Category: UK

A short day in miles, a long – good – day of peaks. 1000m of ascent in the first 30 miles, one of the hottest days we’ve had, made it memorable.

We were in three counties today. Leaving Cheshire we entered the Peak District in Staffordshire and ended in Derbyshire. Starting in leafy lanes and manicured hedgerows it subtly changed into more ‘worked’ farm landscapes. Then rolling peaks.

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Popular with road cyclists too: the Rapha gear was noticeably more common at the start. As well as clothing the social skills were mixed. Some waved or greeted (perhaps noticing we were greetin’ going up some of the climbs); the others focused on the purity of the pursuit of speed and looking good. Like me.

I remember Wildbourclough from Manchester days. Not very relevant as we only went nearby, just a fun memory of a pub (Crag?). Our lunch was in a fine hostelry near the top of the day. The Winking Man: the sign writer probably had to pay attention.

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The final assault upwards before the gentle decline of the Tissington Trail, was a murderous 21%. Shady though so that made all the difference.

Tissington Trail, rail to trail around 1964. Well used today: lovely to see such a variety of people walking and cycling. Ashbourne arrived at the end of the tunnel, also tbe start of the Pennine Cycle Trail. Barbara’s logged that….

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Here’s the route.

The levelling up agenda’s naivety is illustrated today. Starting from north of Blackburn, taking in Bolton and Leigh, we enter the Cheshire plain and finish in Alderley Edge. Here a house seems to cost more than a street or two 50 miles north. The people aren’t better though, sheltering behind their gated drives.

A “bumpy” morning got the hills out of the way and offered great views of the plains below. On the horizon is the high rise of Manchester. Long gone are the tall chimneys that once would have marked out the mills.

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Belmont had an interesting modern interpretation of housing: the design mirrored the factory that had burned down where they now stand. The former Belmont bleaching and dyeing yard provides the employment, overseen by the happy pigs on the hillside.

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Lunch in a park which was part of the Howe Bridge colliery, built as a model village by the coal owners. The park is well tendered, the model village is not distinct. What is are the rows of back to back terraces which now become more common. And impressive civic buildings.

As we cycle south we cross some of the east west arteries: M62 M56, East lancs road, Transpennine trail and trail, Manchester Ship canal, etc. We skirt Manchester’s busier roads to take the quieter Cheshire ones. Today Cheshire is wearing its golden crop look, though the variety of Spring greens have taken on their homogenous summer standard green.

Here’s our happy meander.

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Temperature is rising. So ideal day to be crossing the Forest of Bowland and the Ribble Valley.

This gave us time to wind down after rescuing our bikes from under the pile of laundry bags which some halfwit had deemed was a good thing to do. A lovely place and excellent food, customer focus for parts bordered on Ryan Air standards. We don’t do breakfasts until 8:30 when the chef arrives (predictably everyone arrived at 8:30). We don’t give itemised bills. We don’t….. Anyway overall quality excellent just horse shit value.

We met another customer focussed person in a later tea shop. “Are you taking away or sitting down. Latter includes on the outside benches. Do I care, do I know? I just want tea. Well if you sit down I need to charge you VAT. He saved money by waving the same tea bag at both (takeaway)cups. The bonus was reading the parish notices in Cowan Bridge: I really like the mosaic showing the wild flowers of the parish.

This was our first main encounter with a busy A road, 5 miles on the A65. Not bad for almost 550 miles so far. We soon left the noise behind. To be replaced by our breathing after High Bentham on the Slaidburn Road. It just goes up, affording great views on such a clear day.

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Slaidburn. We’d gone on this road in the opposite direction in 2000. The Hark to Bounty pub is still there, hanging on. That could be a reference to the old county court which remains on the first floor. A couple of Americans chat to us, with their Yorkshire guides, happy to see touring bikes. What possessed me to share with them the old saying “you can tell someone from Yorkshire but you can’t tell them a lot” I’m not quite sure. Anyway 2 of the 4 appreciated it.

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Dunsop Bridge has a bridge, a wee working men’s club, a milestone which had Barbara doing cartwheels. And it is 6km south of another Centre of Britain. Close enough.

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Another (working) viaduct welcomes us to Whalley and Langho. Lovely day fun route

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Today we followed loosely NCN68, avoiding the worst excesses of the Sustrans fixation with making it hard and gravelly for some puritanical pursuit of road free. We started on the line of the defunct Haltwhistle to Alston branch railway. Built for the transport of the mineral riches hereabouts: coal, limestone and lead. Lead (and silver) was first mined here by the Romans – or rather their slaves.

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A lovely gradient and route was appreciated as we concentrated on keeping upright and opening the various gates. A common sight today was stunning Victorian viaducts. The rail may have gone, the wonder remains.

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The gradient steepened a tad for 5 miles after Alston, heading towards Hartside Summit. A wonderful sweeping descent: the scenery changed from the bleak Alston Moor to a fertile plain then the Lakes. The temperature increased noticeably.

Barbara enjoyed a day of high quality milestones. B.B. 5 3/4 read one. Where is B.B.?

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We end in Sedbergh. Granted a charter in 1251, and the school opened in 16c. A shame a lot of the shops don’t open before 10am.

Today’s tune was a medley from The Four and Only Seekers as it’s stuck in my head. Today’s route is here.