Bike Transfer Way of the Roses

[BertPol]

I'm planning a cycling trip in May '18. We are 4cyclists from Holland. Our plan is to cycle the Way of the Roses from west to east. Since we arrive by ferry from Rotterdam to Hull we are looking for transportation that can take us and our bikes to the starting point of the route in Morecambe. Last May we did the Walney to Wear and used the company Pedal-Power. But they are situated too far north to make it economical. Can anybody recommend a (taxi) company that can take us from Hull to Morecambe. I don't want to use public transport. I have done so for many years, but the last three times the journey from Newcastle to Carlisle was spoiled by drunken youths, crowded trains,railroadworks etc.

[PH]

You could try the York based company recommended by Colin in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=106390&p=1016995&hilit=minibus#p1016995

I'm not sure it'd be economically viable for four passengers, but worth a try.

[PH]

Or, try this Hull based taxi company that seems to have a range of vehicles.
http://618taxishull.co.uk/

[gxaustin]

Maybe you could hire vans on a one way hire basis? Two friends hired a smallish VW van from Birmingham to Truro and rode to Penzance to start LeJoG. It was cheaper and more convenient than train. You can get one van for 3 passengers but 4 could be a problem, ergo get a quote to hire 2 small vans?

[JohnW]

Taxi will cost you as fortune.

Trans-Pennine Express trains are hourly from Hull to Leeds - you could ride Hull to Selby and then also have the option of local (Northern Rail) trains to Leeds.


Northern Rail run trains from Leeds to Morecambe - these are not regular, but the old trains they use at the moment are not bad for bike space. Northern say they only take two bikes per train, but in fact guards use discretion and I've known six bikes on some trains. Your whole ride isn't far - I often ride Halifax (Halifax is quite near to Leeds) to Morecambe and back in a day - not very hilly. The mid-section of the Way of the Roses is the hilly bit.

[keyboardmonkey]

Trans-Pennine Express trains are hourly from Hull to Leeds - you could ride Hull to Selby and then also have the option of local (Northern Rail) trains to Leeds... Northern say they only take two bikes per train, but in fact guards use discretion and I've known six bikes on some trains.

Personally, I don't think you can plan a holiday based on the whim of whichever guard happens to be working that day.

Your whole ride isn't far - I often ride Halifax (Halifax is quite near to Leeds) to Morecambe and back in a day - not very hilly.

What has this got to do with getting to Morecambe from the ferry terminal in Hull? We don't know how many days the OP has allowed for the trip, what bikes the group will be riding and what they plan to do during the time of their holiday.

The mid-section of the Way of the Roses is the hilly bit.

That's not how I remember it (image wayoftheroses.co.uk)

Taxi will cost you as fortune.

Not really. Three of us were driven from (near) Hull to Morecambe for the Way of the Roses last summer. We looked at all the options (getting separated by distance and time from each other when we couldn't all get on the same train; having to underwrite the potential cost of an accident and dropping off the hired self-drive minibus etc. etc.) In the end the easiest, most convenient, and by far the most straightforward was to pay for someone to pick us up from the same point in East Yorkshire and drop us off right outside the Travelodge in Morecambe (where we were able to take our bikes up in the lift and stash in our room - not recommended for a tandem, by the way). I don't recall there being any real difference in the price of being driven there and the self-hire option. It may even have been cheaper.

I have asked one of my ride buddies for details of the driver that took us. However, he has retired since we used him. I don't want to get in to scouting about for taxi firms on behalf of the OP, but if I were to do this again in a group of three or four of us I would use the same option.

The Way of the Roses is a great ride, by the way.

[JohnW]

OK - fine - shutting cakehole now...............................just that I live up here and know the way and know what I'd do.

[mjr]

http://www.wayoftheroses.co.uk/return-transfer.php found by searching for "way of the roses" transfer. There may be others. It's more expensive than a group train ticket but I guess it offers a higher probability of convenience.

[thirdcrank]

That's a hole-in-one

£220 for that level of convenience looks pretty good to me. It's a sad reflection of the state of the railways that cyclists find benefit in resorting to something like this, but there you are.

[mjr]

£220 for that level of convenience looks pretty good to me.

I suspect it may be slightly more expensive for Hull-Morecambe because they're based at the "wrong" end in Bridlington, so not quite a hole-in-one.

[thirdcrank]

It's always good to get feedback from anybody who uses something so we have the knowledge to help if the question comes up again. My reading of your link is that it's the same fare either way. That doesn't surprise me as the vehicle will be driven both ways, empty one way unless the service is sufficiently busy to get riders wanting to go both ways on the same day.

I'm pleased that you found the link and if the OP uses the service, they may be able to explain to the operator why they didn't find it so the publicity can take it into account. In one sense, it's a pity that there's a demand for this sort of service, but there is and the more business it attracts, the more likely it is to be available for the next group needing it.

