Day of arrival
There will always be things to see and do in the towns and cities we chose to start and end our tours and often the hotels will often have leisure and spa facilities. This gives time to relax and recover from any travel or jetlag because guests arrive at various times with some arriving earlier than others, so, nothing can be formally planned.
If you are hiring a bike through us we shall arrange to either have it delivered to the hotel or take you to the collection point. There you can check over your machine and ensure all is to your satisfaction. You can take a brief ride to familiarise yourself with the machine.
This 120 mile circuit way not be long but it traverses many twisty single-track roads and so progress will be slow with the first 17 miles between pretty villages of Helmsley and Osmotherley likely to take 45 minutes as we meander to the North West across the Yorkshire Moors. Next, we head North to Hutton Rudby where we take a refreshment break before passing through the tiny hamlet of Sexhow (home of the Cornshed Music Festival) as we sweep in and around the Northern end of the National Park before making our way east through Guisburgh and on to Saltburn-by-the-Sea where we shall take the cliff tramway down to the beach. After a short break at the beach we hog the costal route passing Staithes and onwards to Whitby. All in this is about 3 hours riding and allowing for stops along the route for photographs it will be time for lunch probably fresh fish at a harbour side fish and chip shop!
Today we shall visit some historic buildings. Departing Helmsley we head a few miles west past Rievaulx Abbey (we will not be entering but can stop briefly for photographs) before twisting our way south and East to the charming village of Hovingham where we cross a ford beside the bakery (alternative routes are available if the brook is high or riders simply don’t want to ride through water), We make our first stop at Castle Howard, one of England’s finest country homes, which we shall partially tour. Those interested in a more detailed inspection of the property and grounds are advised to return without riding gear so that they can take a more relaxed tour.
Today we move to another hotel. We depart Helmsley heading west through Thirsk and onwards to Masham then we meander through the Yorkshire Dales to Bolton Abbey a 12th century Augustinian Priory after a short sightseeing and tea break we get back on the road and make our way to Malam where we break for luch then take a hike to Malham Cove a famous curved limestone cliff remnant from the last ice age. This involves a climbing but is well worth it as is nearby Gordale Scar which we can also visit whilst in the area.
Heading west from Kendal we reach Lake Windemere and turn south down the eastern shore of the lake to Lakeside where we change direction again heading north to Hawkeshead and from there west to Coniston where we take a refreshment break.
We depart Kendal heading North to Ullswater and at Pooley Bridge we deviate to the South East taking a refreshment berak at Shap. As we enter the Yorkshire Dales we twist and turn to traverse some great biker roads with little tourist traffic as we make our way to Kirkby Stephen and onward to our lunch stop at Simonstone Hall.