Enjoying cycling in Yorkshire: More than Harrogate

The United Kingdom as a cycling destination. Many people think of rain, rain and more rain. Not entirely without reason, by the way, since the 2019 World Championships in Harrogate were largely rained out. That was anything but a sunny picture compared to, for example, Emilia-Romagna in 2020. But if you look back just a little further, you will also remember the 2014 Tour start: sunny, beautiful trails, bike-crazy local people. Who wouldn’t want to cycle in Yorkshire? It really is a cycling destination to add to your list. We’ll take you to the Yorkshire Dales, where the 2014 Tour stage was also raced and where the Tour de Yorkshire will once again pass through this year.

Great World Heritage

The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a huge expanse of land northeast of Leeds. The lower boundary is roughly along the River Wharfe, which springs in the park and flows out into the River Ouse about 97km away. The park is 1760km2 in size and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List for decades. The park is truly stunning and with its good roads it is perfect for a nice ride on a race bike.

Even gravel enthusiasts will be in their element here, because the rugged hills offer plenty of off-road fun to make a complete bikepacking trip out of it, or to use it as a base camp for example in (a hotel in) Hawes or Bainbridge. The latter is preferred because of the Yorkshire Dales Brewery. Local, so definitely a must-try.

Natural (and unnatural) beauty

The park has a beautiful landscape with magnificent sections of limestone (Winskill Stones, for example), waterfalls (Cotter Force, West Burton Falls, etc.) and, for example, Leck Fell, a particularly remarkable feature in the region. It is a considerable list of natural beauty.

Along the roads you’ll find the typical British stone walls, and combined with the green hills, it’s definitely an idyllic environment to cycle through.

In addition to the natural beauty, you will also find a number of castles (or what remains of them) such as Skipton and Pendragon Castle. Furthermore, (large parts of) the Wensleydale railway is beautiful to see.

Just a reminder: the park is beautiful in terms of nature, but you will always have to deal with wind in the plains. That’s the way it is.

Now on the bike

Butter tubs

As mentioned, the park is very versatile and initially seems designed primarily for the off-road cyclist. You can find plenty of route inspiration on the website of Cycle the Dales. It's not necessarily very clear, but that way you get a better sense of where you should be in the park. Also on the site of Komoot There are several collections to be found. Check out the micro Adventure from Harrogate, for example. This route goes through the Buttertubs Pass, and that is no easy feat. The sign ‘watch out, 25%’ is not for nothing. It is not for nothing that it is described by insiders as a ‘brutal climb’.

This tough climber was part of the 2014 Tour de France and was then nicknamed ‘Cote de Buttertubs’. Of course it could be done that way. The climb would also be part of the 2019 World Championships course as a prelude to the local rounds in Harrogate. However, that again caused problems.

Kidstone passes

Another beautiful hill is that of Kidstones. This The Ardennes-like this climb was also featured in the 2014 Tour de France. Here you are presented with about 130 meters of elevation gain in 1.6 kilometers. Not serious would you say. However, the climb is very irregular and so it will definitely hurt, even though it is only very short. The views over the typical Yorkshire Dales landscape are definitely worth writing home about.

You can attack this hill from two sides; from the north you come from Aysgarth. From the south you mostly follow the route from the 2014 stage. For example, you start in the village of Grassington (where you can also visit the Linton Falls waterfalls) and then drive northwards with a long uphill stretch.

Yorkshire Dales Cycleway

One of the most beautiful routes to drive (either all at once or in several stages) is the Yorkshire Dales Cycleway. This 209-kilometer route takes you past many highlights in the national park. The route takes you past, among other things, Bolton Castle and Bolton Abbey, Kilnsey Crag (a large overhang of limestone, a well-known spot in the park), but also the Ribblehead viaduct. One of the most beautiful stretches of the park.

Moor to explore

In addition to the above highlights, the park is so diverse. We could easily spend days here. Grinton Moor is a beautiful hill to climb. This climb is about 3 kilometers long and on average takes about 7% hours to complete. But there is also a route from the hotspot of Hawes that shows just how much love for the park is present. In 76 kilometers you cover 1200 meters of elevation gain and to top it off: this route is shaped like a heart. On this route you take the northern side of Kidstones.

Want to know more?

If you want to enjoy cycling in Yorkshire and discover this area, there is a lot of information available online. But if you really want to go local, you could choose to be guided by Cold Dark North. Check the website and you’ll instantly fall in love with the ‘cold north’ of England.