Firstly, let me say that we planned this trip quite carefully. We started discussing options in March 2014 by email, met up in May to discuss the details, did a shakedown ride in July to check that everything was basically working (it wasn't - we made a number of changes to our kit list after this ride), reviewed the arrangements in August and finally did the ride 23rd-25th September 2014. The idea of this post is partly to record some of our experiences for my own amusement but also to provide some tips for other first-time cycle tourists.
The Way of the Roses is a 170m (or 274km if you're into metric measurements) cross-country route taking in the sights of Morecambe, Lancaster, York and Bridlington with plenty of spectacular scenery and some interesting side-trips on the way. If you read the guidebook (which I'd recommend, if only for the elevation figures and information on local attractions) or any website that discusses the route you will be advised to ride from west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds. These winds can be very strong indeed so it's worth taking this bit of advice seriously.
Tip 1, direction of travel: I recommend west to east. Seriously, don't even think about east to west.
There are companies that will arrange your accommodation and carry your kit between stops but we chose to do it ourselves. We travelled to Morecambe by train - me from London, JW from Loughborough - which was an experience in its own right, given the fragmented nature of the network. Each train operating company makes different provision (or none) for bikes on their trains and they sometimes require bicycle reservations (East Coast, for example).
Tip 2, bicycles and trains, part 1: you generally can't make cycle reservations when booking rail tickets online and, if you're travelling with several companies, you may need to make a reservation with each.
Physically getting your bike onto the trains can be a bit of a problem, as can storage. Facilities range from sort of ok (East Midlands) to pretty awful (Cross Country) to non-existent (Northern Trains) and you may find that the space is full when you arrive, even if you have a reservation. That said, all the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful, it's just that the rolling stock isn't really setup for bikes.
Tip 3, bicycles and trains, part 2: get to the station early, stand on the right part of the platform (ask the local staff where the bikes are loaded onto the train) and be prepared to struggle with the infrastructure.
Following the advice above about direction of travel, we started the ride in Morecambe on the west coast. We chose a B&B from the Way of the Roses website and ended up at the Balmoral Hotel with a twin room looking out to sea. Pretty good.
Tip 4, Morecambe: there's not much to see in Morecambe so unless you're a big fan of the seaside you should probably aim to spend only a modest amount of time here.
We had allowed ourselves three days to cycle the 170m route, camping two nights but with a night in a relatively comfortable hotel. As we were carrying our own kit we had put a reasonable amount of thought into our requirements, although we had revised down our list of "necessary" items after our shakedown ride in July. My final kit list looked something like this:
- Hybrid bicycle with hub dynamo
- Dynamo lamps: front Axa Luxx 70 plus (with USB output for charging phones) and rear Busch and Muller Toplight
- Rear rack, a Tortec Ultralite
- Ortlieb Back Roller Classic panniers : great bags and solidly waterproof
- Timbuk2 bag for minor items
- Small dome tent
- Mountain Warehouse Traveller 50 sleeping bag : see below for my thoughts on this bag
- Single air mattress
- Reusable space blanket : very useful if the weather turns a bit cold
- Towel
- Cycling clothes : shorts, t-shirts, top, shoes, helmet, mitts, waterproof gloves, tights, coat, sunglasses
- Non-cycling clothes : jeans, t-shirts, jumper, underwear
- Tools : pump, puncture repair kit, two spare inner tubes, multi-tool
- Lock
- Water bottles (two)
- Poles for tarp
- Mallet
- Tea, coffee, sugar and capsules of UHT milk
- Bungees
- Emergency space blanket
- Lanyard for keys
- Stainless steel mug
- Matches
- Hat
- USB cable
- Battery pack and phone cable
- Folding charger (great for travelling) and phone cable
- iPhone
- Torch and spare batteries
- Headset
- Painkillers
- Food for breakfast
That might seem like a lot of stuff, and it certainly felt like a lot of stuff when I first pushed off to ride to the station, but I used pretty much everything on the list at one time or another. JW had a similar list of kit plus the tarpaulin, a small kettle and a stove.
Tip 5, pack carefully: you don't want to carry anything you aren't likely to need, so if it isn't an emergency item (like spare tubes) or a necessity (like a tent) just leave it behind. Anything that falls into the "might be useful" category should be discarded, especially if you can buy it at the roadside.
The only real problem I had with this list of kit was the sleeping bag, where I'd selected for weight rather than utility. This probably wouldn't have been a problem if we'd made the trip in July or August but by late September the overnight temperatures were getting quite low and a 1-2 season sleeping bag didn't really do the job.
Tip 6, plan for the season: get a sleeping bag that matches the expected temperatures. A liner might also be a good idea.
The route itself is well signed along the vast majority of its length, although there are a few places where you have to keep your eyes peeled. Some of the signs are quite small and others are obscured by vegetation so you may find yourself referring to your map (you remembered to bring one, right?) occasionally to check that you're still going the right way. We met a pair of ladies on day one who had missed a sign at some point and only realised their mistake when they reached Cumbria; not good.
You also need to be prepared for some fairly large hills, particularly the road out of Settle. High Hill Lane is well-named and as Settle is a good spot to stop for lunch on the first day you're likely to encounter it with a heavy stomach.
Tip 7, lunch on day one: stop in Settle to buy lunch but stick it in your panniers and eat at the top of High Hill.
After High Hill the rest of the route is relatively straightforward, although there are some fairly large climbs around Pateley Bridge. There are a few things worth seeing on the way, like Fountains Abbey or Malham Cove. It's also worth spending time in York, if you can arrange it. We stopped only to take photos of the Minster and to munch some comfort food but you could easily spend a full day wandering around the city and it would make a good place to spend a night.
Speaking of nights, we spend two of ours at campsites. Both sites were pretty good, although Fangfoss is in the middle of nowhere and so you need to plan your evening meal with care (we ordered takeaway pizza). The sites we used were:
- Mason's Campsite in the Yorkshire Dales
- Fangfoss Caravan Park, just outside York
We just turned up and pitched but if you travel in peak season you'll probably want to phone ahead and book.
Tip 8, timing: Friday to Sunday are the peak times for the Way of the Roses. Off-season and mid-week (Wednesday to Friday) gives you the route to yourself most of the time.
The final day's riding involves a few more hills but, eventually, you spot the sea and begin the approach into Bridlington. We had fantastic weather on the last day of our ride and pretty good weather for the other days as well but we were lucky.
Tip 9, accommodation: the Way of the Roses website lists a pretty good selection of campsites, B&Bs and hotels where cyclists' somewhat unusual requirements can be catered for. Worth checking.
Bridlington is a rather livelier town than Morecambe but we stayed only overnight, leaving at 10:00 the following morning. If you like seaside towns you should probably stay longer, especially if you were tempted by Morecambe (I'd say Bridlington is probably the more attractive of the two towns), and enjoy the beaches.
We stayed our final night at the Expanse Hotel and enjoyed a good breakfast on the Saturday morning. Camping was fun but staying an extra night in a hotel (we had originally planned to take the train home on Friday evening rather than Saturday morning) made a big difference both to the ride on Friday afternoon and our general level of stress and enjoyment. Not having a train to catch on the Friday meant we could take our time and stop for tea and cake, which is pretty much the best part of cycling long distances.
Tip 10, food: coffee and cake, taken twice daily, with a decent breakfast, a sensible lunch and a good dinner. Definitely the way to travel.
So there it is. We had a great time, saw some fantastic scenery, towns and sights, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The only real question is "what next?"
If you've made it this far, congratulations. If you have comments or questions, please do get in touch below.
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