Mountain Biking in the Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales offer mountain bikers an extraordinary landscape of ancient drove roads, limestone-dusted singletrack, rocky gully descents and fast-rolling moorland tracks. With a network of bridleways and byways winding through every corner of the national park, there's something to reward exploration at every turn—from the classic Cam High Road and Mastiles Lane to circuits of Whernside and Pen-y-ghent.

This comprehensive guidebook covers 30 circular routes graded blue, red and black, organised by length from short half-day loops to full-day epics. Whether you're a novice cyclist or an experienced rider, you'll find routes that suit your ability and available time. Each route includes a summary table for easy comparison, 1:50,000 OS map extracts, and recommended 1:25,000 Explorer maps. Highlights include a circumnavigation of Whernside, the Pen-y-ghent loop, the Cam Fell Cracker, Fremington Edge, Gunnerside Gill, Tour of Swaledale and the Howgills Classic, covering all the major dales including Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Dentdale and Wharfedale.

Discover the history embedded in these trails: old Roman roads, lead mining tracks and ancient droving byways sit alongside dramatic rocky gully descents and moorland singletrack. Practical introduction chapters cover getting there, accommodation, equipment, bike checks, rights of way, trail centres and more, plus a bike shops appendix. Few landscapes in northern England offer such variety of terrain and history—this is your guide to exploring the Yorkshire Dales by bike.