Yorkshire Dales Cycle Way

[wynn]

Anyone done the Yorks Dales Cycle Way? Thinking of doing it in a month or so - would be grateful for any advice re duration of the ride, campsites, how extreme are the hills. Thanks, Wynn

[rapidfire72]

I've not done the YDCW as yet, but done a fair bit of it over the years. I maybe doing it in October and have the maps. I reckon, a fit cyclist could this in 3/4 days, maybe less. The Yorkshire Dales is very hilly in places and good brakes in wet weather is a must, especially if camping. There are few campsites dotted along the way, try Kettlewell, Appletreewick, Malham, Ingleton, Dentdale, Hawes, Muker and Reeth.

I would extend the route to Tan Hill via the Mallerstang, making it an ideal 6 day ride.

I've plotted the route on mm inc. Tan Hill extension, making it 207 miles as from home. The total ascent is a whopping 19,800'

[geocycle]

It's good, some great scenery, steep hills and long dales. See here viewtopic.php?f=16&t=64580&p=552778&hilit=Yorkshire+dales+cycle+way#p552778

And here

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=50236&p=435759&hilit=Yorkshire+dales+cycle+way#p435759

[uppadine]

yes - I did it in 2011, and wrote this (second link above). It was fantastic, even better in hindsight! Here it is:-

Since I can't find a single write-up about this route elsewhere, this seems as good a place as any. I rode the entire route on Wednesday-Thursday this week, with the exception of the hop over to Swaledale from Hawes (about a 10 mile net loss). It's a marvellous journey. I broke my ride with a stay in Dent at the really excellent George & Dragon (very bike and cyclist friendly, good stay). I used the Sustrans map, no great need for an OS backup.
I was slightly ambitious in thinking I could do the whole route over two days, lightly laden with two panniers, for there are not only some steep climbs but a large number of short, stiff ones too. My first day (Skipton - Appletreewick - Malham - Settle - Ingleton - Dent) was troubled with some heavy showers but anything more, such as a headwind would have meant an even longer time than my 8.5 hours for this 60 miles. This is serious riding, with quite a lot of routefinding in the early stages, although most turns are signed with the helpful blue sheep roadsign. The two big climbs, out of Malham and Ingleton, are time-consuming, and very slow, especially if laden. There's also a steep initial climb out of Skipton over toward Barden Tower, which is a bit daunting and surprising as an early test, but a glorious sweep down the other side had me touching the brakes at 40 mph. So many pretty and quiet villages follow. I lunched in Malham in a downpour which miraculously stopped to allow escape, and Malham Tarn looked serene just before another shower arrived. Memories abound, and there are many from both days which will stay with me forever.
Be careful of the sheep, which tend to walk out in front of you; dead rabbits lie on the road by the thousand; and it would be useful to be aware that overtaking vehicles are often towing trailers or horseboxes - just as you think 'it's passed me', there's an extra rattling wagon close by (and these are often tight lanes - but the route is beautifully designed to avoid most traffic).
Day 1 ended by the ascent of Kingsdale from Ingleton, on which I must confess to stopping half way up (first time in years), but no car passed me in 9 miles so only the sheep were witnesses. The descent into Dentdale is breathtaking, though my Tektro cantis weren't up to the job and I walked down some steep sections (gates round corners surprise you too).
Day 2 started with a meandering saunter up past Cowgill to the viaduct and a short but steep climb over to the Hawes-Ingleton road. The moors are wide open, and a long descent to Hawes was a reward. I realised I just couldn't fit in (or face) the extra climb over to Swaledale, travel a few miles down the valley and then climb back again (two extra climbs of maybe 1200 feet in all), so I travelled on through the relatively flat Wensleydale scenery to Askrigg, Redmire (the incongruous Castle Bolton seems peculiarly out of place here), to Wensley, where the route was rejoined. A stiff and rather grinding steep hill takes you up into the undulating (but mostly uphill) stretch of Coverdale, which is a glorious and so very quiet valley. In Horsehouse, the smallest of hamlets (maybe 10 buildings?) with a tiny pub, I met my village postman from Huddersfield coming out as I went in to buy a bowl of soup. The rest of this valley was my weakest point - a long and tough pull up for several miles with a stiff headwind which meant that even on the level I couldn't get above 4 mph. Have to confess to walking some of the last half mile. The descent down Park Rash into Kettlewell is extremely steep, with two very tight hairpins and pretty dicey if your brakes are not the best, so I again walked down there; no wonder it gets a rating of 9/10 in the Greatest Hill Climbs book. No cafe open in Kettlewell (the one they had has apparently closed) so I battled on, now with pleasure, to Grassington along the valley floor. A piece of treacle tart in the sun fortified me, and I carried on down to Hebden, Appletreewick (nodding in the direction where my grandfather John Kilburn's ashes were scattered in the Wharfe about 40 years ago) then Bolton Abbey; and at that point the right turn (no route sign, nb) leads up to one of the nicest stretches of all, a short open road over grassland; with the teatime sun out I felt happy. Faster average speed of 11 mph today, 69 miles.
I parked in the long-stay carpark in Skipton, in Cavendish St, and it costs £13. Any questions, just ask. It's a tough but glorious ride, and if you're laden, take at least 3 days (if you're fit), or longer if you can. I'd suggest staying in Dent, then maybe somewhere in lower Wensleydale, to split the route roughly into 60-40-40 miles, and enjoy a bit more leisure along the way. I saw very few cyclists, and interestingly, no-one at all I could see doing the same route, which is a surprise, because it really deserves to be enjoyed. Simon

