Cold Kirby to Bilsdale
Route Information
Stats: 25 miles and 3377 feet of ascent
OS Map: 
Refreshments
This route starts and finishes near to the National Parks Visitor Centre at Sutton Bank. The centre has a cafe and toilets. From 2013, it will also have bike hire.
Accommodation is at Thirsk, Helmsley or in one of the villages nearby, by way of numerous pubs and B&Bs.
Character
This is a burner, a real test of your stamina. As it starts, we follow the BW from Cold Kirby, before detouring off the BW and along the road via Old Byland, as the BW direct is a real mud bath (honest). We ride routes first, so that you know these things. However, once around the detour, the technical aspect begins with a great singletrack descent, before climbing up to Murton Grange, following the woods around to a further descent before a road section takes you off to the moorland proper.
A great little permissive track leads across the moor and steeply down to Fangdale Beck, following which you have an epic climb, where walking is not optional! The track then thins out into singletrack that requires good navigation, before twisting around and joining doubletrack for a long and fast descent off the moor. Take a tour around the BWs that surround Hawnby, climb back up to the escarpment and finish along Boltby Scar before heading to the car. For 25 hard miles, and some great descents and little technical sections along the way, this is a cracker of a route.
Start Point: Park alongside the village green at Cold Kirby
Route
Work in progress
click below for gpx file
