Blowy At Bloworth

Mountain Bike Ride.

The Breadlad

17th March route

Maybe it was anticipation of the tail end of Storm Stella, which was due to cross the Atlantic and ravage Britain after blowing some fat people about in the land of the free and home of the brave but today we were reduced to a duo as assorted pitiful excuses were trotted out for missing the ride. The Breadlad and me did the usual faffing about in Clay Bank car park, a bit breezy but not reaching hurricane standards just yet. Leaving the car park, the wind was blowing straight up the Bilsdale valley, bikes were shouldered for the walk up the Carr Ridge steps, the path turning so the wind was at our backs by the time we remounted for the climb onto Urra Moor, passing by Round Hill, the highest point on the North York Moors. We continued in a similar, wind-assisted, fashion to Cockayne Head, the track drying out nicely, only a few puddles remaining, before turning into the wind, dropping down by the Badger Stone then climbing again to cross Slapewath Moor to Stump Cross. The start of what we call The John Deere descent, named after The Pensioner many years ago for his resemblance to a smoky, old tractor which just keeps ploughing on.

Stump Cross really is a stump of a cross, probably put there by early pilgrims to mark the start of the bridleway opposite, a fine, singletrack descent, cutting down into Bransdale, culminating in a steep shale drop to the road. Normally from here, we would turn right and follow the road steeply upward before picking up the track along Bransdale Ridge back to Stump Cross; today however, we went left into the remnants of Bloworth Wood, nearly all felled now, acres of tree stumps surrounding us as we contour around the head of the valley on a gently rising fireroad. A short uphill section leads out of the woods up to Rudland Rigg where Stella sought to remind us of her presence in a most forceful way.

The thought of battling against the wind, back over the highest point of the moors, did not fill us with joyfulness, The Breadlad mooted an alternative return which involved a tree-screened lower path and a blast down The Incline to reach it. Acceptance of the idea was swift and we continued along the old rail track from Bloworth Crossing to the Incline top, the track stretching perpendicularly below us; it must have been quite a site in the ironstone mining days when trucks full of iron ore were trundling down the slope.

Ingleby Incline

No chance today of beating my personal land speed record (47.6 mph, if you’re curious) while being buffeted by a side wind but still a speedy few hundred metres. Despite being blown sideways across the track twice. The Breadlad’s plan came together, the track back through the woods was indeed predominantly sheltered from the wind and we made decent progress back to Clay Bank, with only the short road section to cause us pain.