Coverdale & Wensleydale

Leaving Catterick Village we climbed steadily uphill towards Barden common. Then took a sharp left at Halfpenny towards the little hamlet of Barden. Avoiding the many potholes in this village, which is an extended farmyard, we ambled through the back lanes towards Cover Bridge.

The road was quiet in between Cover Bridge and Middleham. Stopping at the castle cafe for tea, on our exit the weather changed for the worse, with short lived snow flurries and a biting cold breeze. Refreshments to wear off, we cycled towards Coverdale and onto the very quiet back lanes towards East Witton. The National Trust House stood out plainly in its winter nakedness; it is usually well camouflaged amidst the surrounding trees.

The after affects of the flooding were still in evidence on the roads and in the lower fields. Ducks, geese and swans were enjoying things now or at least it seemed, who can tell what they are feeling. We were all enjoying the scenery, but Ray and Lillian had a nasty squeak coming from the back of their tandem (nothing to do with Lillian!), and Liz was ensuring she got her mileage ration for the weekend. Ron fought valiantly to prevent his love of ice cream from delaying our progress, by not visiting Brymore as we passed the farm entrance (He'll be back).

Masham was skirted as quickly as possible, because nice fires and good ale can be very distracting for cold cyclists. On turning left over the bridge out of Masham, we were met with a stream of water running down the road. It was not very deep but washed the cycles for a mile until we passed its source, a roadside spring. Finding some more back lanes around Burrill and Hackforth we were able to avoid much of the motorised traffic on the return route to Catterick Village. Lizzie sorry you missed your ride, as it was an interesting route which you can follow on the map sometime.

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Coverdale & Wensleydale

Paul