Around 20 riders joined us for the customarily "village" organisation of an 80km ride in the pre-winter sunshine of the Forest of Bowland on an impromptu Friday off. It was glorious. The Forest is always glorious but it just cuts differently when it's bathed in warm sunlight from start to finish. Here are some details of the route we rode and the photos we took of a beautiful ride:
The Plan was pretty simple - meet at the Apple Store above Scorton for an 8.30 roll out - the forecast was bracingly cold but (mercifully given a week of persistent rain) dry. The only downside was the promise of a very strong and gusty Northerly wind - meaning several of the bigger climbs on the day's route would be directly into that headwind!
We gathered in the car park of the Caf (free parking!), a rag-tag group of around 20 with plenty of faces new and old. Given the quiet largely traffic free lanes that we would be rolling through from the start, we set off together, with a natural split planned for further up the road.
A Meeting with Jeffrey
This route heads South and East over the corner of Beacon Fell for some early views of the stabby landscape to follow and from there heads further East toward the first big test of the day... a favourite with the locals... Jeffrey Hill
Waddy and Beyond
From the happy regather at the summit of Jeffery we headed North to descend the equally well loved local climb of Birdy Brow - definitely easier heading down hill here! Our route went through Waddington and onto the long straight and fiercely windy ascent of Waddington Fell. It's not as steep as Jeffrey (or others to follow later) but the gradient is pretty unrelenting and the headwind meant it was definitely one to tackle together!
After conquering the mighty Waddy Fell we descended Newton Fell and hung a hard left onto the back side of Cow Ark. A secluded but steep set of rolling hills through this tiny Bowland settlement in the woods. Despite now picking up the tail wind, these little stabs really stung on our way to the promise of a caf stop in nearby Dunsop Bridge.
"So the Trough is in the Forest?"
After a refuel at the superb Puddleducks Caf in the center of the World (well, the UK at least, apparently) we gathered our remaining efforts and headed out of Dunsop Bridge through the stunning Trough of Bowland and the back of Abbeystead to Marshaw and home via the Scorton World Championships and an optional DANGER FORD!
The beauty of starting/finishing at an excellent caf is that you can finish at an excellent caf - so we hunkered down for tea and cake at The Apple Store and regaled ourselves with the delightful knowledge that there would be no more of that headwind for today.
A splendid Little Day Off - helped by a top draw day's weather and the perfect start to pre-winter. Wrap up warm folks, it's suddenly a little chilly out there!
Here's the route for anyone that fancies giving it a go - thoroughly recommended fare, this.
#bowland #forestofbowland #jeffreyhill #troughofbowland #waddingtonfell #newtonfell #cowark #whitewell #dunsopbridge #locafknowledge #stabbybastardhills #upyoursindoors
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