CATTERICK village has always been my traditional doorway to Wensleydale. For the last couple of years, however, life in Catterick has been disrupted by works involved in upgrading the A1. Work is now complete; it was time to revisit some old haunts.
IT was mid-summer and I was looking forward to coverage of the Tour de France starting on TV. Apart from the racing, I enjoy the aerial shots of various French chateaux. I resolved to create my own Grand Depart, from a suitably picturesque location.
FOR my September 2017 article, I set out from Northallerton to visit this pub in Maunby, about five miles north west of Thirsk. I was unlucky on that occasion to have chosen what turned out to be the very day before their new chef started, and the kitchen was unavoidably closed.
THE school holidays are upon us, and for my theme today I’ve prepared a route on which you should encounter little traffic. So if you are the parent of teenage children you might like to try this one as a family activity. The lunch stop comes early on and makes for an unhurried departure from home. The quietest part of the route comes after lunch; to be tackled in a relaxed manner, on foot in places.
THE Beast from the East did its best to curtail my cycling activities in March, and I didn’t manage to travel to ride a preview of one of the Tour de Yorkshire stages, as originally intended. See the official website for the route of the race which runs from May 3-6. I’ll come back to that for next month’s issue.
HERE’S a ride for a spring weekend break. Not too many miles and an overnight in a nice pub with good food and real ale. Best shared with a friend or two. Start by meeting up at Cycle Heaven bike shop in York. Their on-site cafe does a mean bacon sandwich.
FOR this winter ride I’m based in Monyash, just west of Bakewell in the Peak District. Daylight hours are short and distances are modest to suit. In the last issue, we explored the Tissington Trail, south through Tissington to Thorpe, near Ashbourne. That was once a passenger line from Ashbourne, up to Buxton and beyond.
RESIDENTS of York and the surrounding area will be familiar with the River Ouse which slices the city into two halves and occasionally causes problems by flooding. It’s a pretty big river, yes?
