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Pennine Cycle Way
I'm girding my loins for the first spell of cycle camping this year and am
considering doing some of the Pennine Cycleway at the end of May start of June. I am considering the North section from Appleby to Berwick or The South Pennine section from Holmfirth to Appleby. Has anyone ridden all or part of the routes? Any observations about their nature in therms of enjoyment and scenery not to mention arduousness. Cheers Vernon in Leeds |
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"vernon levy" wrote in message ... I'm girding my loins for the first spell of cycle camping this year and am considering doing some of the Pennine Cycleway at the end of May start of June. I am considering the North section from Appleby to Berwick or The South Pennine section from Holmfirth to Appleby. Has anyone ridden all or part of the routes? Any observations about their nature in therms of enjoyment and scenery not to mention arduousness. Cheers Vernon in Leeds Yes - did the whole lot from Derby to Berwick in May 2004 - a great ride! Below is the text of a message I sent to David Gray of Sustrans - contents are pretty self-explanatory. Overall observation - tough going from Hadfield to Colne in the south section - after that nothing too daunting other than the odd places detailed in the message. Go for it ! Rob extract of message to David Gray Knowing that you are leading the Berwick to Derby ride in July and having just ridden the complete route from Derby to Berwick (7-13 May 2004) it seemed useful to advise you of a few issues with the route - in the interests of being positive rather than critical! Our overnight stops were B&Bs or pubs at : Whaley Bridge, Foulridge, Sedbergh, Alston, Elsdon (Otterburn village) & Wooler - the Whaley Bridge to Foulridge day turned out to be very challenging with a late finish although all other days were reasonable. Two (of the three) of us were "Sustrans veterans" having ridden the C2C and TPT and whilst we enjoyed the ride immensely we felt that some sections should carry more of a "health warning" on the maps - some sections (see below) would have been impossible for a less experienced or less strong (or perhaps, female) cyclist. We felt that the severity of some of the route, especially in the Peak District and up to about Hebden Bridge could frighten people off if they tried to ride the routes - more published information on the climbs (and steep descents) etc would be a good idea. Points : 1 Signage in parts of Derby had been rotated or otherwise vandalised and at the hospital area near the A38/Mickleover was missing (or we missed it!) .. On the plus side, once into the country beyond Derby the signing was superb all the way to Ashbourne. 2 Signage in Buxton was misleading with a strange detour down one hill and up another for no apparent reason - and then unclear (or appeared to be missing) 3 The off-road section (Midshires Way) shortly after leaving Buxton was badly eroded and very severe - barely passable on foot and very hard with a bike. 4 Fencing and signage at Woolly Bridge/Brookfield, just before Hadfield, had been vandalised (set on fire) [We did the TPT in May last year and saw the same issues at the same places, although it looked as though signage had been replace and vandalised again] 5 Signage at Hadfield changed to the TPT without any obvious link that it was also Route 68 6 Signage in Holmfirth was confusing - made even more difficult by the change in orientation of the map (see below). 7 The climb from Slaithwaite to Pole Moor was extreme and should carry a warning! 8 Access to the Scammonden reservoir and crossing the M62 was confusing with variable signage - the route I used was to pass under the motorway through the tunnel on the eastern side of the reservoir dam, turn right up the tarmac road and then ride parallel to the motorway (actually just below the hard shoulder) on the tarmac track above the tunnel level, crossing to the western side of the reservoir dam, on the northern side of the motorway, then joining the road. Looking back down from the B road than runs to Sowerby Bridge we could see where the signed route probably was, but our route seemed simpler and safer. 9 Signage, almost without exception, from the M62 crossing all the way to Berwick was excellent. 