Click on the map to enlarge it so you can see the route.
Started off from home past Adel St Johns church, up Eccup lane, past the New Inn, down to Weardly, right onto Arthington Lane, left onto Harrogate Road, over the bridge and next right up to Kirby Overblow. Bear right at the pub down Barrowby Lane, keep left onto Kirkby Lane, keep left again takes you to Clapgate. Sound nice doesn’t it? It used to be a pub but is now housing. Keep going and you get to Sicklinghall – a beautiful, expensive village. The Scott Arms used to be one of our favourite haunts. Its more of an up market gastro pub now, but still nice. Follow through on the Wetherby Road which becomes Sicklinghall Road into the outskirts of Wetherby and keep a lookout on the left for the old Wetherby Station (Harland Way).
The Harland Way is a fantastic off road route along a disused railway track, click on the link above to see an information leaflet on it. It finishes at Spofforth. Turn right onto the high street and at the right hand bend go straight on to the castle. There’s quite a few walkers, but no problem as far as I was concerned, just a polite “excuse me” and a thank you and everyone happy. It was really muddy, which was fun. Through the mud or round the mud? That is the question. Well depends on the path. I prefer going straight through, keep the bike upright, no chance of skidding. Might get a dirty bike and splashed legs but I prefer that to ending up sat in it!
Spofforth was the main seat of the Percy family – one of the most important and influential families in northern England – until the late 14th century. William de Percy, a favourite of William the Conqueror, built a manor house here in the 11th century, and it was reputedly here that rebel barons drew up Magna Carta in 1215. The surviving remains are those of a fortified manor house, dating mainly from the 14th and 15th centuries.
Past the castle on your left – good place to stop for a bit of sustenance. Carry on along Castle Street, down Follifoot Lane, eventually reaching the village of Follifoot. Another lovely, expensive village with a couple of pubs, one of which is the Radcliffe Arms, another of our old haunts – haven’t been in years.
So far, so good, a lovely ride.
As you leave the village go straight on down the no through road, as theres a little cycle path at the end that will take you underneath the John Metcalf Way. At the top of the slope turn right and then left past the Rudding Park Estate.
The south gatehouse of the Rudding Park Estate stands at the top of the village of Follifoot. The estate was bought by Lord Loughborough in 1788, and he engaged the landscape designer Humphry Repton to improve the grounds and surrounding landscape.
The estate was purchased by the Hon William Gordon in 1805 and he was responsible for the construction of the present house. By the time the estate was purchased by Sir Joseph Radcliffe 19 years later the house was still unfinished. In 1972 the house and 2000-acre estate was acquired by the Mackaness family.
Today the estate compromises a hotel, caravan and camp site, a restaurant and golf course. The main part of the estate is now separated from the village by the A658 Harrogate bypass.
We are now travelling along Rudding Lane, which will take you all around the estate, then watch out for Crimple Lane and turn left into it. This is a small lane, past an interesting little pub called the Travellers Rest. (Looks like one to try if it survives the Covid lockdowns.) You will see a gate through to the Harrogate Showground, where there is a permissive cycle path. Follow the path to the gate at the end where we turn left through another gate down the slope past a couple of viaduct on your left. But before you turn down here, if you go right, you’ll see Fodder Food, where you can buy lovely Yorkshire Produce, there’s a nice cafe and there is an outside van where you can get hot drinks, hot and cold food.
The Viaducts when passing through the Showground.
So we’ve gone down the slope, up the slope, straight over Hookstone Drive, you will pass a couple of schools after which follow the cycle path left down the side of the school across the Stray, turn right down Stray Rein. At the end, follow the cycle route, straight across into South Park Rd, at the roundabout go straight across, same at next roundabout, and next, bear left on Dragon Rd, then watch out for a cycle path on left , it looks like you’re going into a car park but you’ll see on your right a path by the side of the railway track-follow this. You’ll cross over the railway bridge and follow the Nidderdale Greenway.
