Lancaster and South Lakes 5 February ride to Grange over Sands.

It was a cold, frosty morning at Beaumont on Sunday as one tandem and four singles met for the ride to Grange with a coffee stop at Sizergh Castle. It was good to see Tim joining us once again. There was some frost still around as we carefully made our way to Nether Kellet. On through Over Kellet we took the turn towards Borwick, through Priest Hutton and onto Burton then Holme. It was still pretty cold, so we were quite wary as we progressed through Whassett, the outskirts of Milnthorpe and then the right turn to Ackenthwaite. Through Hincaster we finally arrived at Sizergh Castle, having taken a little longer than normal due to the possibility of ice on the road. Fortunately, no problems were encountered. The cafe was fairly busy, but we managed to get a table inside where we enjoyed the refreshments on offer. It was good to meet up with Andrew who was joining his first CTC ride for a while. It was a long stop, but it was nice to be sitting in the warm cafe, we only left the cafe reluctantly, but the sun was shining now and signs of frost were disappearing. We quickly left the castle grounds, but before us was the up and down of the road to Levens, the toughest part of the day! There were now 4 of us continuing to Grange and having just conquered the ‘mountain’, that’s what it felt like, we had a pretty level route to Sampool and onto the old road taking us past the Derby Inn. We took the subway under the A590 and made our way to Meathop and onto Grange. We decided the Coffee Pot in Grange, with it’s superb views over the bay, would be our lunch stop. Given the time of the day and the shortness thereof, we didn’t dally for too long, leaving Grange via the promenade all the way to the end. We rejoined the main road briefly and took the right turn alongside the golf club towards Meathop. Back under the subway by the Derby Inn we headed to Gilpin Bridge, but this time we carefully crossed the main road and joined the track to High Sampool. We carried on and eventually, briefly, joined the A6, then took the quiet minor road over the ‘mosses’ and onto Sandside. We took the road past the quarry onto Storth and, skirting Arnside passed Silverdale railway station and golf club and on towards Warton where we said goodbye to Andrew. The three remaining ‘Musketeers’ made their way through Crag Bank and subsequently made their separate ways home. An excellent ride in plenty of sunshine, albeit cold at times, especially early on. My longest ride of the year so far, 58 miles with nearly 3000ft of ascent. Neil Westwell

Anyone who is interested in joining us can find information about our regular club rides on Thursdays and Sundays on our website:  www.ctclancaster.org.uk.