• Ascent: Non Riding Day

“I do not know in all my own country, still less in France or Italy, a place more naturally divine”, so wrote the Victorian poet and artist John Ruskin of Kirkby Lonsdale’s idyllic setting. Nestling between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales National Parks, the historic little Cumbrian market town which boasts one of the cleanest high streets in the UK and straddles the banks of the River Lune, is easily accessible from the M6 motorway. The town is well worth exploring by those able to arrive with time to do so.

The Skedaddle team will be on hand at the first accommodation from late afternoon/early evening and will assist with any bike building / fitting to rental bikes etc before we all head out for dinner and a chat about what we have in store for the next few days.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,800 Metres Approx.

Today, the Yorkshire Dales (although not yet the county of Yorkshire) opens welcoming arms and offers a relatively gentle introduction to our exploration of Northern England’s most beautiful National Parks with a handful of quite lengthy but very manageable climbs.

The opening chapter comes in the form of almost 20 miles of a mainly-ascending terrain which, in contrast to many of the climbs over the next few days, rises steadily and gently. We‘re riding literally up hill and down dale and our first climb takes us up the Barbondale Valley, before a short, steep descent lowers us into Dentdale. As we follow the course of the River Dee we climb up under the Dent Head railway viaduct, emerging onto the moors for our first real taste of the wild Dales countryside. A sweeping descent then leads us to Hawes where finally we have arrived in Yorkshire. We are now officially riding in God’s Own Country!

Crossing the Ure for the second time today we begin the main climb of the day, Buttertubs Pass. The Côte de Buttertubs, as it was briefly rechristened in July 2014 when the Tour de France paid us a visit, entered cycling lore when Jens Voigt led the peloton over the summit to claim the Polka Dot Jersey during Stage One of the race.

After descending to the village of Thwaite in the upper reaches of Swaledale, the road climbs gradually, taking in wide open moorland and the stunning Lamps Moss descent to the village green at Nateby. The route climbs one last time over the locally known Tommy road and then descends gradually past the remote Temperance Inn and waterfall of Cautley Spout to the small market town of Sedbergh, our home for the next two evenings.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,950 Metres Approx.

An epic day of exploration of the northern Yorkshire Dales and a visit to the highest pub in Britain. We ride alongside the River Rawthey and the imposing slopes of the Howgill Fells to the west before passing through Kirkby Stephen. A sharp three-and-a-half-mile climb through the villages and Rookby and Barras. Beyond Barras things become a little easier as the gradient eases and then drops a little before one last effort delivers us to the summit of Tan Hill, home to the highest pub in Britain at 536m. It is not always quiet up here Arctic Monkeys played an intimate gig here and wedding parties are hosted in the barn.

A welcome and well-deserved seven-mile descent follows allowing just enough time for our legs to recover before once again climbing steeply to take us from Arkengathdale over to Swaledale. Following the limestone escarpment of Oxnop Scar we climb to just shy of 500m and then descend to the pretty Dales village of Askrigg.

The route rises gradually through Wensleydale to the North Yorkshire and Cumbria border at remote Garsdale Head. A fantastic gradual near 10-mile descent follows to end the day in style. It is a pedally descent but if the wind is with you it’s an almost effortless glide through the picturesque and quiet valley of Garsdale.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,350 Metres Approx.

A transitional day which is packed full of interest as we find ourselves entering the Lake District National Park, just south of Kendal as our encounter with the Yorkshire Dales draws to a conclusion. The route follows quiet back lanes to avoid the main truck roads taken by traffic to the central lakes. We head south west crossing the Lythe Valley, famous for its Damson fruit trees and through the pretty villages of Witherslack and High Newton to the increasingly well-known village of Cartmel.

With narrow streets clustered around a square and a famous priory as well as a racecourse Carmel has always attracted locals for an afternoon mooch but increasingly Cartmel is famous for its food. From L’Enclume Michelin stared restaurant to the village shop with its sticky toffee pudding Cartmel is definitely on the map as a foodie destination.

Turning north from Cartmel we head towards the southern tip of Lake Windermere, the Lake Districts largest and longest lake. A classic climb awaits as the straight and steep ascent of Fell Foot Brow gains 170m in a mile. It is worth it for the wonderful views of Windermere against the backdrop of the majestic mountains of the Central Lakes. Lesser used lanes take us undulating along to the Lake District hotspot of Windermere in time for a wander down to the lake or an exploration of the towns many bars.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,500 Metres Approx.

