Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Yorkshire

Distance 59km (36.6 miles) Climbing 1,240m (4,068ft) Time 3hrs 30mins to 5hrs

Route summary A big, remote ride with fantastic scenery and classic moorland riding as it loops around Langstrothdale Chase, with some good cafes and pubs along the route

Start/Finish Gray Bridge car park in Horton-in-Ribblesdale (grid ref SD 808/726, postcode BD24 0HG) 1

Turn left out of the car park. Go over the first bridge, then right just before the bridge over the River Ribble, by the Crown Hotel. Follow this minor road for over 3km, to High Birkwith, where it turns into a stone track. Continue uphill, to a gate.

2

Go through the gate and turn left. Follow this track past some caves and over a stream. Continue uphill to a T-junction. Turn right and keep on climbing, to where the track becomes a minor road. Continue onto another road and follow this ahead/left.

3

After 600m bear right onto a byway, before the road drops, following a stone wall. Keep ahead for 2.5km. Where the path becomes a straight track, look for a bridleway sign on the right. Join this for a technical descent.

4

Turn right on the road at the bottom, descend to the junction and turn right, then immediately right again to Marsett village. Cross the stream and go left by the telephone box on an unmarked track. Go through three fords and then climb to Stalling Busk village. 5

Join the steep uphill road out of the village, but take the obvious byway on the right after only a few hundred metres. Follow this, keeping ahead, for 7.5km, across Stake Moss. Descend to a road. Turn right on the tarmac and head downhill. After a sharp right-hand bend, turn left onto the bridleway to Buckden, with a rocky descent to the village.

6

Go right on the road, signed ‘Hubberholme’, and follow it along the length of the valley for 7km, to Beckermonds. When it turns sharp right, keep ahead/left on a minor road into the forest.

7

After High Green Field Farm, follow the forest road until you reach a gate and track on the left, which leads you out of the forest along a bridleway. Follow this track downhill, back to the Crown Hotel in Horton-in-Ribblesdale to finish.

LOCATION DETAILS

The Yorkshire Dales are filled with wonderfully epic moorland mountain bike riding, with beautiful upland scenery, rare wildlife, superb cafes and pubs, and picturesque villages.

GETTING THERE

Exit the A65 and go through Settle on the B6479 to Horton-in-Ribblesdale. There’s a car park on the left before the road turns sharply left, by the pub. There’s also a railway station in the village.

MAPS & BOOKS

OS Landranger 98: Wensleydale & Upper Wharfdale. UK Breaks with Bikes: Mountain Bike Rides Around the UK (Rough Ride Guide).

FACILITIES

There are toilets at the start. In Buckden there’s the West Winds Tearooms (01756 760883, www.westwindsinyorkshire.co.uk) and Hubberholme has The George Inn pub (01756 760223, www.the george-inn.co.uk), both on the return leg of the ride. There’s also the Pen-y-Ghent Cafe (01729 860333), The Crown Hotel, which o ers accommodation (01729 860209, www.crown-hotel.co.uk), and the 3 Peaks Bunkroom hostel (01729 860380, www.3 peaksbunkroom.co.uk) are at the start/end of the ride in Horton-in-Ribblesdale. For more information and options, check out www.yorkshiredales.org.uk.