Thursday ride 31 August - Millennium Bridge to GrangE

We met at Millennium Bridge for the ride to Grange-over-Sands, with an interim stop at RSPB, Leighton Moss. The last day of August, we were sorry to see the end of it, given that it has been such a sunny, dry month! Or is that my memory letting me down again? There were 7 of us at the start, including John who was joining us for his first ride. Welcome John!

We were heading to Leighton Moss at Silverdale, so, in the interest of bagging a few extra miles and feet of ascent, we set off in a completely different direction. We headed for the now infamous Kellet Lane, and followed it all the way to Nether Kellet. It’s a bit of a grind, but it certainly gets the legs working, being so early in the ride. Over Kellet, Capernwray, and Borwick were all ‘bagged’ and we headed towards Burton. Before reaching Burton, however, we took the left turn which, after crossing the A6 carefully, took us to Yealand Redmayne, through Yealand Storrs, and then arriving in good time for coffee and cakes at Leighton Moss.

Two of our number declared their intention to return home, but we were joined by another rider. Setting a good pace, we rode towards Arnside, but took the Carr Bank turning taking us through Sandside and onto the quiet roads across the mosses as far as Levens Hall. We followed the A6 briefly, then took the lane through Sampool. We joined the tarmac covered bridleway which took us to the busy A590 which we crossed carefully! We then joined the old road which ran more or less parallel to the dual carriageway. This took us to Town End and then we took the Witherslack turn and subsequent left turn to the Tow Top crossroads. We decided to give the Tow Top ascent a miss and took the left turn towards Lindale. A consensus took the decision to now follow the main road into Grange. We headed straight for ‘The Coffee Pot’ for our lunch break. This is a good place for cyclists, not least because there is a lockable yard where we can park our bikes securely. The food isn’t bad either, and it’s always served promptly with a friendly smile. The view over the bay is pretty good also!

We dined well and reasonably quickly, so off we rode along the promenade as far as the narrow bridge which we crossed and joined the B road before taking the right turn past the golf course and onto Meathop. We rode across the Mosses, arriving back at Town End. This time we headed to Levens mainly along the old road then onto Heversham, Ackenthwaite and Holme. After Burton riders began to drop off as they neared home, everyone having enjoyed a super ride on a dry, warm day, covering, in my case, 65 miles and 2600 ft.

Cycling UK rides are every Thursday and Sunday, new faces are always welcome, just ask John!

Neil Westwell