10 Many of the facilities marked on the maps no longer existed - for example, several pubs had become private houses (we were told) and the cafe marked in Harbottle had closed ten years ago! 11 After the wonderful and remote 20 miles or so from Once Brewed to Bellingham the superb "Rod's Snack Bar" in Bellingham deserves a special mention - a large slice of quiche, a slice of carrot cake and coffee for 3 quid! 11 An especially bad piece of route was at the ford to the north of Ingram (Ilderton Moor, the southernmost of the 3 fords) where the steep descents both sides had been badly cut up by horses and made nearly impassable (again a lady rider would probably not have managed to get down and up the slopes to the bridge) I would suggest that the alternative loop via Roseden is made the signed route and that the ford is signed as the option. 12 The least obvious refreshment point was the butchers shop in Norham that sold tea and coffee - and excellent cheese! Our final comments have to be about the Sustrans PCW maps - conceptually they are good and we managed to follow the route using just the official maps BUT the varying orientation (i.e. North not always being at the top) did make it very confusing, especially where sections with overlaps changed orientation. I appreciate that the maps are designed to maximise paper usage etc BUT they are confusing to anyone used to using maps and a compass for cycling or walking. The other criticism is about the contour markings and profiles - the shading gave no sort of reliable indication of the terrain and the profiles were a bit of a "blunt instrument" - again an experienced map-user can see (and feel) from the normal contours on the OS maps and get an idea of the ups and downs (and thus make some sort of estimate of timings etc). The upside of the maps, although we had no rain, was the durability of the paper. Perhaps there is an opportunity for Sustrans to consider collaborating on production of guide books using OS style mapping (like the many books written by Nick Cotton) for its showcase routes. Do please take these comments as being constructive - there's no doubt that it's a great ride - better than the C2C and the TPT put together. Being gluttons for punishment we are now considering our boys' outing for 2005 : the plan is Land's End - John O'Groats ...... unless Sustrans inspires us with something in the meantime! |
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RG wrote:
Yes - did the whole lot from Derby to Berwick in May 2004 - thanks for posting that - after our c2c our appetite is whetted! Anyone else with expeeince/comments on the PCW pk |
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RG wrote:
We felt that the severity of some of the route, especially in the Peak District and up to about Hebden Bridge could frighten people off if they tried to ride the routes - more published information on the climbs (and steep descents) etc would be a good idea. The route has been very controversial in mountain biking circles - large sections of classic routes have been sanitised to make them easy for leisure cyclists and horses. The Mary Townley loop was a wake up call which went, for proficient mountain bikers, from an interesting and technical ride to a boring fire road. I with others and IMBA put a lot of effort into the Hayfield sections with the Countryside Agency and Derbyshire Council and ended up with a classic route (the Hayfield Loop) which while wrecked was at least still interesting to ride. The contractors and officials had about as much idea as most city cycle planners seem to have about what is needed and were gayly planning to set up massive user conflicts by lack of understanding of trail requirements. However they were at least prepared to discuss, listen and learn. Our suggestion of signing alternative road routes though wasn't taken up as far as I know but please don't encourage Sustrans and others to wreck routes that are much enjoyed by many cyclists to make them accessible to the lowest common denominator cyclists. -- Tony "A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought" Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers) |
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Yes - did the whole lot from Derby to Berwick in May 2004 - a great ride!
