Journey 2 - Esholt, Hawksworth, 5 rise locks
Posted by clare bell on Sunday, April 17, 2011
Under: Mountain bike journeys
Distance approx 15km
Time 2 1/2 hrs
So today was another cracking day and perfect for cycling, not too hot, too cold or too breezy. My route today is a bit of hills and a bit of flat and luckily I got the hills out of the way first!
My start point is on the A6038 near Esholt in Bradford (where they used to shoot Emmerdale Farm) in the main road there is plenty of parking, I suggest somewhere near the Halfway House pub is probably they easiest. The first part of the ride is main road and can be busy, additionally there are a few short but nevertheless steep climbs and dips and a very steep and long drop futher along so I suggest this is a ride for intermediate adults and no children
The first climb is up the big hill of the A6038 past Hollins Hall Country Club its about 1 mile, as you come to the top you take your first left up Hawksworth Road after about 1/2 a mile the road comes out right across the valley you can see Baildon Moor, its a fantastic view from up here and well worth the climb up!
next on your journey is beautiful Hawksworth Village a place where you will wish your want to live with pretty stone cottages and beautiful gradens. As you continue straight on this road the scenary is a mixture of fields, forest and moorland and the traffic is quiet, follow the signs for E.Morton (East Morton) all the time you can see Baildon Moor on your left and its high enough to see much further.
When you reach the T junction with the moorland straight across from you turn left and now the fun part begins! for the next couple of miles the road is like a rollercoaster, dips and troughs all the way so make sure your get your speed up in the dips in order to help you up the other side!
As you start coming into the fields again you will come across Dick Hudsons on your left so if your thirsty this is a great place to stop with a great view! Civilisation starts to reappear and you reach the edge of East Morton, another pretty little village, keep on the same road and as you come out you will find its all down hill from here, literally!
This is quite a steep gradient and I found myself easily reaching 20mph+ so take care on the downhill. As you come towards the bottom you will cross a narrow bridge over the canal, this is where your time on the road ends for now as you now need to join the towpath and head towards Bingley.
View from Towpath
About 5 mins riding before you get to Bingleys famous Five Rise Locks which is a great place to stop for a rest and a snack, there is a cafe and toilets and stunning views, lots of activity here!
Five Rise Locks
its a nice ride on the canal to Shipley now, lots of wildlife at this time of year particularly ducks which tend to have at least 5-10 ducklings in tow! As we come into Saltaire the first thing you see is Salts Mill, lots to see here and very busy so watch out for pedestrians, this is another good place to stop if you fancy a rest with a large park and the River Aire running adjacent to the canal and the David Hockney Gallery & shops in Salts Mill.
Time 2 1/2 hrs
So today was another cracking day and perfect for cycling, not too hot, too cold or too breezy. My route today is a bit of hills and a bit of flat and luckily I got the hills out of the way first!
My start point is on the A6038 near Esholt in Bradford (where they used to shoot Emmerdale Farm) in the main road there is plenty of parking, I suggest somewhere near the Halfway House pub is probably they easiest. The first part of the ride is main road and can be busy, additionally there are a few short but nevertheless steep climbs and dips and a very steep and long drop futher along so I suggest this is a ride for intermediate adults and no children
The first climb is up the big hill of the A6038 past Hollins Hall Country Club its about 1 mile, as you come to the top you take your first left up Hawksworth Road after about 1/2 a mile the road comes out right across the valley you can see Baildon Moor, its a fantastic view from up here and well worth the climb up!
next on your journey is beautiful Hawksworth Village a place where you will wish your want to live with pretty stone cottages and beautiful gradens. As you continue straight on this road the scenary is a mixture of fields, forest and moorland and the traffic is quiet, follow the signs for E.Morton (East Morton) all the time you can see Baildon Moor on your left and its high enough to see much further.
When you reach the T junction with the moorland straight across from you turn left and now the fun part begins! for the next couple of miles the road is like a rollercoaster, dips and troughs all the way so make sure your get your speed up in the dips in order to help you up the other side!
As you start coming into the fields again you will come across Dick Hudsons on your left so if your thirsty this is a great place to stop with a great view! Civilisation starts to reappear and you reach the edge of East Morton, another pretty little village, keep on the same road and as you come out you will find its all down hill from here, literally!
This is quite a steep gradient and I found myself easily reaching 20mph+ so take care on the downhill. As you come towards the bottom you will cross a narrow bridge over the canal, this is where your time on the road ends for now as you now need to join the towpath and head towards Bingley.
View from Towpath
Five Rise Locks
its a nice ride on the canal to Shipley now, lots of wildlife at this time of year particularly ducks which tend to have at least 5-10 ducklings in tow! As we come into Saltaire the first thing you see is Salts Mill, lots to see here and very busy so watch out for pedestrians, this is another good place to stop if you fancy a rest with a large park and the River Aire running adjacent to the canal and the David Hockney Gallery & shops in Salts Mill.
Continue straight on after Salts Mill and after about 1/2 mile is Ellis Bingham Bike shop right on the canal bank, another 300 yards and you come to a bridge and a road this is where we get off the canal. Ride on the road forward which runs next to the canal and after about 200 yards you will see a left turn and a dead end sign, turn left here and follow it down to the next corner and you will see an iron bridge, take this bridge over the river and at the end your back on the A6038 about a mile back from where you started, turn right and keep going until you find your car!
Happy riding!
Happy riding!