A little hazy, with thin cloud but acceptably warm at 08:45 in Manchester, it boded well for an excellent and hot day, and so it turned out.  Although isolated thundery showers were forecast, a judicious choice of route kept us well away from any possibility of rain for the whole day.  By the time Clive & Kit were pulling into the car park in Holmfirth at 09:35 it was already getting quite hot and the sun was well advanced in burning off what little haziness the day had started with.

Over the Moors & up to the Ram's Head

A little later than planned, to allow Simon to refuel nearby, we set off to climb the wonderful A635 over Saddleworth Moor, and then down the swooping section past the reservoirs to Uppermill.  However, thanks to plenty of forewarning by oncoming bikers, we checked our progress so that as we passed the police patrol car doing a poor biker, along the fastest section, we were commendably only doing 60mph.

The gentle run up through Uppermill & Delph to Denshaw allowed us all to immerse ourselves in the varied and pleasant characters of the villages, including a brief blast from a brass band assembled on the green in Uppermill.  All along the way, the pubs had put out their tables and chairs, all filled with happy imbibers, and people milled about looking wan and pasty white in creased shorts and vests.  You could almost see everyone blinking in the unaccustomed brightness of what was fast becoming a bright sun set deep into the azure sky.

What had been planned as a brief fag and drinks break at the Ram's Head Inn above Delph, turned into a simple photo-shoot as the place didn't open until midday!  This was a real shame as Debbie was dying for a coffee - sorry chuck.  In the background of the group shot you can make out Piehorne Reservoir down in the valley, beyond which Rochdale glistened in the sunshine - now, you never thought you'd hear that sentiment in conjunction with Rochdale, did you?  In fact, everywhere just looked ten times better in the bright sunshine.

Up & Over, and Up & Over, and Up to Oxenhope

The Ram's Head is on the A672 from Delph to Ripponden, and all of it on the Lancashire side is restricted to 50mph!  However, once over the Yorkshire border, the downhill swoop with its occasional hairpins thrown in is the wonderful National Speed Limit, so the pace was quickened somewhat down and past the reservoir and into Rishworth.  At Ripponden we doubled-back onto Rochdale Road and back up and out onto the moors as far as Blackstone Edge which we took for the beautiful long valley descent down to Mytholmroyd.

Although we'd had a bit of a burst of speed along the way, the lazy warmth of the day was soaking into our bones and we were content to progress more leisurely by now, just letting the atmosphere and views flood over us.  Turning west, it wasn't long before we were passing through Hebden Bridge and out northwards towards Oxenhope, with yet another climb onto the the Pennine foothills and some more swooping bends.  It was fortunate that we had backed off a bit, as the road along this section proved to have suffered badly and was quite bumpy.

Once more we dropped down from the heights, round the hairpin bends into the Worth Valley and Oxenhope, and the Worth Valley Railway Station where we had our next break ..... and where Debbie, at long last, was able to get a coffee.

In the car park was a collection of vintage motorcycles, along with their seemingly contemporaneous riders.  But Simon's Midnight Star quickly became the focus of their attention ..... strangely!

Debbie was not alone in needing refreshment, so in short order we had all furnished ourselves with drink and snacks from the Refreshment Car and were re-hydrated and soaking up the sun on the platform when the locomotive chuffed into the station.

A few comments were passed that, given the way the world's going, the sight may very well become a much more common one!  Discussion then fell to battery, and even steam powered bikes and eventually into the total bollocks that the Ferrets usually get to.  If you can't enjoy a good daft conversation with mates, then what's the world coming to?

Content with our lot, we just watched the train unload its passengers, the engine get shunted to the other end of the train, and a whole new batch of passengers get on.  But, before it could leave on its return journey, we realised that we needed to press on.

Simon still had his afternoon commitment, so with a heavy heart he announced that he'd have to leave us and return straight home.  We did try to tempt him into staying on for lunch, as this was to be only about ten miles further on, but he had to decline our urgings, and so we all bade him a safe journey and thanked him for his enjoyed company, and we left our separate ways.

Up  to Scartop Tea Rooms

As Simon retraced our route back to Hebden Bridge so that he could follow familiar roads back to Manchester, Stuart, Debbie, Kit & Clive left Oxenhope to the northwest on the short run back up into the hills to their lunch break at the Scartop Tea Rooms, part of the wonderful Scartop Pine Factory Shop on the Haworth to Colne road.

Scartop Pine operates from an extremely old and expansive manor property high up on the side of the valley, manufacturing and displaying all manner of wooden furniture made to the highest standards, with a superb view from the cafe's stone veranda (which can be seen in the photo below, just above the 'VAT FREE' banner).  Although they only have a limited menu, all the food was well prepared using fine & fresh ingredients, with very friendly and helpful staff, so the four now hungry bikers weren't long in feeling replete and satisfied.  Entertainment during the meal was provided by a wide variety of classic, vintage and modern cars and bikes that periodically passed by below the veranda.

The hour seemed to flash by, and by two o'clock we were back out in the car park readying the bikes for the return journey.

On the Tops Torturously Around Nelson & Colne to Todmorden

A couple of miles further along the road brought us to Laneshawbridge, just east of Colne, where we turned sharply south to stay on the high ground away from the less than attractive route through Colne and Nelson.  This necessitated a somewhat circuitous and convoluted route up and down a number of valleys, over two fords and along lanes that threatened to peter out altogether.  But what interesting and picturesque out of the way places we got to see at the resultant very gentle pace, along with a close up of the windfarm north of Cornholme.

With a last flourish of tight lanes with blind bends and equally blind minor junctions, down steep and vertiginous hills, passed many multi-million pound homes secreted away, we eventually dropped down into a baking and oppressive Todmorden, where we parked up in a little out of the way car park and quickly tore off our leathers to try to cool down a bit.

We went looking for some shade and drinks, passed a small market that had the shade on offer but no drinks, until we found a small supermarket where some cans of pop and ice creams were bought.  We then sat on a bench at the base of the very impressive town hall.  And here we stayed until we'd cooled down a bit, felt more hydrated, and could then consider our next section, which was to have been back down to a finish at Holmfirth.

At this stage there seemed little attraction for either couples of forging on to Holmfirth, so it was sensibly decided that we'd end the ride, and each make their own way home from there.

So, about half past three, we bade each other fond farewells and wishes for a safe journey before parting for Wakefield and Manchester, respectively.

Although we all missed the company of so many other Ferrets who either didn't know about this run in time, or who were otherwise committed, we all thoroughly enjoyed the varied and at times unusual route taken at a pace conducive with the blistering conditions, and more importantly the easy fellowship and companionship that was still present even in this small group of Ferrets.

Next time we'll try to give you all a bit more notice!

Photographs courtesy of Clive

Page Updated

27/07/2008 23:46