Tour Reports

In addition to our regular Sunday Club Runs, we also organise longer trips, usually over a long weekend. This allows us to venture further afield to explore new territory.

Wednesday, 18 April 2018 17:21

Berwick-upon-Tweed Weekend - April 2018

Berwick-upon-Tweed was the base for this years April weekend away, with 17 riders meeting for a few days cycling around Northumberland and the southern Scottish Borders. Friday, most people were arriving, either staying at the Caravan Site in Spittal, or the Travelodge in Berwick. It was a little foggy, but a few did manage a short "weekend warmup" ride out to Chain Bridge Honey Farm, after which several of us met up in Berwick's famous Michelin starred restaurant, otherwise known as Morrison's cafe. (It was next door to the Travelodge, so very convenient).

On Saturday, we rode as a…

Monday, 14 August 2017 17:10

Birthday Rides 2017

This years annual CTC Birthday Rides was hosted by the Fire Services College, Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, from 7 - 13th August.

Ten riders from Burnley & Pendle attended this year, with one camper, two caravanners and the rest in the college accomodation. As usual, a selection of routes were available for us to enjoy, ranging from short 25 mile 'D' rides, upto 80 mile+ 'A' rides, all using quiet country lanes so we could enjoy the scenery without having to worry too myuch about traffic. Not all wanting to do the same rides every day, we split into…

Thursday, 27 April 2017 17:20

Ludlow Weekend - April 2017

Ludlow was the destination for this years April long weekend. Fourteen members heading into Shropshire, arriving at various times on Thursday and Friday, 4 staying at a local caravan site, and the remaining 10 in the Ludlow Travelodge. Friday - Just Exploring With riders arriving at different times, we didn't have any rides planned until Saturday, but that didn't stop a few of us having a short explaratory trip out on Friday afternoon, where we soon discovered Shropshire's hills were long and often steep. After our ride, we checked into the Travelodge, before meeting the others in the Squirrel for…

Monday, 22 August 2016 14:34

Birthday Rides 2016

Monday 15th August 2016 saw eight riders from Burnley and Pendle CTC arriving at Framlingham College in Sufflok for a weeks cycling around the flat and quiet Suffolk lanes. Around 450 CTC members from around the country were atending to celebtate hte 138th birthday of the National CTC. Five of our members were staying in the student accomodation, with the remaining three camping/caravanning.area. Being around 250 miles from Burnley & Pendle, we didn't arrive until mid afternoon, so only had time to unpack, prepare our steeds, and familiarise ourselves with the area before our evening meal.

From Tuesday to…

Wednesday, 13 April 2016 17:22

Isle of Man Weekend - April 2016

The Minibus arrived at 9:30am on Thursday morning to pick up the first of 6 riders, taking them to Heysham for the Isle of Man ferry. With the rear seats removed, it easily accommodated the six of us with bikes, panniers and other assorted luggage. By 12:30, we arrived at the Ferry terminal at Heysham, with plenty of time to spare to enjoy our packed lunches before boarding for the 2:15pm sailing, where we met three more of our riders.. It was a calm day. Perfect for the crossing. It was a 3.5 hour sail, but we were all in…

Thursday, 17 September 2015 10:29

Birthday Rides 2015

The 2015 CTC Birthday Rides were held at Newton Rigg Agricultural College just outside Penrith in Cumbria. The rides are held in a different region each year and are run by CTC Holidays with help from the local member group volunteers. This year around 250 members attended to celebrate the 137th birthday of the National CTC.Seven Burnley and Pendle members attended the event, some staying in the en-suite accommodation with breakfast and evening meals provided, others making use of the caravanning facilities. There were a variety of rides each day ranging from less than 20 miles to 70 miles plus. …

Tuesday, 28 July 2015 15:57

Hawes Weekend - July 2015

We spent the weekend of 24th to 26th July cycling around the Yorkshire Dales from our base in Hawes. On Friday we rode over to Sedburgh via Appersett, Garsdale Head, where we took a break for lunch. Whilst there we met an old member by the name of Derek Silverwood, he'd ridden over from Rimington that morning, and had stopped there for his sandwiches before heading back. He seemed to know most of the long term club members? After lunch we made the return trip passing through Millthrop, Rash, Gawthrop and Dent, mainly following the River Dee before dropping back into…

Monday, 20 April 2015 17:36

Hesket Newmarket Weekend - April 2015

An early start on Friday, April 17th saw us arriving at Hesket Newmarket in the northern Lake District for a long weekends riding. Hesket Newmarket is famed for it's pub "The Old Crown", the first registered co-operatively owned Pub in Britain. And our B&B was next door!. We had three days of riding planned, starting on the Friday, with a trip out to the coast at Allonby where we could see right across the Solway Firth to Dumfries. Of course heading to the coast means it's largely downhill all the way. Which means it's uphill…

Thursday, 12 June 2014 22:13

Belgium Weekend 2013.

Club weekend to Belgium 12th to 15th October 2013. Six club members: John, Chris, Dave, Matt, Jim & Jackie met up at Hull on Saturday to travel on the overnight ferry to Zebrugge. It was a grey, wet day and there was a strong wind blowing - not what you want for a thirteen hour ferry journey. We parked on the long stay car park and put all our gear on the bikes. Jim and Jackie were travelling light with just a saddle bag each. I'm relatively new to cycle touring, so had probably packed more than was necessary, so I…

Tuesday, 25 February 2014 20:04

CTC Birthday Rides 2013 Yarnfield Staffordshire

The 2013 CTC Birthday Rides were held at Yarnfiled Park, North Staffordshire. The rides are held in a different region each year and are run by CTC Holidays with help from the local member group volunteers. This year around 460 members attended to celebrate the 135th birthday of the National CTC. The event was based at Yarnfield Park the British Telecom Training and Conference Centre. Members could stay in the en-suite accommodation with breakfast and evening meals provided, or could caravan or camp in the grounds either self catering or purchasing meals. Burnley and Pendle CTC member…

Friday, 24 May 2013 00:00

Peak District Weekend 2013.

Our Club Weekend from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th April 2013 was based in Miller's Dale, Peak District, Derbyshire. Members stayed either at Eyam Youth Hostel or in caravans at Beech Croft Farm, Blackwell, just a few miles away. Although the area is called the Peak District and there are not many flat roads and some seriously steep roads, cycling in the area is made a whole lot easier by using some of the many off road cycling trails, many of which follow the route of old railway lines with nice steady gradients. Having made our own way down to…

Friday, 19 October 2012 00:00

Hawes Weekend 2012

Our club weekend from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th September stayed at Hawes Youth Hostel and coincided with our vice-president Peter Gott's 50th birthday on the Saturday. The ride over on the Friday headed off from Burnley via Higherford, Barnoldswick, Cracoe, and Grassington with a lunch stop at Buckden. We then continued on through Aysgarth and onto Hawes for a cafe stop while we waited for the hostel to open. The ride was a very pleasant 60 miles with 4600 ft of ascent, although the last section was quite tough into a strong headwind. In the evening we ate at…