Alan Beattie's ride to The Forest of Bowland 29th April 2023

Full day ride to the Forest of Bowland 18 riders.

Riders briefing took place with an overview of the route to the Forest of Bowland, safety/hazards was also discussed.

17 of us left Squires as Brian was meeting us at Route 59 Cafe.

Taking a right out of Squires heading to Bramham,East Keswick,Weeton we took a sharp left to Castley avoiding the A658 but we would cross it further on.

On reaching the junction of the A658 it was extremely busy with a Learner driver awaiting to turn right from the opposite junction and a build up of traffic behind them, I initially indicated for them to have right of way but they were unable to cross.

Ian was behind me and performed a very impressive Police bike rider manoeuvre, holding the traffic enabling us all to cross (Many Thanks Ian)

Once over the A658 we headed towards Otley,Ilkely over Langbar to Route 59 Cafe.

After T&P plus cleaning the contacts on the Sat Nav live feed, it had been losing power from Squires and going into battery mode which was now on amber!

Brian joined us and 13 of us set off to the Forest with 5 riders making there way home from Route 59 Cafe.

Heading west on the A59 we took a sharp left after a mile towards Draughton, a road sign said Local Access Only, ignoring the sign we took a selection of interesting roads and scenery via Farnhill,Lothersdale,Earby,Gisburn, Slaidburn then heading North on Lythe Fell Road within the centre of Forest of Bowland heading to the Bridge House Tea Rooms at Wray.

However this section caused some anxiety for myself the Sat Nav lost power again.

I proceeded with battery mode which was in screen saver mode, unable to see the screen I was reliant on audio for directions then nothing as the battery went flat, after a few unscheduled stops I managed to get the live feed back.

Apology to anyone who was behind me, I may have been late at indicating at some junctions or incorrectly.

I was trying to read road signs and get the Sat Nav re-working.

On reaching Wray there was a Scarecrow event within the small village, I decided we would have a tour of the village to appreciate the locals show which was extremely busy.

Unfortunately this would encompass 3 x U turns to navigate the whole village.

(See note below)

Arriving at the Bridge House Farm Tea Rooms we were welcomed by Jon the owner and shown to the reserved parking he had kindly organised for us, they were extremely busy due to the event.

With the excellent choice of food at the Tea rooms or the Burgers & Hog roast etc.in the Marque we enjoyed lunch and the Hospitality from Jon and his team, even a free gift for BMW motorbike owners. (BMW Mug)

After lunch we were now heading to the Trough of Bowland, Jon video us leaving which I have posted on Facebook.

We headed to Caton taking a left towards the Trough of Bolton via Quernmore Brow, Rakehouse Brow, Dunsop Bridge. When we left the tea rooms there was 13 of us but it appeared on this section of the route there was 14, a Ford Focus was determined to be part of the group trying to follow me and not letting the rest of the group past with him bouncing all over the road!

This section was a little overcast we had a few drops of rain for a couple of miles, which was the only rain we encountered all day but still reasonable views of Bowland.

On reaching Bolton on Bowland I decided to divert off the planned remainder of the route, timings were running behind approximately by half an hour’ish.

(Partially due to the unscheduled Scarecrow Event Village tour)

Heading now back to Gisburn we took the A59 back to Skipton approx 10 miles to the Keelham Cafe just off the A59 at Skipton arriving around 4.10pm & 146 miles from Squires, 5 riders headed home and for Fuel (hope you didn’t run out Laurence with only 1 mile on the range) the remaining 8 of us enjoyed a final cuppa and cake at the cafe.

Hope you all enjoyed the day and the routes too and within the Forest of Bowland.

Thanks for the excellent junction marking, also thanks Chris for back marking duties for the day.

If you are planning any trips to the Forest of Bowland I would highly recommend a visit to the Bridge House Farm Tearooms. (Facebook page has details of events etc. including bike/car nights & events)

See you next time

Alan

(Unfortunately the 3 x U Turns were genuine unplanned T5 U Turns looking for the Tearooms as I’ve never been before therefore I’ve had to 2 use credits from my other rides, I’m still below the mandatory 1 per T5 ride or could I say it was slow manoeuvre training on this occasion?)

Copy of the route below