[wynn]

Thanks all - very helpful indeed. I'll let you know how I get on.

[hgtevelo]

Uploading is right, it is a tough route, but not too bad, 130 miles in total and yes there are some tough climbs with panniers on Tec, but all ok if you take your time. A lovely route with great views. Doing it over 2 days this week, weather not looking two bad......I hope

[salsafargo]

when are you thinking of going,im off up there this weekend

[hgtevelo]

I am doing it Wed and Thursday of this week. Pity I could have done with some company

[thirdcrank]

There is a book about this route which is now out-of-print and probably a bit long in the tooth over things like accommodation. It does describe the actual route details pretty well, although I'm convinced that climbs like Park Rash have been made much steeper over the years I have a copy somewhere.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yorkshire-Dales ... s+cycleway

[hgtevelo]

There is no doubt park rash is very tough! Thankfully I will be going down it it will be a bit dodgy on that last hair pin with me planner on though!

[thirdcrank]

There are different ways of looking at something like this. Approach from the Kettlewell end and it's a series of sharp climbs, with an extended downhill on the other side. In the other direction, it's more of a prolonged drag but having invested all that effort putting sored energy in the bank, it can't really be enjoyed in a relaxed freewheel because the energy is dissipated through the brakes. Anybody unfamiliar with this road should be aware that the final bit of the signed 1:4 goes right into Kettlewell village.

Incidentally, anybody doing it this week has just missed the Scraecrows:

http://www.kettlewellscarecrowfestival.co.uk/

[salsafargo]

i did this route last year coming down park rash was ok but i got disk brakes on my tourer,this year ill do the route in reverse

[hgtevelo]

Well that's the trip done, fantastic trip, but pretty tough, agree with uploading, even better looking back. Some fantastic views, Malham, Coverdale and so on, some hard climbs when you've got a planner loaded and done over 2 days yes it's tougher, and you do need to be fit to do it

[Pendodave]

Thought I'd dust this one off, as there's some good info in it, which would be nice to keep together.
I'm just back from doing a slightly new version of this - the extended YDC :

https://cyclethedales.org.uk/route/the_ ... _cycleway/

It loses the bit from Dent to Hawes, over Buttertubs and along Swaledale to Reeth.
It replaces that with a much extended Northern loop from Dent, around the Cowgills to Kirkby Stephen, up to Tan Hill and then back down Arkengarthdale to Reeth.

I actually missed out a chuck from Sedburgh to Clapham which goes up Dent dale and then down to Ingleton. Partly because of train connections, partly because I've cycled that bit before. It's really nice though, so I'd recommend it if you haven't.

The route I took was
day 1 : Train to Lancaster, train to Clapham. From there about 40 miles & 1000m climbing, to Bolton Abbey
day 2 : Bolton Abbey to Kirkby Stephen. About 60 miles, 2000m climbing
day 3: Kirby Stephen to Oxenholme. 35 miles, 750m climbing.

It's a really well chosen route imho. Lots of variety of scenery, most roads are quiet, there are only short bits of busier stuff, none of which were too bad. Loads of accomodation and food scattered about. Access by train from many points. It's got some decidedly taxing, but often short, climbs. Also some less taxing but long climbs! I chose to do the route in an anti-clockwise direction so that I could push (the shame) on a couple of the steep bits from Kettlewell. The subsequent descent into Coverdale is much longer and seemed worth it for 20 minutes of legwork that I would only have descended very slowly at best. I was pleased with my choice, although I'm not sure if an "official" way round is recommended.

The descriptions in the posts above still apply. I would add that the new Northern sections are excellent. The cycle up Arkengarthdale to Tan Hill is very pleasant (though I did have a bit of breeze behind). I also enjoyed the section across Asbey Moor from Kirkby Stephen to Orton. Great views across to the Howgills and Cross Fell in various directions.

Overall, definitely recommended. Particularly at this time of year when Scotland can get a bit wet and insect-ridden.

** edit - the week I did it (16th-18th Aug) was the Kettlewell scarecrow festival. Very odd!