Bike Route: Ilkley to Hebden Bridge 29mi 3400ft of climb
Accommodation: Welcoming B&B (Airbnb); hosts Manya and David. Private room with king bed plus extra bed; shared bath and toilet room. Use of kitchen upon request. Breakfast included.
Dinner: Pub on the canal, about .7 mile from our room. Decent food, quiet tables outside on the water. We met a couple and their university-age son who had just moved to Hebden Bridge two weeks earlier, in preparation for retirement. Their dream was to buy a narrow boat and spend a few years exploring the canals of the UK, using Hebden Bridge as their home base. They were living in a row house between our room and the pub, on the canal.
The hills got to us a little today, but again we were on quiet country lanes most of the time, and the scenery was spectacular. At one point, near the end, we dropped off the summit down a steep, steep downhill. As we made a tight hairpin turn into a tiny stone hamlet, the tar turned to cobblestones and Ken's computer registered -27.5 percent. We are sooo glad we have hydraulic disc brakes. I don't think we could handle some of the riding we've been doing if we didn't have our indestructible Lynskey bikes.
As we rode through Haworth, I saw a sign pointing to the car park for buses to the Brontë Village. Someday maybe I’ll get back here with friends who enjoy literary history. For this trip, we are focusing more on biking and absorbing the scenery. There is never enough time to do everything.
We found our accommodation easily, and our host Manya waved to us from the front window and helped us store our bikes in the front hall. After quick showers, we hiked up the canal to a pub recommended by Manya, and enjoyed a quiet dinner. (For the most part, pubs offer reliably okay food. Fortunately, there are lots of pubs, so we can usually get a decent meal fairly close to our accommodation.)Back in our room, we did a little reading about the town. Hebden Bridge started out as a mill city and became known for weaving corduroy. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was a center for artisans and wealthy young people looking for an alternative lifestyle. The canal area especially reminded me of Manitou Springs, CO, which embraced a similar demographic around the same time.
It's amazing how each place that we stay has its own character, its own ambience. Every day and every night is unique.
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| Seconds after taking this photo, we were whizzing past that stone building on a rough cobblestone road after a steep hairpin turn. |