[keyboardmonkey]

...I'm pleased that you found the link and if the OP uses the service, they may be able to explain to the operator why they didn't find it so the publicity can take it into account...

We don't know that the OP couldn't find someone who could take them to Morecambe. The OP asked if anyone on this forum could recommend a taxi company. There is a difference.

On the subject of transfer to either coast on the Way of the Roses I think it's worth pointing out the difference between these two web sites:

wayoftheroses.info

and

wayoftheroses.co.uk

The former was developed by those who sought permission, support and cooperation from the "various local authorities, Lancaster City Council, Cyclists' Touring Club, Bridlington Renaissance Partnership and Welcome to Yorkshire amongst others" (Wikipedia) whilst working with Sustrans. The latter web site is a commercial operation developed by those that did none of the above.

Transfer information on the official web site of the Way of the Roses:

http://wayoftheroses.info/route/bike_tr ... e_transfer

[mjr]

But for transfers, the info site just points at a commercial operation, but one that is too lame to have a website that's easy to access from all devices

[JohnW]

Trans-Pennine Express trains are hourly from Hull to Leeds - you could ride Hull to Selby and then also have the option of local (Northern Rail) trains to Leeds... Northern say they only take two bikes per train, but in fact guards use discretion and I've known six bikes on some trains.

Personally, I don't think you can plan a holiday based on the whim of whichever guard happens to be working that day.

Your whole ride isn't far - I often ride Halifax (Halifax is quite near to Leeds) to Morecambe and back in a day - not very hilly.

What has this got to do with getting to Morecambe from the ferry terminal in Hull? We don't know how many days the OP has allowed for the trip, what bikes the group will be riding and what they plan to do during the time of their holiday.

The mid-section of the Way of the Roses is the hilly bit.

That's not how I remember it (image wayoftheroses.co.uk)

way-of-the-roses-route-profile.jpg

Taxi will cost you as fortune.

Not really. Three of us were driven from (near) Hull to Morecambe for the Way of the Roses last summer. We looked at all the options (getting separated by distance and time from each other when we couldn't all get on the same train; having to underwrite the potential cost of an accident and dropping off the hired self-drive minibus etc. etc.) In the end the easiest, most convenient, and by far the most straightforward was to pay for someone to pick us up from the same point in East Yorkshire and drop us off right outside the Travelodge in Morecambe (where we were able to take our bikes up in the lift and stash in our room - not recommended for a tandem, by the way). I don't recall there being any real difference in the price of being driven there and the self-hire option. It may even have been cheaper.

I have asked one of my ride buddies for details of the driver that took us. However, he has retired since we used him. I don't want to get in to scouting about for taxi firms on behalf of the OP, but if I were to do this again in a group of three or four of us I would use the same option.

The Way of the Roses is a great ride, by the way.

I was interested in your post, but at the time, didn't have time to think about it. What you say is right of course. In my mind, I think of the route as divided into three sections - starting from the west (and a section that I ride often) I think of the first section as being Coast to Settle - which feels easier than it looks from your profile. I see the mid-section as being from Settle to, er, probably just after Glasshouses and rolling down into Ripon. The last section I see as from Ripon to the coast - there's a few lumps after Pocklington (I call it the Wolds), but then easy riding to the coast and easily a day ride. True that doesn't divide into three equal distances, and true that from a mileage point of view, my "mid-section" isn't mid-section at all - in fact for me, to get either section into a day ride I'd be doing Settle to York as a mid section.................but in truth that was before the route became an 'official' one.

You're right about it being a great ride - so many different characters - my favourite by a long way is my 'mid-section' - but low gears are de rigeur!

Coming back to costings, and the 'taxi' service mentioned above - the last time I went by rail from Halifax to Hull, it cost me £18.50p return, with the £33% senior railcard discount. Day returns are not much more than singles fares, so a single from Hull to Morecambe, taking into account that two rail companies would be involved, could very well be £25 - £30 (or maybe more!!!), for four people that could total £100 - £120 (or again, maybe more), so again you're right - the convenience would only be costing about £100 if that.

Final comment - the time of year to do the ride is about now, when the berries on the ash trees are red, and the leaves are beginning to turn gold, and the leaves on all the trees are such a variety of colour from their green to gold to orange to red....................that's my Monday ride planned.

[thirdcrank]

... We don't know that the OP couldn't find someone who could take them to Morecambe. The OP asked if anyone on this forum could recommend a taxi company. There is a difference. ...

True, of course, but should we apply best exam technique - read the question properly then answer the question not something else - to a query like this? As it is, nobody has posted with a recommendation for a suitable taxi company. Would it have been better if the thread had slipped away unanswered? My own feeling is that at the very least, attempts to be helpful are more welcoming than radio silence, especially to a forum newcomer and by keeping the thread up the agenda for a few days may make it more likely to be seen by somebody with the correct answer. Also, others looking for info in future may find something of interest.