Tuesday, 2nd June should have seen Rod Carter and I setting forth for the first round of this years Lakeland Lanequest series; alas Covid 19 and the subsequent “lockdown” has scuppered all six rounds for this year. As a substitute we decided to organise our own socially distanced ride, with an element of rough stuff thrown in.
From my home in Bowerham I took the usual route along the canal towpath to Halton Road, Kellet Lane to Nether Kellet and on to Over Kellet village green for my 2.00 p.m. Rendezvous with Rod (domiciled in Warton). From whence we rode up towards the Red Well Inn but took a Left turn on to the by-way through Lords Lot Wood to emerge at the very top of Sunny Bank.
Turning Right we descended to join the Red Well to Arkholme road and headed through Arkholme to Whittington. As we entered the village, immediately before the very first farm, we turned Right into a hedge-lined bridleway that lead down to the banks of the Lune from where we could see, just down stream, a vast rocky shoal on our side of the river, exposed by several weeks of “lockdown drought” causing the river level to be abnormally low. Between the upstream end this rocky shoal and the far bank was a continuous band of bubbling water – indicating that the mighty river was reduced to something of a trickle to cross the far end of the shoal.
We changed our cycling shoes for old fell-running shoes and pushed our bikes across the not inconsiderally sized boulders to enter the water and wade across – only tyre deep, it did not even touch the rims – on a gravel bar to gain the far bank, where we were somewhat perplexed. The OS map definitely showed the Public Bridleway leaving the river between the two houses. The right hand house was surrounded by an inpenetratable hedgerow. There was no way to the left of the left hand house (The Bothy). The only way forward appeared to be straight across the lawn of the left hand house and out through the gates; this we opted for, spotting en route that this house was currently unfurnished. Later, at home, inspection of the Lancashire County Council Definitive Map for Public Rights of Way fully endorsed our choice of route.
We emerged from the gates of The Bothy on to the end of a tarmaced lane which lead us to the A683, directly opposite The Highwayman restaurant. Turning towards Lancaster and directly past the Highwayman car park, a Public Bridleway on the Left diagonally crosses four fields to pass to the East of Tunstall parish church, straight across the tarmac lane and yet another field, in the far hedgerow of which a truly quaint, single-track pack-horse bridge crosses a small beck. Holding its line (South East) across another field and through a gate, the Bridleway then swings South with a hedgerow on the Right, along a farmer's quad track. Where the quad track swings left, keep with the hedge on the Right to pass through a further gate and cross a beck where the route becomes fenced in to pass some stables and a very plush house with an extensive livery yard, to emerge on the apex of a bend on a tarmac lane. Here, turn Left and follow this lane around a ninety degree right hand bend to a give way with the A687.
Straight across is the access lane to Cantsfield Hall Farm; part way up this access lane the bridleway is diverted to the Right into a fenced-in section, at the end of which a farmgate on the Left gives access to a large pasture which is crossed with the hedge-row on one's Left to a gate in the far Left corner. A slope in the next field takes one down to a dilapidated kissing gate with a further slope down to a farm gate on the Right which gives access to a ford across the River Greta – on our visit pushing our bikes across the boulder strew ford never saw the water more than three or four inches deep. Once up the far bank and through a similar farm gate, turning approximately sixty degrees Left had us riding across a fairly rough pasture, around the corner of a high hedge-row on our Left to dismount and push the bikes up a steep woodland track (following the farmers signs) for maybe fifty yards to emerge into a small meadow. Rather than follow the official bridleway by turning Right and traversing maybe seventy yards along the meadow, it seemed better stewardship to push straight ahead for twenty metres to use a large gap in the hedge-row, obviously used for tractor access from the highway into this field. We turned Left along the highway and within a short distance we attained the neatly mown grass verge outside Bull Bank Farm, where we sat to dry our feet and change back into our cycling shoes, whilst also sipping water from our bidons.
Continuing on saw us descend Spout Lane to gain the 'B' road through Wennington to Wray where we had a pleasant ten minute natter with Peter Edge who gave us some directions for another diversion that I wanted to take. Just before exiting Wray, for Butt Yeats, we turned Right amongst some smart, renovated houses to follow the by-way down to the sewage works, just before which, at a crossroads of by-ways, we turned Left to eventually emerge back on to the 'B' road in the dip just short of Butt Yeats where we then turned Right for Hornby to replenished our diminshed energy levels at the village shop.
Riding across the Loyne Bridge and up through Gressingham to the top road, we bid one another “au revoir” as Rod headed over Sunny Bank and I continued ahead for Halton and Lancaster.
On the off-road sections Rod had been consistently faster than myself, on his Orange hardtail MTB with riser handlebars and 2” tyres, whilst I was on my Soma winter/touring bike with flared, semi drop handlebars and 35 mm trekking tyres.
I am contemplating some mods as the 29er frame and fork and the rims will comfortably accommodate 2.25” MTB tyres, plus riser bars and bar-ends. Some 35mm touring tyres should still render it a competent CTC winter bike?
Ian Roberts.
