Winter touring in North East - with children!

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
Lookrider
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Lookrider »

Here's the WW1 trenches
It's really a locals map so not a lot of detail....use it alongside the previous co ordinates supplied

I've not visited the trenches....been on the hit list for a while
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Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

Just in case anyone thinks that cycling through the firing ranges is like some landscape out of WW1 - far from it, here are some shots I took, just wonderful cycling and best done in the spring when the skylarks are at full voice

but remember it is a bombing and firing range :shock:
Image

Image

Image

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and pretty good tarmac too
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

We got to do a hill on a pennines mod firing range. Apparently they open it up once or twice a year to a very limited number of civilians by prior arrangement. One of our group took best part of 2 years negotiating with the army. They meet their match with her and put on an extra weekend! 😆!

Lovely to get up there because it was largely unspoilt without paths.
Jdsk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Jdsk »

Image

reminds me of



Jonathan
Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

oh aye - you have to watch out for the speeding lambs
Jdsk
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Jdsk »

: - )

... and the restrictions on their mothers:

Image

Jonathan
Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

Tangled Metal wrote: 23 Nov 2021, 6:31am We got to do a hill on a pennines mod firing range. Apparently they open it up once or twice a year to a very limited number of civilians by prior arrangement. One of our group took best part of 2 years negotiating with the army. They meet their match with her and put on an extra weekend! 😆!

Lovely to get up there because it was largely unspoilt without paths.
I think if you phone up and ask they just say NO. But the signage seems very clear, "Keep Out when Red Flags are flying" Of course this is not much help if yo are travelling along way. I would guess during the week its 25% its open with zero chance at weekends and holidays.

I'm yet to see any road damage from bombs, in fact the roads in the ranges seem less potholed than the surrounding area. May be the yanks use it a lot.
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Sweep
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Sweep »

Pebble wrote: 29 Nov 2021, 10:56am I would guess during the week its 25% its open with zero chance at weekends and holidays.
By this would I be correct in thinking that you mean at weekends and public holidays it is almost certainly open? To cyclists etc.
Sweep
Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

Sweep wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 6:40pm
Pebble wrote: 29 Nov 2021, 10:56am I would guess during the week its 25% its open with zero chance at weekends and holidays.
By this would I be correct in thinking that you mean at weekends and public holidays it is almost certainly open? To cyclists etc.
no, I mean the opposite. during the week there seems to be a chance they will be down, but weekends and holidays it always seems to be closed. Someone told me (so I have no idea if there is any truth in it) they need to give access to the farmers to tend to the sheep but purposefully close it at weekends to keep the tourists out. I really don't think they want you there at all. Its a great wildlife place, I remember riding through one beautiful summers evening and the noise of the Curlew, Lapwings and Snipe was just the best ever, I must have spent an hour just sat at the side of the road taking it all in.

i have been through many many times in the past (it forms a great 100 miler round the cheviots) but have not been through in the last couple of years so don't really know what the current situation is.
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Sweep
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Sweep »

Pebble wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 7:42pm
Sweep wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 6:40pm
Pebble wrote: 29 Nov 2021, 10:56am I would guess during the week its 25% its open with zero chance at weekends and holidays.
By this would I be correct in thinking that you mean at weekends and public holidays it is almost certainly open? To cyclists etc.
no, I mean the opposite. during the week there seems to be a chance they will be down, but weekends and holidays it always seems to be closed. Someone told me (so I have no idea if there is any truth in it) they need to give access to the farmers to tend to the sheep but purposefully close it at weekends to keep the tourists out. I really don't think they want you there at all. Its a great wildlife place, I remember riding through one beautiful summers evening and the noise of the Curlew, Lapwings and Snipe was just the best ever, I must have spent an hour just sat at the side of the road taking it all in.

i have been through many many times in the past (it forms a great 100 miler round the cheviots) but have not been through in the last couple of years so don't really know what the current situation is.
thanks for clarifying pebble - no wonder I misunderstood/was confused though - it is kind of counter-intuitive to say the least - I had assumed that the army wouldn't be firing stuff off at weekends and on holidays.
It does sound idyllic - thanks for your posts.

