Looking for your favourite bits of trails or loops. Taking cyclocross bike and mountain bike so options are wide and a bit of road wouldn’t be a problem. Even an all road loop would be good.

We’re visiting friends in Harrogate next week and will have about 5 days to ride.

Any must visit cafe’s/tea rooms and pubs also welcome!

Books

Have a look on the link – the two books you want are West Yorkshire and Yorkshire Dales (South)

Tons of rides in there if you can’t find anyone to show you round

And ‘must rides’ in there include the Gorple Road one from West Yorks and the Clapham / Feizor / Thwaites and Ribblehead ones from the Dales book

Weather dependent, obviously, but it looks set pretty fair for dry trails.

As you’re in Harrogate, the most local, and most weatherproof day would be in Nidderdale. MB rather than CX, couple of nice rocky descents. This link but from Pateley, adding the ‘out’ route from the Gouthwaite res route on the same site.

Definitely have a day in Swaledale, if you can, also pretty weatherproof. Go to Stu at Dales Mountain Bike Centre in Reeth and ask to buy the most suitable route card for conditions. My own recommendation would be Fremington Edge – Great Pinseat – Gunnerside Gill, Gunnerside, then back along the south bank of the river or up behind to Apedale. MTB not CX.

One more if dry. Park at Skipton earlyish, up to Sharphaw, good descent to Flasby, either cheek directly west (walk through farm inc the tarmac), or legit to the north of that, but may be soggy at the bottom. Road to Hetton. Weets Top via Winterburn reservoir, fast descent to Calton, Airton (good tea shop just north), road to Malham, BW from Malham to Cove Road, short tough climb on road and BW to top of Stockdale Lane, nice descent, bit of cheek to get across northwest past Victoria Cave, fine on a weekday, up road, BW down to Stainforth, cross main road and pick up minor roads north then west into Crummackdale, cracking BW at Thorpe up towards Thieves Moss, descend Long Lane then down to Clapham (tea shops). South across A65 to Clapham station, train back to Skipton.

Great recommendations – thanks Martin! Will get the OS out tonight . . .

As you’re in Harrogate, the most local, and most weatherproof day would be in Nidderdale Stainburn.

ftfy. The obvious tea room is Bettys, but the one in the town centre is aaaaaalways rammed, so if you go out to the one at RHS Harlow carr, its the same tea and scones, just you wont have to queue for an age to get them. and if you are a gardenerist then youll get a kick out of harlow carr.

northern end: the calf and swaledale on the mountainbike.

southern end: mastiles lane and surrounds on the cross bike

Depending on what sort of rider you are, Nidderdale could be seriously disappointing. I am living in the area for 12 months due to new job and after living in NE Scotland and the Lakes before that it’s a big come down. From most of the stuff I have ridden round here, a cyclocross bike would be ideal apart from maybe 1 or 2 descents. Almost all of the legal stuff has left me wishing I owned a carbon 29er hardtail. However if a big day out with great views and easy trails (sort of like MTB was 20 years ago) then Nidderdale would be ace.

Stainburn is very close to Harrogate and brilliant for such a short trail. It really is quite technical and some of it reminds me of natural stuff in Scotland. A great spot for an evening or half day skills session.

If you

RHS Harlow Carr is perfectly in tune with the demographic on here. 🙂

(I actually thought it was one of the most boring gardens I’d ever been to, though. Perhaps I went at the wrong time of year. If the OP is dead keen on a garden, I’ll send him a ride that includes Parceval Hall!)

Stainburn in the wet, though. The Horror!

EDIT: Duir – Yorkshire really ain’t the place to head for a gnarr-fest, I’d agree with you there. Well, not unless you include a lot of cheek.

Tod, Hebden and surrounding area. So many fantastic trails. Gorple is a good shout. Benji Haworth’s book is a good place to start.

If your in Harrogate you could venture to Dalby for a days XC. Or Stainburn for some crazy tech shit. You ‘could’ also zip across into Lancs and goto Gisburn.

As other have also said, Hebden, Calderdale. Near me is the aire valley, Bingley bash, Shipley glen over Ilkley moor. Plenty of stuff todo.

From most of the stuff I have ridden round here, a cyclocross bike would be ideal apart from maybe 1 or 2 descents.

Which 2 are those then?

Duir, I have to agree. Dales riding is generally not technical (though there are exceptions if you know where to look). Much better technical riding in the populated/industrial/Pennine bits of Yorkshire IMO.

Very true.

EDIT: Duir – Yorkshire really ain’t the place to head for a gnarr-fest, I’d agree with you there. Well, not unless you include a lot of cheek.

😉

Which 2 are those then?

One I can’t mention on an open forum as it’s a cheeky trail near my house.The other is the few 100 meters down to Scar House reservoir that is a rough Land Rover track.

Neither of these would suit a cyclocross bike unless you were Chris Askrigg.

Or Chris Akrigg even, but I’ll put that down as a typo. Hmm…If thats the only one you can name I’d say you don’t have much experience of Dales routes. There’s loads of Dales routes that I wouldn’t even think about on a CX bike, unless your’e a bit of a masochist that is. 😆

The other is the few 100 meters down to Scar House reservoir that is a rough Land Rover track.

The one from Middlesmoor? Your’e right, wouldn’t fancy that on a CX. How about the one down to Starbotton from Cam Head? & many more.

Lots of good suggestions, though emphasis is on MTB. My wife will have her MTB but I only have a CX bike –

So anyone got some CX routes?

Nidderdale will be fine for your cx bike apart from the descent to scar house res which is only a small part of the ride. The parking right by the tea rooms is all day and the food is ok.
The butchers on the main road coming down into town does great pork pies, I recommend the ones with stilton or black pudding. If you plan starting after 10am buy your pies first – there is nothing like the disappointment getting there post ride and finding they have sold out:(

Hi all – thanks for the tips on routes in the area. We rode Nidderdale yesterday – the climb up after Middlesmoor was a bit like hard work and the descent on my CX bike was silly. Cleaned it though, but not without a few front wheel stall/endo moments! Some footpath running this morning and then Stainburn after lunch.

Pork pies were AMAZING – pork and apple sauce was our fav, though black pudding was sold out 🙁

Is it always this sunny in Yorkshire? No wonder the Tour are coming . . . !!
Lovely area – we will be back here.

Stainburn on a CX bike? Nice work. 🙂 Quite impressed with the cleaning of the Scar House descent.

Through necessity rather than want – my MTB frame is cracked! Strangely satisfying though. I had to no brake most of the smoother descents as I just couldn’t hold on and cover the brakes!

Yorkshire isn’t always that sunny Son.

We’ve a farm near Stainburn and it’s quite misty for ooohhh about 300 days of the year 😆

I’ve done Stain on my CX, it’s not suited to it at all but you’ll have fun in the woods but the techie bits a “get off and hoike over yer shoulder” moment. The climb back up from the bottoms fine, you’ll clear that, then head up over the road into the forest and it’s singletrack and flowwy rather than Stains Up/Down’ism.

Have fun in the Sun.

If you want something a bit more CX friendly than Stainburn, there are a couple of nice scenic loops heading out from Bolton Abbey.

Have fun! Used to take the bikes to stay near Leyburn – along from haws – but never really explored the proper trails. This was in midst of F&M IIRC. Some nice back roads to Masham and the brewery though 🙂

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0474wk2