Been meaning to do a variation on this Mountain Bike Ride for quite a while now,
mtbthedales.org.uk – tour of wensleydale
This is a great place to look for riding around the Yorkshire Dales.
So while the weather was good on saturday I set off to do it. My variation being setting off from Hawes and riding over to Semerwater and on to Stalling Busk. Then to take the Stake Road (Bridleway) up to the top. Then at the sign post take the track to Carperley Green and somewhre across the top this joins up with the above route, at another signpost to Thoralby, after about a mile.
It is to be noted that the descent in to Thoralby is currently being resurfaced with rocks etc in the boggier sections. At the moment it quite a bone shaker if like me you don`t have more than 100mm of travel, even if somes at the back and there are some bit gaps to get your wheels stuck in so watch out.
Then at the end instead of coming across the Dale to Bainbridge, head back on the B Road to Hawes. This makes the route about 32miles long, up from the stated 21 miles.
Its has some tough climbs on both road and track, long sweeping downhills and great views.
The above site has other great routes along with gpx files for your gps`s.
Here are some pictures of the route.
Note they load from flickr so could take a while!
Oh and here is a .gpx file of the extended route that I took, Route-UpperWensleydaleLoop
UPDATE: 06/05/2010 New Focus on Felt site is now updated and live. Please take a look: focusonfelt.co.uk
Andrea Hunter – Felt Artist
I`ve also been revamping a website for one of my clients, Andrea Hunter of Focus On Felt. So thats taken quite a bit of time resizing photos, checking links and text. Still its looking good, Andrea is doing some final checks so hopefully the site should be live any day soon.
Andrea Hunter is a felt artist living and working in Hardraw in the centre of the Yorkshire Dales, she is currently writing a book and has appeared on the BBC a couple of times. Take a look at her website at FocusOnFelt.co.uk
A quote from her new website:
I am inspired by the dales landscape, its inhabitants and particularly in the dramatic contrasts that the Dales weather brings. I like to think my work has always had a strong sense of movement and that my monochrome images in particular capture the wildness of the fells. Creating light within the imagery through artistic skills and use of materials, has increased the dramatic content of my work and is yet another step, I hope, in pushing the boundaries of felt making.
A few example of her great work, amazingly all created using wool.
A Quick but pleasant ride from Hawes and along the Lady Ann Highway (named after Lady Ann Clifford apparently), over Cottertop to Mallerstang and Hellgill and back along the road past the legendary Moorcock Inn. All taken way back when… must dig out some of my newer photos of this loop.
