North Yorkshire Moors Off The Beaten Track

So it’s a Sunday morning and I wake up without a hangover, I have a peak out the window and to my surprise it’s actually looking dam fine out side.

With that I get out of bed jump into the bike gear, scoff some cereals and drag the bike out the garage.

I take my usual route out of Hull and head up Beverley by-pass, past Lund, through Wetwang and up to Malton where as always there’s a cuffing traffic jam, great!

It clears soon enough and I make good progress up towards Helmsley, it’s just gone 12 o’clock and the square is packed with bright leather clad men on their plastic fantastic crotch rockets, each to their own I guess but my aim  is to find some green lanes, so I decide (quickly) not to stop. I sneak out of the village by a small back road which leads to Carlton Beck, I spy a small opening in the hedge I turn in and woho I’d found my first trail. I go a few hundred yards down the track and stop for a smoke break.

I take a couple of snaps and have a chat to an old couple who are out having a bit of a ramble they inform me that’s its shooting season and to watch out for crazy farmers on quad bikes, after the pleasantries are done I hop back on the bike and nearly go falling onto my side that grass was darn slippy!

With disaster averted I bumble down the lane, it goes from dry(ish) mud to sloppy mud to a fairly steep and rocky short downhill section through some woods, then its back up  and onto a flat gravel trail where I open up the taps a little and soon find a road. 

I know this road, so I turn left knowing that there’s guaranteed views, I take some pictures on the way.

I notice that the tracks have green gates most of which are open but some are closed and have a sign on stating that they are 'SSSI tracks' and you cant ride down them! SSSI stands for site of special scientific interest which gets my back up slightly as I would be very interested to go down them and see what's there as well. Bastards.

As you ride further on progress is stopped by a gate across the road, you can just open this and go through but I was feeling adventurous so I took the gravel track which turns off to the left.

The track varies from gravel to mud and has some cambers which can be off putting at times, especially when your only running on road tires.

I make it a fair way down the track and decide to turn around and head back as its a touch to slippery for me and I don't fancy dropping the bike in the middle of a wood when no body knows where I am.

I stop at what was the first gate on the track and take some snaps.

I head back down to the road and pass through a tiny village called Cockayne, I follow a sign for Gillamoor and as I make my way down the road I see a bunch of bikes in the distance, I soon catch them up and find its a gang of old Honda C90's and similar types of bike. They seamed to struggle up some of the hills which was quite amusing but I thought it was quite impressive that their out in this area on such little bikes, it just goes to show you don't need a big bike to go exploring on.

Any way the chaps on the C90's pull over and let me pass, I give a little wave and continue on my way, I soon pass though Gillamoor which was almost deserted and find another tasty looking track which looks like it should be a simple as the entrance is just small gravel. 

I head up the track to find that it soon turns to being covered with large jagged rocks and big slabs of slick stone to be navigated. With the road tires I found it fairly hard to keep the bike in a straight line and took the attitude that if I hit it with speed I'll make it.

The next two pictures are taken from the end of track looking back down it, as it would of been difficult to stop and then get speed up again.

   
I get to the end of the track and recognise the road, so I head south and into Hutton Le Hole which seams fairly busy I pass through and take the road to Rosedale Abby via the chimney bank pass.

As I ride down the pass I notice this fire in the distance, not really sure what's being burnt....

I ride down the 1 in 3 hill into Rosedale and head across towards Egton Bridge so I can hook up onto the old Roman road, I stopped at one point to take pictures as it was just stunning but again I see smoke in the distance, I know they burn off the heather up here but its abit late in year for that.

Any way from here I hook onto the Roman road which has some of the best views around, but I didn't stop as I was having way to much fun bounding down the rather bumpy road at speed. The road leads into Pickering and from there I head back down towards Malton via the main road as I was rather hungry and wanted to get to Fimber cafe for some flapjack and a cuppa.





Just a few edited pics;