Below is the text of a message I sent to David Gray of Sustrans - contents are pretty self-explanatory. Overall observation - tough going from Hadfield to Colne in the south section - after that nothing too daunting other than the odd places detailed in the message. Go for it ! I'm not too phased by the climbs - I have ridden from Land's End to Penistone and done the C2C and I'm familiar with the energy sapping grinds through the Peak District.. I hope to slot in the ride at the end of the month, I'd have had a go at the entire route but I've got several things to do during the week I have off. I'm favouring the notion of cycling out to Skipton from Leeds and picking up the trail from there with the idea of completing the ride in 3-4 days. 10 Many of the facilities marked on the maps no longer existed - for example, several pubs had become private houses (we were told) and the cafe marked in Harbottle had closed ten years ago! This conversion is accelerating. There was an excellent pub in Clapham (Flying Squirrel) that shared a grid reference with a campsite and served the most amazing rabbit pie....it's gone down the conversion route. Apparently there simply isn't enough money being spent in the rural pubs to make them viable when they are not sheltered by the profits of other pubs in a large chain. I was heartened to see a reversal in Horton in Ribblesdale where the Red Lion was, for a while, a school hostel. 11 After the wonderful and remote 20 miles or so from Once Brewed to Bellingham the superb "Rod's Snack Bar" in Bellingham deserves a special mention - a large slice of quiche, a slice of carrot cake and coffee for 3 quid! This is the territory that interests me the most....despite being brought up in the north east this area was the least explored by me when I had a motor bike 12 The least obvious refreshment point was the butchers shop in Norham that sold tea and coffee - and excellent cheese! Can't wait to get there ... The other criticism is about the contour markings and profiles - the shading gave no sort of reliable indication of the terrain and the profiles were a bit of a "blunt instrument" - again an experienced map-user can see (and feel) from the normal contours on the OS maps and get an idea of the ups and downs (and thus make some sort of estimate of timings etc). The profiles are at best indicative. Nothing could prepare me for the crawl up the aptly named Crawleyside Bank at Stanhope on the C2C I'm getting quite excited by the prospect. I'm already getting my gear together. My bike's set up. Just need the end of the month :-) |
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"vernon levy" wrote in message
... This conversion is accelerating. There was an excellent pub in Clapham (Flying Squirrel) that shared a grid reference with a campsite and served the most amazing rabbit pie....it's gone down the conversion route. Apparently there simply isn't enough money being spent in the rural pubs to make them viable when they are not sheltered by the profits of other pubs in a large chain. Flying Horseshoes. Yes, quite a lot between Ingleton and here are going (that, Goat Gap, Cross Streets are the three I can think of) - but there are still quite a few left, and the better ones aren't chain and aren't suffering. (good beer, good food and a decent passing trade are probably key. Goat Gap and Flying Horseshoes were both a bit hidden, and the Cross Streets never looked great. cheers, clive |
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I'm done a couple of short stretches of the northern section.
I did the bit between Alston and Haltwistle on Monday which was glorious after climbing up from Whitfield in a headwind accompanied by the howl of motorcycles as their riders enjoyed a bank holiday thrash. The views across the valley bathed in sunshine made up for having to stop occasionally to open gates. Watch out for the sharp little climb just after Barhaugh Hall, before Slaggyford, it caught me out and I had to push, just a few yards though. There was a new surface on the old rail bed between Featherstone and Haltwistle and the surface between Slaggyford and Lambley was ok but between Lambley and Featherstone its not so good, being covered in grass with a narrow muddy track down the middle. Lots of walkers out for a stroll taking advantage of the good weather. Any way I had an excellent day, the views are fantastic once I was out of the headwind. A couple of weeks ago I did the forest section between Twice Brewed and Whygate. I was abit apprehensive having read reports about the road being very rough through the forest but I managed OK only having to dismount twice due to the surface and riding on 23mm tyres. A feeling of loneliness and the thought of a very long walk back ensured that sufficent care was exercised. Deer ran across the the track in front of me more than once and there was numerous rabbits. Although I enjoyed the tranquility I was glad to reach Whygate with the bike in one piece and then on to home in Hexham. I would like to do the whole route but this year we intend to do the Coast and Castles route from Newcastle to Edinburgh in July. So the Pennine Cycleway will have to wait. Geo "vernon levy" wrote in message ... I'm girding my loins for the first spell of cycle camping this year and am considering doing some of the Pennine Cycleway at the end of May start of June. I am considering the North section from Appleby to Berwick or The South Pennine section from Holmfirth to Appleby. Has anyone ridden all or part of the routes? Any observations about their nature in therms of enjoyment and scenery not to mention arduousness. Cheers Vernon in Leeds |
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