My favourite ride
RIDE readers Alex and Sue Minors show off their favourite route — a hop over Hartside, from Kendal to Alston
A run over Hartside Pass
ALEX AND SUE Minors live near Mansfield but they’ve got an ongoing love affair with this bit of the world, to the point they got married in Langley Castle, just up the road. We’re not meeting in a castle though — the café at Sainsbury’s in Kendal will have to do. It’s a natural starting point, on the A6 out of Kendal towards Shap. Alex has been riding for 11 years, while Sue started out riding pillion with him but quickly got the bug, and a licence of her own. “She’s the quicker of the two of us now,” says Alex. You’d certainly never guess she’s only been riding for four years — she’s quick, smooth and confident. A lot of their riding is with like-minded friends called the Chip Club: “Nothing formal,” says Sue, “Just a group of friends with nothing else in common but a passion for bikes, cake and chips. We were brought together by our good friend Rich, who sadly passed away last year.”
The ride
No need for sat nav or route notes here — A6 to Penrith, A686 to Alston, and that’s it. It’s a simple route, and that’s how Alex likes it: “I design routes for ride-outs for our group, and we don’t want to lose people or make it complicated, so I like routes where I can just wave people past, and they can go at their own pace, knowing that they just have to follow the road.” Sue laughs: “Just as well, the rest of us can’t find our way out of a paper bag!” They’ll be all right here — the only place you can get lost is rounding Penrith
— and even then, all you need to spot is a sign for Alston, and you’re sorted. Alex and Sue are connected by a bike-to-bike intercom system, which also helps avoid navigational errors.
The A6 from Kendal to Penrith is fast, sweeping, and Alex’s favourite part of the ride. “I like the momentum of it, it really flows.” You need to keep an eye out for the various quarry and farm entrances though — partly for trucks and tractors emerging from gateways and misjudging your approach speed, and partly because there’s a lot of slippery dust and mud spread about. From Penrith to the girder bridge at Melmerby is still quick but more rolling, more trees and walls crowding in on the road. Then from Melmerby up over Hartside pass you climb up out of the village onto rugged moorland — open, exposed, tight and twisty, with stunning views in every direction.
There are lots of cyclists out on this sunny October Tuesday, labouring up the hills and zooming down, so we have to give them space. The bigger hazard though, is thrill-seeking sportscar drivers using more of the road than they should. The odd numpty biker too, taking far too many risks for such a challenging and popular road. Apart from that it’s the usual hazards, says Sue: “You need to watch for gravel washed down onto the road, and sheep where they shouldn’t be. The wind can catch people out too. It’s still my favourite part of the route though, for the corners and the views — all the way up, and then down into Alston, it just keeps giving.” That’s assuming you can actually see anything. We’ve been lucky with the weather today but again you need to prepare for the worst. “We’ve been up here when you can’t even see the valley from the top of Hartside,” says Alex.
The burnt-out shell of Hartside Café looms over us as we stop for photos and a chat at the top of the pass. No warming cuppa though, sadly — the temporary mobile tea van is only there at weekends. It’s a real shame the café’s been left derelict so long, although we understand it’s now been bought by a developer and there are plans for a new biker-friendly café in the near future. In the meantime though, the nearest brew is down in Alston, so off we go. The surface near the top is perfect, newly laid tarmac, but that quickly deteriorates further down, and you need to pick your line to avoid potholes and old repair patches. In Alston itself, the steep cobbled streets can be treacherous in the wet, but today there’s no problem. We stop for fuel on the way into the town, pitching up next to a 1949
‘It’s my favourite part of the route — for corners and views’
Crossley single decker coach, lovingly restored and run for outings by local firm Wright Bros. Coaches. Another good reason to take it easy on all those blind corners round here — wouldn’t want to end up embedded in that big radiator grille...
Sue: “You could easily spend a few days exploring up here, along with things like Hadrian’s Wall, the Roman fort at Vindolanda and Kielder Forest isn’t far away either. Roads like these make you just want to ride all day!” They do indeed. This is just part of the couple’s route for today — they came to Kendal via Ripon and Hawes and they’re continuing on via Hexham before cutting back down towards home. My road lies back over Hartside and into Cheshire, but when I get to Melmerby, I can’t resist turning round and tackling Hartside again. Twice...