock trucks moving to and from the Skipton auction mart and farm vehicles on the road.
martinhutchFull MemberThat stretch of the 59 is notorious. I tend to go over the top road if I have to get out towards Colne at commuting time.
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