Author Topic: Dent  (Read 1632 times)

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Dent
« on: 23 January, 2019, 08:43:51 pm »
I shall be visiting my spiritual home (a very high concentration of Swales's). Would quite like to take the bike with me for a 50-60km loop. Anyone from the area able to recommend something?

Re: Dent
« Reply #1 on: 23 January, 2019, 09:14:06 pm »
You can't really go wrong around Dent. Follow the river down to Sedbergh, along the lanes to Barbon and back via Barbondale would be a good loop (for example).

Fox's Pulpit is worth a visit too.

It's not Swaledale, though :)

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Re: Dent
« Reply #2 on: 23 January, 2019, 09:16:08 pm »
You can't really go wrong around Dent. Follow the river down to Sedbergh, along the lanes to Barbon and back via Barbondale would be a good loop (for example).

Fox's Pulpit is worth a visit too.

It's not Swaledale, though :)

Thanks! Apparently my bunch have been tracked back to Dent where they were tinkers and other ne'er do wells. Probably why they left!

Pedaldog.

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Re: Dent
« Reply #3 on: 23 January, 2019, 10:38:18 pm »
Campsite was great, admittedly 8 years ago, and over New Years Eve' only charged us £2.00 per night. The pub had a good warm fire and the Local Folk were friendly. Amazed that we'd cycled up the back road from Devils bridge area in the snow.
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Re: Dent
« Reply #4 on: 23 January, 2019, 11:10:32 pm »
As above, you can't really go wrong with any loop out of Dentdale and back in again. It comes down to some degree to how steep you want it. All routes are distinctly up apart from the road(s) to Sedbergh, which undulate downwards. In order of severity: Barbondale (up from Gawthrop); up the valley through Cowgill to emerge at Newby Head; turn up the Coal Road at Cowgill; up into Kingsdale via Deepdale (bear right from Dent, then right again). It's all good but my favourites of those are Kingsdale, then the Coal Road, and then Barbondale.

Starting from Dent I think the best 60Km (just over) route would be Deepdale, Kingsdale, up Oddie's Lane from Ingleton and then past Ribblehead, over Newby Head and down to Appersett, then across to Garsdale Head and up the hard side of the Coal Road to emerge at Cowgill and roll back down to Dent. Not an easy ride as such, but extremely scenic :-) 63km

The easiest loop would be down to Sedbergh, keep going left and you'll end up in Barbon and can go up Barbondale on the gently sloping side, which is very fine indeed though only a little over 30km.

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Re: Dent
« Reply #5 on: 24 January, 2019, 10:38:14 am »
Thanks! I will trace something out on RWGPS and see how (very) hilly it looks! We will be staying on a farm cottage thing, so no need to camp. Not that my wife will anyway!

whosatthewheel

Re: Dent
« Reply #6 on: 24 January, 2019, 12:30:27 pm »
Shortest meaningful loop that I can think of... 2 massive climbs... the Old Coal Road and Buttertubs pass

https://www.strava.com/routes/16897384

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Re: Dent
« Reply #7 on: 24 January, 2019, 01:05:40 pm »
Thanks. I don't think I need "meaningful" just a nice ride out over 50-60k. And that would almost certainly kill me. ;)

Re: Dent
« Reply #8 on: 24 January, 2019, 01:36:59 pm »
This is a very nice loop and not too excessively steep anywhere (clockwise, that is). Arguably the overall set of views afforded on this is about the best and there's nothing as hard as the Coal Road from the north or Kingsdale/Deepdale in the other direction. If you do do this, do be aware of the two gates on the way down into Deepdale (there are two on the way up too, but hitting those at speed is rather less of a risk :-) ). This is the set of roads around Dent which  I'd most regret 'losing' if I didn't live here.

https://www.strava.com/routes/16898079

menthel

  • Jim is my real, actual name
Re: Dent
« Reply #9 on: 24 January, 2019, 01:48:40 pm »
Lovely!