SLOTHO Day 6: cycling from York to Grinton Lodge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 เม.ย. 2024
- My SLOTHO (SLeep Out To Help Out) tour from Swanage to Newcastle was intended to take 8 days, spending every night in YHA Youth Hostels - thereby helping the YHA to recover from the financial impact of COVID. The weather was less than kind and I had to split the tour into 3 parts, adding 2 extra days and spending 2 nights at home (since it was conveniently placed). Although this was my 8th day riding since leaving Swanage I have kept to the original numbering of the stages - this was what I planned for day 6.
This route would lead me from York into the Yorkshire Dales and would include the biggest hill of the ride so far (415m or 1360ft, about 200m climb from Leyburn) - right at the end of the day!
I delayed my start due to a band of rain passing over York in the morning and left as promptly as I could (after realizing it had stopped earlier than forecast) to make the most of about 5 hours before the next rain was due.
The ride out of York began by roughly following the Way of the Roses route to Ripon. It began very flat and then the undulations start to become noticeable. Even at the start I realized that my legs felt like lead after the previous day's 112 miles despite my efforts to take that at an easy pace. Then the hunger started too - I guess the backlog of calories wasn't met by just 1 dinner and 1 breakfast! At Boroughbridge I bought coffee and simnel cake - which I thought looked like the most high calorie food on the counter!
I was interested to learn that Aldborourgh had been a significant town and fort in Roman times and then a medieval town - Burgh. Later the bridge was moved. A new town grew up around the new Burgh bridge and became Boroughbridge while the old Burgh became exactly that: Aldburgh! The bridge is over the Ure - a significant and peaty river flowing all the way from Wensleydale. The Ure changes it's name to Ouse and continues to the Humber creating a huge barrier to travel up the East side of England - no wonder bridging points such as Boroughbridge became important. Its legacy of old hotels and hostelries makes its stage coaching history apparent. The cake shop was much better than anything I have found at the A1 services.
Ripon Cathedral was just off the route up a hill - I dragged myself up there for a photo and stayed an hour. I thought it was a beautiful building!
I enjoyed my photo shoot at the bridge over the Burn - a peaceful spot and pretty river which I took time to savor. Later, after Masham I enjoyed the lambs; I suspect these were very young as they seemed to do nothing but eat and sleep - no exuberant gamboling around yet! this was now lovely rolling countryside.
I was feeling rather run down on the last few miles approaching Leyburn and decided to stop and eat my sandwiches before setting off up the hill, even though I was only about 7 miles from the Hostel and supper time. That fueled a slow, steady and painless ascent onto the moors. I recognized the road and remembered some bends which might provide places to film. Despite the rain, I stopped and got the clips I wanted. It was so windy the camera kept blowing over and I had to repeat the "take" multiple times. The view I recorded through raindrops on the front camera was much clearer than my own view through wet glasses, but that didn't stop me enjoying the descent!
I remember the hostel from my first YHA trip in the long drought of 1976; our arrival at Grinton caused the first rain for months! This time it was wetter and colder outside but the hostel was warm and friendly. I spent the evening eating in the dining room and talking to other hostellers - all travellers on holiday from the UK and abroad: a couple of motorcyclists, a German family who came to the UK by Flixbus to lower their carbon footprint and 3 young men who, we discovered, had studied the same "modern" Latin course at school which I had 40 years before.
It seemed like a day where not much had happened toake a video from! I hope you enjoy watching as I enjoyed the making of it!
Made by FotoPlay
Music Copyright:
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Music: Lively Classical Piano Waltz
Musican: MusicLFiles
Link: filmmusic.io/song/7167-lively...
Thank you for going to the trouble of making this lovely video. Greatly enjoyed.
I'm very glad that you liked it. Thank you for your nice comment which I appreciate greatly!
Really nice simple video and mesmerising! Super!
I'm really glad you liked it. Thank you for letting me know!
A nice day's cycling and very scenic, especially Ripon and beyond. Full credit for continuing the filming when weary and wet towards the end; it must have been tempting to push on for the sanctuary of Grinton Lodge. A good tally of bridge crossings- I think I counted five over the Ouse/Ure/Burn, the first one a Forth Bridge in miniature! Aldborough sounds interesting - it has some excellent Roman mosaics, apparently, though I'm guessing that cake was a higher priority!
Thank you! Yes... at that point cake was definitely one of my 5 a day! As often happens on my rides, especially when I use a routing app, I discover what I have missed after I have missed it, and I didn't realize how significant Aldborough was until I reviewed the ride for this video. I probably wouldn't have stopped there though as I was a bit concerned about the end of the ride with rain and the last hill - neither of which was as bad as feared. Thanks for your nice comment, and thank you for watching my videos!
Lovely ride.
Yes, it was! Thank you!
Nice trip and a nice hostel to overnight in.
Thank you!
If you'd gone into visit Beningbrough Hall, you could have arrived at Grinton YHA in the dark!
Yes. That's something I seem to make a habit of isn't it? But I'm glad I crossed the moors in daylight - that was too good to miss! Thanks for watching and for your comment!
I shall be sorry when you get to Newcastle and the series ends. I am sure that you will look back on these videos in future years and be reminded of all the (literal) ups and downs. Thank you.
I shall be glad when I've finished the editing of them! But this has been a wonderful way of extracting even more pleasure from the rides too - triggering dozens of little memories of a wonderful tour. Hopefully there will be more videos to come in future, but for that to happen I will have to get out on the bike!
Thanks for commenting!