The fun begins as soon as we leave town and, notwithstanding the first gently-descending half mile of riding, so too do the challenges! It isn’t long before the Kirkstone Pass looms into view, dishing up a hearty appetiser and a good indication of what the Lake District has in store for us over the coming days.

We rise gently at first and it’s not until we reach the village of Troutbeck before the road that winds through this ancient slate-quarrying region starts to point heavenward. Like most of the climbs we’ll encounter during the next couple of days, Kirkstone might be steep but it is thankfully short and, before we’ve even completed seven miles in the saddle, we’ll be regrouping and catching our breath at the summit beside the Kirkstone Pass Inn, an old coaching house, another public house claiming to be one of the highest in the country!

As we pick our way carefully down the other side towards the hamlet of Hartsop and the tiny but beautiful Brothers Water, we’ll realise that despite the struggle on the way up, we actually climbed the “easy” side!

We press on through Patterdale and Glenridding and ride for a few miles along Ullswater’s picturesque western shoreline before a left-hand turn coaxes us onto Matterdale End, the day’s second challenge. Once over the summit, the rest of the day is predominantly downhill except for a few minor lumps and bumps along the way. As we approach Keswick we’ll pass Castlerigg Stone Circle, a historic local landmark set against a dramatic backdrop of the Helvellyn mountain.

We ride straight through Keswick before ending the day with a scenic loop around Derwentwater, ultimately returning to the pretty town of Keswick again and on to nearby Threlkeld where we will spend the evening.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 1,950 Metres Approx.

A wonderful day of classic Lakeland riding lies ahead of us today, packed with unforgettable views, jaw-dropping scenery and a dragon’s tooth profile that will likely lodge itself permanently in our memories, and possibly also in our legs!

The climbs come in rapid succession and we’ll have the first and most significant three under our belts within little more than 20 miles. First up is Honister Pass, the highest, steepest and toughest climb of the day, which we reach after warming our legs along the shores of Derwentwater and the Borrowdale valley. Those first eight miles are the only flat miles of the day so we need to make the most of them because Honister offers no gentle introduction, kicking in with a double-digit gradient within the first few hundred yards.

After summiting next to Honister Slate Mine, the last working slate mine in England, we descend, steeply again, into the remote and picturesque Buttermere Valley, the only valley in Cumbria to possess three lakes, before rising sharply once more as we tackle Newlands Pass. A very welcome sweeping descent follows and drops us eight miles into the Newlands Valley to the pretty village of Braithwaite. The village lies at the foot of Whinlatter Pass, the last of this morning’s unholy trinity, waiting patiently to challenge us once more as we regroup and enjoy a coffee.

Whinlatter marks a change in direction and whilst the climbing is by no means over, the rest of the day, as we make our way west to skirt around the extreme western boundary of the National Park, is significantly easier on the legs. We’ll wind our way along less-travelled, quieter lanes, and after the final climb of Cold Fell, with its views over the Irish Sea, we drop down to the village of Gosforth, our destination. Here we’ll rest up, enjoy a well-deserved evening meal and ready ourselves for another big day out tomorrow.

• Meals: Breakfast, lunch
• Ascent: 2,000 Metres Approx.

Sadly we’ve reached our final stage and our last day on the bikes. Before bidding farewell however, we have to ride deep into the heart of the Lake District one last time.

This climactic day begins gently enough, with a scenic warm up over to the Eskdale valley as Scafell Pike, England’s highest peak, towers over us as we ride. Things are about to change however as we tackle Birker Fell, a stiff yet manageable climb which leads onto the slopes of the open expanse of Ulpha Fell in some of the most picturesque riding of the whole tour in this little visited corner of Lakeland. After descending the route rises gradually through remote Dunnerdale, a patchwork of woodlands, fells and lone farmsteads to Cockley Beck. Wrynose Pass is laid out in front of you a gradually climb gives way to a challenging top section with gradients of 25%.

As challenging as these two final climbs may be, they are typical of our tour and are, as we have become accustomed over the last few days, manageable by virtue of their brevity. With Wrynose finally conquered we can relax in the knowledge that the hardest riding is now behind us.

We’ll spend the rest of the day negotiating the minor roads which lead us through Ambleside, once more to the shores of Windermere and beyond as we bypass Kendal and finally arrive back in Kirkby Lonsdale where it all started.

It’s time to pack our bikes, freshen up, rest the legs and enjoy a final evening meal together.

• Meals: Breakfast
• Ascent: Non Riding Day

Time for one more hearty breakfast before packing up and heading home, full of great memories!