MTB: Tour of Nidderdale
An all weather classic with barely any tarmac. Starting at the head of Nidderdale this classic tour takes you up onto stony tracks high above the valley, before dropping down a rubble slope to Bouthwaite. A section through farmland back up the valley, then leads to a climb to Middlesmoor, and the superb descent back to the reservoir.Route Info
A classic Dales mountain bike route. This starts from Scar House Reservoir which is reached by a dead end road from Lofthouse, normally approached from Pateley Bridge. There is a car park and toilets at the start and along the route there are pubs at Ramsgill and Middlesmoor and a café just off the route at How Stean Gorge.
The route starts by crossing the dam and then heads right on stony tracks which keep you high and traversing the valley side. You cross a road and more stone tracks keep you high before a steep, boulder descent to Ramsgill. A short bit of tarmac and then a series of bridleways head back though farmland before dropping to a road.
The climb up to Middlesmoor at the end of a dead end road is steep but with lots of character. You then follow the road through the village and it becomes a track. Great riding over the moor leads you to a final roller coaster descent back to the reservoir.
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Downloads
If available, the 'GPX' (or GPS Exchange format) files for each route are text files that can be read by GPS devices as a series of waypoints along each route.