Across the North York Moors to the North Sea

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We had some trepidation about leaving York to cross the North York Moors to get to the North Sea coast. For one thing we knew that we would be leaving the relaively flat terrain starting about 20 miles to the north. There was the steep climb over the Howardian Hills before Pickering and then the long climb upto the moors and the ravines that cut through it. For another, it had become windy and rainy while we were in York, and more of the same was promised for the next few days. On the positive side we were well rested and well fed and, thanks to Karen and Kathy's mapping and good advice from the folks at York's Cycle Heaven, we had a good traffic-free route to Pickering and from there a back road route on Stape Road over the moors to the small town of Grosmont, less than 10 miles from the sea.

The ride to Pickering was pleasant through the North York countryside, with one hill we all had to walk and a nice ride on the ridge of the Howardian Hills through small towns and wonderful woods. Sheriff Hutton and Howard Castles looked interesting from the road, but we had to put off visiting them for next time because of our need to save our time and energy for the difficult moor crossing where there were no towns until Grosmont. The rains arrived concurrent with our arrival in Pickering, so we stopped into a small cafe for a mediocre lunch served by a very interesting proprietress whose Yorkshire accent was as thick as the mug of black tea that she served me. She was impressed that I didn't ask for water to dilute the tea and told me that I drank (tea, that is) like a Yorkshireman, which I took as a compliment. After she told us what a great tea drinker she is herself and how she enjoys getting gifts of different kinds from her grandchildren, Karen went outside and found a small packet of Iron Goddess of Mercy tea from China. So this small gift, originally purchased by our daughter-in-law, Lynn, on a trip back to Chongqing to visit her family was given to a cafe owner in Pickering, North Yorkshire. I guess this somehow links the previous posts about our trips to China with this one and at least some of the people and events mentioned in them. We hope the Pickering woman enjoys her cup of Iron Goddess tea.

Soon after Pickering came a couple of steep climbs into the moors, with us by this time in full raingear. We had some uncertainty about the quality of the Stape Road surface, but it was nicely paved and there was very little traffic. After one small town and some woods, these apparently used for logging, the landscape opened up into a solid mass of heather. This was probably the least ideal time of year and weather condition for viewing the heather, since the plants were all brown and, obviously, not in bloom (although there were a few clumps of daffodills and other flowers to break up the monotony here and there). Some areas looked as if they had been recently burned as well with maybe one year's growth after. The scene was beautiful nevertheless.

While I, at least, had imagined a flat moor top after the initial climb, that was not to be, as the plateau was punctuated with what we in North America would call canyons. Just ahead of the bottom of the first one was a sign that said "Ford", and where the stream crossed, a dry stone-paved section with all the water running blow in a culvert. Fine, these stream crossing are going to be no problem. The next one, however, had a steeper descent to it, more water in the stream, and the ford involved riding the bike through several inches of water over about 25 feet of what is essentially a cobblestone street in the middle of nowhere. This is a bit scary given the importance of keeping one's feet and gear as dry as possible. We encountered our final ford just a mile or so out of our destination of Grosmont. There, the water was a foot deep, too deep for us amd too deep, in my opinion even for cars, although we did see one get through successfully. So at that one we had to use the very narrow pedestrian bridge, thoughtfully provided for us, after removing all our gear in order for the bike to be able to (barely) pass between the rails.

After we crested the moors, we started to see the much greener land below and then soon our first views of the North Sea in the distance. Althogh our goal is End to End, we have now completed a sort of a Coast-to-Coast crossing from the Irish Sea at Lands End to the North sea here. It is important to note these milestones. Grosmont is nestled in a deep valley (and cyclists quickly become very aware of topography). It is a rail junction, full of activity now since the NYMR (North Yorkshire Moors Railroad) was revivied as a tourist attraction 40 years ago. There's a an active station right in town with several trains a day between Pickering and here (a few go on to Whitby on the coast). Most trains are pulled by coal fired steam engines, and we were able to see a lot of the activity because our B&B and the local pub, where we ate, are right on the main street on opposite sides of the tracks and next to the station. Coal smoke permeates the small town, but the residents don't seem to mind, I guess because of the tourist economy that comes with it.

Yesterday was a short, but very hilly, ride to Whitby at the coast where we spent half the day seeing the beautiful Abbey ruin above the seas and trying out the famous pies and fish and chips. I also took a short tourist boat ride out of the harbor for a 20-minute cruise on the North Sea. So now we are fueled up and rested and ready to head up the coast towards Scotland.

-- Kit

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Here is an update of our daily mileages and where we have spent the night, so far. I added the county names of the places we stayed. We may have also passed though one or two counties where we did not stop for the night. Total miles to date, as of Whitby, are 695. This is a fair bit ahead of the miles we had expected to have gone by the time we got here.

Date Start End miles

4/20/2013Lands EndPenzance, Cornwall14.08



4/21/2013PenzanceVerayn, Cornwall42.0

4/22/2013VeraynSt Austell, Cornwall14.9

4/23/2013St AustellCamelford, Cornwall30.9

4/24/2013CamelfordHatherleigh, Devon44

4/25/2013HatherleighBampton, Devon34.7

4/26/2013BamptonGlastonbury, Somerset50.9

4/27/2013GlastonburyBath, Somerset 35.1



4/29/2013Bath Avebury, Wiltshire42.2

4/30/2013AveburyLambourn, Berkshire31

5/1/2013LambournOxford, Oxfordshire26.8



5/3/2013Oxford Weedon, Buckinghamshire56.8

5/4/2013Weedon Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire48.3

5/5/2013Melton Mowbray Collingham, Nottinghamshire41.1

5/6/2013CollinghamMarket Rasen, Lincolnshire34.

5/7/2013Market RasenHowden, East Yorkshire59.9

5/8/2013HowdenYork, North Yorkshire 28.1



5/10/2013York Grosmont, North Yorkshire49.9

5/11/2013GrosmontWhitby, North Yorkshire9.5

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Photos

Crossing the River Esk outside of Grosmont
The road ford was too deep, so we had to use the pedestrian bridge. The bikes didn't fit unless we removed the panniers.

Coming down from the Moors
Our first view of the North Sea is in the Upper right. We have crossed from the English Channel/Irish Sea to the North Sea.

Comments

[Craig]

Hogwart's Station?
Hi K&K and K&J, Loving your posts, and impressed with your progress. You found the same train line that we rode through the moors from Pickering to Goathland several years ago. It was a lovely day trip (in the sun!) for us non-bikers. Goathland Station appeared in the Harry Potter movie as the station for Hogwarts.