Richie, Rod, Mike,
Day One route
Day Two route
The hottest day for nine years, allegedly, and the planet is being raped by my air con, as I’m driving behind some ponderous traffic heading for the Yorkshire/Lancashire border and our accommodation for the next few days, Dalehouse Barn. The wonders of modern satellite technology delivered me directly to the door, where Rod, Richie and Mike were patiently waiting for the latecomer; for lover’s of remote hideaways, this converted barn is ideal, the owners live in the adjoining farm house, all other neighbours are bovine, ovine or entomological. After a perfunctory lunch and a slathering of sunscreen, we were able to saddle up and begin our ride, some local knowledge gleaned from our host gave us a shortcut into Gisburn Forest, good news, and that Gisburn’s star attraction, Hully Gully, was closed and had been for the past month, bad news.
Taking it on the chin, we rode a mile or so down the road and entered the forest via a small car park, then, finding the tree by the hole in the wall, we rode a short but surprisingly muddy track which joined the red route at a section called Home Baked. Once again we are following trail centre arrows, this time on a stony track through dark woods, before long the first technical feature appeared, a short, rocky, staircase which proved to be easier than it looked from above, shortly after we popped out onto our first bit of fire road. Mercifully this did not go on too long and we gladly returned to the cover of the trees for a bit of respite from the blazing sun (I never imagined I’d write that sentence either). The only major climb of the route appeared shortly after, a bit of a drag on fire road, which led to the top of the orange graded section, Hope Line, we decided to save this bit for tomorrow. A short climb through a disused quarry, led to some singletrack then a long section of raised North Shore on Sheep Hill, which features some cruel humps which require a fair amount of momentum to negotiate, good job the stability-challenged pensioner stayed at home.
Moving out onto open moorland we found ourselves in a land of rocky drops, Whelpstone Crag, culminating with the black graded Bigfoot Slab, a steep boulder causeway beside a rock outcrop, which was done but not without some initial hesitation and much discussion. Rolling over the lip it appeared to be a vertical drop, hanging on to the handlebars, buttocks hovering over the rear wheel, it was confirmed, luckily the run out is perfectly designed to sweep riders back onto the red route. Soon after we found ourselves at the allegedly closed Hully Gully, no Closed Signs or any other indications of work in progress, two passing Forestry Commision lads pulled up in a van and confirmed the route was open, as they had opened it an hour previously, we were to be the inaugural riders on the new improved Hully Gully. But first the qualifier, a rock step which requires some jumping skill to begin the route, none of us were willing to walk this bit under the watchful eyes of the FC lads, so jump it we did, with varying degrees of style but no casualties. Hully Gully itself is a fantastic ride, huge sweeping berms, up and down the valley sides, lead with maximum enjoyment to the valley bottom.
Unfortunately valley bottoms can only mean one thing, a climb out and this was no different, although none of the climbing at Gisburn is particularly arduous, no long steep climbs really, more a succession of ups and downs, the heat was beginning to take its toll and after we had done about ten miles in total, a snack break was called at a shaded corner. Four men on the verge of middle-age, bright red, sweating like whipped racehorses, casually eating snack bars as though they were at a pavement cafe in a European holiday resort. Some more singletrack followed before we found ourselves at the Gisburn Forest Hub, which is essentially a toilet block in a car park, with a closed cafe a short distance away. Underwhelmed, we continued onward, following more woodland singletrack for a mile or so until we reached our start point. Another mile on the road and we were back at our barn.
A predictable evening of food, beer and flatulence followed, as could be expected from four men without the civilising effect of female company; bikes in the front room, sweaty clothes on the floor, uninterrupted bike related conversation. Sleeping arrangements were basic, two mezzanine floors and a pile of mattresses, personally I had a fine night’s sleep, maybe something to do with almost forty years of shift work.
The next day was dry but cooler. After breakfast we made our way back to Gisburn Forest and rode the red route again, taking longer this time, doing a bit of sessioning on the more exciting sections (sessioning - getting down with the kids there, translation: doing some bits twice) including Hully Gully and Bigfoot Slab. We rode the orange graded Hope Line and found Leap Of Faith which remained unsullied by our tyres, two metre gaps being a little outside our ability zone. Today, without the blazing heat, everything seemed so much easier and we enjoyed the route significantly more than yesterday. We ventured onto the Skills Loop, which we all agreed was the most disappointing part of the whole Gisburn experience, being a collection of uninspiring trail features which would be better utilised as part of a route. Returning to Home Baked again, we left the woods and made our way back to the barn.
For me that was the break over, only a two hour drive home and work in the morning to look forward to. Gisburn Forest is remote, I’m still not certain if it is in Lancashire or Yorkshire. Dalehouse Barn is also remote, transport is required if you want to eat out or visit a local (although they are not that local) pub, similarly, shops are few and far between, no nipping out for a paper or a bottle of milk. That aside, Dalehouse Barn is ideally situated for riding in Gisburn Forest and I am certain we will visit again in the near future.
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