What's good, what's crap, what's best avoided, what's cheeky but probably ok. Need some idea of where to start searching.
Looking to do a 15/16 mile or so loop. Can be longer if it includes some easy miles or shorter if there's some harder stuff included.
Start from Clapham, up through the tunnels and turn left at the top of the first climb. Climb up the lane onto Ingleborough Common. Continue along to Sulber Nick haveing stopped to look at the Limestone Pavement at Thieves Moss. Turn right at Sulber Nick onto FP - I think keeping high on the bank to the right keeps you out of the eroded trails for most of it. Head towards Moughton Spring at the end of the Moughton Scars. Take the Moughton Lane footpath down to just above the ford then drop down to Wharfe on the BW. Turn left along the road and then take the BW to Feizor via Lower and Higher Bark House. Good cafe at Feizor. Take Pennine Bridleway to Austwick then Thwaite Lane BW back to the top of the tunnels to drop back to Clapham.
A few ideas here [url= http://www.ingletonyorkshiredalesbiking.com/mountain-biking.html ]Link[/url]
Nice cheers all 🙂
tunnels and bridges is a good bad weather/winter ride as a lot of it is solid ground or behind walls.
[b]B.A.Nana[/b] that's good can't be bothered with a slopfest so rocky and sheltered in parts is good.
The route you linked to [b]smokey_jo[/b] I found elsewhere too but they kinda do it in reverse. Is one way better than the other for this loop?
settle loop is pretty good, starts off a bit wtf, then gets pretty decent. don't descend into langcliffe take the traverse back to settle.
[b]B.A.Nana[/b] is that loop using the bridleways that sit in between Settle and Malham Lings?
B.A.Nana that's good
also a good little cafe at feizor, so maybe either start/finish nr there or stop for coffee and cake half way.
[url= http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/visit-the-dales/get-outdoors-dales/mountain-biking/mountain-biking-routes/mtb-routes/mtb-route-tunnelsbridges ]http://www.yorkshiredales.org.uk/visit-the-dales/get-outdoors-dales/mountain-biking/mountain-biking-routes/mtb-routes/mtb-route-tunnelsbridges[/url]
on the map attached, we usually ride the short BW to rawlinshaw rather than the marked route.
a longer version of smokey_jo's https://www.strava.com/activities/815920452
I've just looked at smokey_jo's and I think it's a slight variant of the official tunnels and bridges. I've seen it before and kept meaning to do it, but haven't. His alternative is cheeky, I guess he'll be able to tell you whether the addition is worth it
I'd always do my route the way round I've described unless you are a huge fan of brain out straight line downhills. The descent into Wharfe is a peach - it would be criminal to do it the other way round.
You could always loop back up to Ingleborough Common from Austwick and do the big long straight descent back to the top of the tunnels. Doing this means you will encounter the BGH (B**tard Grassy Hill) climb of legend.
Doing this means you will encounter the BGH (B**tard Grassy Hill) climb of legend.
I noticed your variant missed that out
The bastard grassy hill really isn't that bad! Then again, I do have a granny gear...
I'll dig out a Strava, but the best way of doing that, and about 15 miles, is to start at Clapham, climb the tunnels and Long Lane, then carry on to Thieves Moss, head around the top of Crummackdale and down all the way to Wharfe - top section will be a bit splashy at the mo though. Turn R when you hit the road, head to Austwick (pub), pick up the Tunnels and Bridges route to Feizor (cafe), and follow this back to Wharfe back up the singletrack but carry on up over the clapper bridge, up the BGHCOL and finish down Long Lane and the Tunnels.
You can avoid the Sulber Nick section if its wet by using[url= https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19053412 ]this path[/url]. Not been along there in a while so don't know how bad it is but I have seen it quite badly eroded by the thousands of 3 peaks walkers who use it.
Time to start looking at OS maps and having a plot. Might do one version and then I'll know for next time which bits are better for going up and which are more fun going down.
That path smokey recommends is the one to use. Sulber Nick will be muddy and full of walkers. It's a decent surface for the most part.
Gotta love STW sometimes. I was in the area on Sunday so I chanced smoky jo's route. Cracking ride despite limited visibility! Thanks all.
It's better on a balmy midsummer evening, glad you like it 🙂
There's a loop in the new MBUK mag, no idea whether it's any good though.