Lancaster Wray loop

Lancaster – Wray – Ingleton – Ribblehead – Horton in Ribblesdale – Helwith Bridge – Austwick – Clapham – Mewith Lane – Wray

This route is one of the many variations we use for enjoying the limestone scenery of the 3 Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales.

We leave Lancaster on the Lune Cyclepath to Bulll Beck, then along the A683 to the south of the river, then onto the B road to Wray.We continue through Wennington village, then go left at Ravens Close and up the steep hill.Once at the top it’s just undulating roads to Ingleton and the welcoming arms of the Inglesport café (with cycle parking at the back).If we’re feeling strong we take the initially extremely steep quiet lane out of Ingleton ( right , just by the bridge) towards Chapel-le-Dale, which keeps us away from the main Ribblehead road, often busy with motorbikes.We rejoin the main road at Chapel-le-Dale for the final couple of miles to the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct with Whernside on the left and Ingleborough towering above us on the right ; we regularly see “steam specials” on the railway. A right turn and undulating roads leads us to Horton-in Ribblesdale, now with the bulk of Pen-Y-Ghent to our left.

There is a choice of cafes and pubs in Horton for lunch, before heading off south towards Settle.We take a right turn to Helwith Bridge and climb over the shoulder before swooping down into Austwick.Fortunately cyclists can now take advantage of the cycle by-pass track which avoids the A65 and takes us to the road into Clapham Village (with further refreshment opportunities if required).We cross the A65 to Clapham Station, and take the hilly Slaidburn road but only as far as to Keasden, where we turn right onto Mewith Lane, part of the Lancashire Cycleway.This is a delightful balcony route, giving splendid views of Ingleborough across the valley.Time permitting, we stop at Bridge House Café at Wray for ice creams or tea before going our various ways home.

CTC Lancaster and South Lakes covers all the LA postcodes and the majority of our members live in the Lancaster area.  Most rides start from Lancaster and are 40-70 miles, so we can only access a large part of the southern Lake District using car-assist. As well as the Lake District, we are lucky to have the 3 Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales and the Howgills within striking distance.  Many of our rides head south, into the Forest of Bowland AONB or onto the Fylde, but these are not LA postcodes. A very popular area for shorter rides is the Arnside/Silverdale AONB.