Jack's Ride For The Weekend

The Painter's Chronicle Team are delighted to announce another new website feature; 'Jack's Ride For The Weekend'. The much anticipated feature finally makes it debut this week. Jack Paige is a keen cycling enthusiast and with this in mind, he has kindly offered to share some of his favourite routes with you all, to quite literally give you a ride for the weekend!

May’s Shop Route

Start: Hardcastle Crags Car Park

Finish: Hebden Bridge

Time: 1.5 to 3 Hours

Distance: 11miles (approx)

Difficulty: Moderate; the descent from Jack Bridge is quite rough but the rest is fairly easy.

1. Start in the Hardcastle Crags car park and head up the main track through the crags towards Gibson Mill. Once you reach the Mill continue up the hill on the same track. Once you reach the top and come out of the woods take the left fork towards the Walshaw Hamlet.

2. Continue along the flat dirt track, after about half a mile you will reach a gate. Go through the gate and the track will start to go downhill, gently at first but getting steeper. At the bottom of the hill you will come to a river with two bridges across it. Cross the river and head up the steep track, which joins another track after about 50 metres. Carry on up this track and then take the left fork after 100 metres. Follow this track, over the cattle grid and down the hill.

3. At the bottom of the hill you will reach a road. Here turn left and after 30 metres cross the road and go through the gate (signposted Pennine Bridleway). Follow the track curving around the hill and cross the dam at the top. After the dam, turn left and just after the houses turn right through the green gates (sign-posted Pennine Bridleway).

4. Follow the Pennine Bridleway over the hill, down the other side and through the gate at the bottom. From here follow the track all the way to the end. The Pennine Bridleway turns off but ignore this. After about a mile from the gate you will find May’s Shop tucked away on the right which is a great shop that sells everything.

5. From the shop follow the track to the road and turn right down through Colden and up past The New Delight Pub. Just after the pub there is a track to the left, on the corner of the road. Continue straight down here, through the woods for about a mile down hill. The descent becomes quite steep and rocky, but it is a challenge to see if you can do it without using your brakes!

6. The track then meets another, wider and less steep track which you want to turn right onto. This track takes you to Mytholm Steeps which you follow to Burnley Road. Turn left onto Burnley Road and follow back to Hebden Bridge.

Thanks Jack, we look forward to many more routes from you!