Black Hill (609 m.), view East
Black Hill (609 m.), view West
Riding the highest altitude roads in the North Pennines. The Helm, the only named wind in England, was blowing strongly from the North-east, keeping the clouds moving and the air clear. By eye, I could see the North Sea from Black Hill (609 m.) and the Irish Sea from Hartside (575 m.). This was a loop from Alston to Weardale, pause with a GBMCC member at his pub in the mining town of St. John’s Chapel. Then over high moorland ridges to Teesdale, passing High Force and back to Cumbria over Yad Moss (598 m.). Routes popular with bikers but there are many warnings posted to ride safely.
The Village Bakery on the green in Melmerby provided an excellent stop for coffee and cake once safely down down the challenging (and therefore unmissable) road down from Hartside Cross (575 m.).
A fine ride: big, bleak and windy but clear and dry too.
Killhope Cross (623 m.), reputedly the highest A road in England
Killhope Lead Mining Centre, Weardale
Middleton Common, Teesdale ridge with Bollihope Common, Weardale (511 m.)
Hartside Cross (575 m.), view East