8th August 2020
We have all had to cancel planned trips to Europe for 2020 and being bikers we are itching to get out and ride; as the lockdown restrictions have been eased at home why not therefore book a trip in the UK and avoid all the hassle of Euro Tunnel, or Brittany Ferries 🙂 At the time of planning the hotels in Wales were not yet fully open for business so we looked north to Yorkshire & North Pennines, both of which have great roads and stunning scenery.
The trip proved to be very popular and quickly 8 of us from our “Ride Day” group were confirmed. I have ridden the Dales & Pennines area twice before, but only as far as the top of the Nth Pennines. I’d promised myself that I’d go further up next time into Northumberland National Park and Kielder Forest which sits just below the border with Scotland.
It was decided that 3 nights away and a total of 4 days riding would work for us all. The detailed route planning and hotel booking etc was handled by Chris Lewis, who is well used to working with and managing a large group like this.
We decided to base ourselves for 3 nights at an hotel in Ilkley, West Yorks. Day 1 would be a 200+ mile ride up through the Peak District picking up 2 of the group on the way. Day 2 would be a 300 mile loop through the Dales, Nth Pennines and Kielder; with the option to ride the 12 mile Forest Drive through Kielder Forest, or take a road route around and briefly into Scotland to meet up again at Kielder castle on the western end of the Forest trail. Day 3 would be a 200 mile loop through the Dales and the Nth Pennines and Day 4 return home via B roads, or A1/A1M
In summary, we had a great few days riding; fast open roads across the Dales and the moors of the Nth Pennines, mixed with narrow bumpy up and down roads through designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 3 of us (Matt, Colin & me) did the Kielder Forest Drive, which was a mix of packed dirt and gravel trail, rather than a real off road challenge. Each of the days was a long day, but all in the group are experienced motorcyclists who can keep up a good pace over an extended period.
Ilkley is a nice little town with some good restaurants & pubs and an excellent curry house for our evening refreshments; it was a good choice as a base.
Day 4 ( Friday 31st July) turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures in the mid 30’s C. I’m so pleased I decided to take a quick blast down the A1 to Stamford, and then ride the back roads route home from there. The main group took a much longer route and did effectively a reverse of Day 1 through the peak district.
Overall a great few days away..Thanks again to Chris for organising and managing this group of bikers..much like “herding cats” 🙂
Here you can see a video compilation of some of our antics on the 300 mile loop day.