The former Nidd Valley Railway closed completely in 1964 and Leeds-Thirsk railway line was closed in 1969.[2][3] The Nidderdale Greenway makes use of both of these former railways to provide a traffic-free walking and cycle zone that extends from Bilton (in north eastern Harrogate) to the village of Ripley, which is 4 miles (6.4 km) further north.[4] The Greenway was first proposed in the 1990s and after land purchases, public inquiries and a lottery grant, was officially opened in May 2013.[5] The route is very popular and is used by pedestrians, cyclists, runners and horse-riders.[6]
Starting at Bilton (which is on the southern link of the Way of the Roses cycle route), the route heads north-westerly on the former Leeds-Thirsk railway line. At Bilton Beck Wood, it crosses the River Nidd[7] on a grade II listed seven-arch viaduct which is known as either Nidd or Bilton Viaduct.[8][9] The viaduct is at the western end of the Nidd Gorge, where the waters of the River Nidd are funneled into a steep ravine.[10] Just west of the village of Nidd, the route diverges onto the former Nidd valley Railway line until it reaches the A61 road at Killinghall Bridge. It then crosses the A61 by means of a Pegasus crossing and runs parallel to the road into Ripley on its own path.[11] The last section into Ripley was donated by the owners of Ripley castle to allow safe passage into the village without cyclists having to resort to using the A61.[12]
The greenway is part of the National Cycle Route 67[13] which runs from Long Eaton to Northallerton, although parts of it are as yet to be completed. At both ends, the path links into other paths and long distance cycles routes to Brimham Rocks, Fountains Abbey, Knaresborough, and Starbeck.[14] The route is maintained by Sustrans Rangers and in May 2017, a redundant Millennium Milepost was installed on the Greenway carrying information about the route on it.[15] Harrogate Borough Council are working on extending the path from Bilton by a further 0.62 miles (1 km) to the south-west which will connect that part of the route with Harrogate railway station.[4]This view is looking south from the former Nidd Junction on the Leeds & Thirsk Railway, now used as the Nidderdale Greenway.
A bike sculpture made of stones was unveiled just south of Ripley alongside the greenway to celebrate the 2014 Tour de France which passed by Ripley. There is also a portrait bench at the Bilton end of the Greenway which depicts local cycling heroes.[16] The bench is part of a national scheme operated by Sustrans to promote local cycling heroes on the National Cycle Routes.[17]
The route may be under threat by a proposal to build a bypass for the A61 which would go from the east side of Harrogate and re-join the existing A61 east of Ripley.[18] This would avoid the road going through Killinghall, but as yet, the plans have not been published.[19] The greenway is also under threat of a possible resurgent railway between Harrogate and Ripon, as Bilton Viaduct would need to be utilized in any re-opened railway line.
An extension to the greenway was added in 2014. This allows users at the north end to go further on than Ripley towards the village of Clint.[20] A further extension on the trackbed of the Nidd Valley railway to Pateley Bridge has been proposed to avoid the necessity for cyclists using the narrow and winding B6165.[19]
From the end of the Greenway turn right and at T junction turn left onto the Ripon Road up the hill take a right signposted Otley. At the roundabout, cross the A59 and go past the Army Foundation College.
The two maps above give you an idea of the climbs if you check out the contours.
The Royal Signals Apprentices School was established in Harrogate to provide military and vocational training for the Royal Corps of Signals, Royal Artillery (RA) and Royal Engineers (RE) in 1947.[2] It was renamed the Army Apprentices College in 1961 when the RA and RE were relocated, providing Royal Signals training until it closed in 1998.[2] In September 1998, the site reopened as the Army Foundation College to provide initial military training to the army’s youngest enlisted trainees, aged between 16 years and 17 years, 5 months, for a range of combat arms and services.[1][3] It was rebuilt by Jarvis under a private finance initiative contract worth £526.6 million between 2000 and 2002.[4]
Tom Moore was appointed as the first honorary colonel of the college on his 100th birthday, in recognition of his fundraising success during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] When acting in that capacity, he was addressed as “Colonel Tom”.[7]
After this is a downhill to Oak Beck and then a massive u bend up a massive hill, which I was really proud to have conquered. I have to say although the scenery is rather nice, it was the least enjoyable bit of the ride. Go straight on to Beckwithshaw. Stay on this road. Turn down Pill White Lane to Lindley. The reason I did this was because the road was closed at Pool. I wish I hadn’t because I tanked on the hill after you cross the River Washburn. I’ve done this without a problem twice before so guess my legs had had enough after the longer ride. Keep left at the the T junction and right at the next towards Otley. All downhill and I gave up at Riverside gardens by Otley Bridge – sat, rang Mike to get me and watched the ducks whilst I waited.