Access sounds so complicated though that with regard to my enquiry above about freecamping I think I'd be nervous about trying it for fear of what I might wake up to.
Sweep
Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

Sweep wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 7:47pm
Pebble wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 7:42pm
Sweep wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 6:40pm
By this would I be correct in thinking that you mean at weekends and public holidays it is almost certainly open? To cyclists etc.
no, I mean the opposite. during the week there seems to be a chance they will be down, but weekends and holidays it always seems to be closed. Someone told me (so I have no idea if there is any truth in it) they need to give access to the farmers to tend to the sheep but purposefully close it at weekends to keep the tourists out. I really don't think they want you there at all. Its a great wildlife place, I remember riding through one beautiful summers evening and the noise of the Curlew, Lapwings and Snipe was just the best ever, I must have spent an hour just sat at the side of the road taking it all in.

i have been through many many times in the past (it forms a great 100 miler round the cheviots) but have not been through in the last couple of years so don't really know what the current situation is.
thanks for clarifying pebble - no wonder I misunderstood/was confused though - it is kind of counter-intuitive to say the least - I had assumed that the army wouldn't be firing stuff off at weekends and on holidays.
It does sound idyllic - thanks for your posts.

Access sounds so complicated though that with regard to my enquiry above about freecamping I think I'd be nervous about trying it for fear of what I might wake up to.
They could be busy with the TA (terries) at weekends ? I have heard them firing at weekends (its just over 20 mile from where I live I we can sometimes here the distant rumble and even see the flashes at night)

I wouldn't camp on the ranges, you might wake up to some low flying jets on a bombing mission - LOL. But loads of places up in the Cheviots that you could wild camp, its not a popular tourist area so it can feel very much like a wilderness (much more so than the Scottish Highlands).

I have just been looking at some cycling maps and I see route 686 (coast to coast) goes through the ranges. Don't quite understand that unless they have taken part of the ranges out of the red flag area?
https://www.singletrails.com/route/918684/686/details
Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

Pebble wrote: 29 Nov 2021, 10:56am
Tangled Metal wrote: 23 Nov 2021, 6:31am We got to do a hill on a pennines mod firing range. Apparently they open it up once or twice a year to a very limited number of civilians by prior arrangement. One of our group took best part of 2 years negotiating with the army. They meet their match with her and put on an extra weekend! 😆!

Lovely to get up there because it was largely unspoilt without paths.
I think if you phone up and ask they just say NO. But the signage seems very clear, "Keep Out when Red Flags are flying" Of course this is not much help if yo are travelling along way. I would guess during the week its 25% its open with zero chance at weekends and holidays.

I'm yet to see any road damage from bombs, in fact the roads in the ranges seem less potholed than the surrounding area. May be the yanks use it a lot.
The one we went to simply doesn't allow access red flags or not accept under pre arranged permission.mThey have contact to request access and that's limited to a small number every year. Our group was close to filling this number. Which was probably why it took a year or two FYI get us access. That access was from defined starting points and we had areas we were allowed in defined. Corridors to this hill list summit we wanted to get to.
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Paulatic
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Paulatic »

Tangled Metal wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 10:41pm [

The one we went to simply doesn't allow access red flags or not accept under pre arranged permission.mThey have contact to request access and that's limited to a small number every year. Our group was close to filling this number. Which was probably why it took a year or two FYI get us access. That access was from defined starting points and we had areas we were allowed in defined. Corridors to this hill list summit we wanted to get to.
Are you thinking of Mickle Fell, Warcop?
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Tangled Metal
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Tangled Metal »

Can't remember now but it does sound familiar.
Pebble
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Re: Winter touring in North East - with children!

Post by Pebble »

Paulatic wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 8:29am
Tangled Metal wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 10:41pm [

The one we went to simply doesn't allow access red flags or not accept under pre arranged permission.mThey have contact to request access and that's limited to a small number every year. Our group was close to filling this number. Which was probably why it took a year or two FYI get us access. That access was from defined starting points and we had areas we were allowed in defined. Corridors to this hill list summit we wanted to get to.
Are you thinking of Mickle Fell, Warcop?
That would be a County Top, a Marilyn and and English Corbett !

As an ex Bagger myself (scotland) I could quite imagine the imposition of not being allowed to go to the top - I wonder if people break into the range during the dead of night just to get that all important tick
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