Mountain Biking in the Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales offer mountain bikers a landscape of ancient drove roads, limestone-dusted singletrack, rocky gully descents and fast-rolling moorland tracks, with a network of bridleways and byways that reward exploration in every corner of the national park. From the classic Cam High Road and Mastiles Lane to circuits of Whernside and Pen-y-ghent, the Dales offer varied riding for novice and experienced cyclists alike.
This comprehensive guidebook covers 30 graded circular routes across the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Howgills, from short half-day loops to full-day epics. Graded blue, red and black, with routes organised by length, the guidebook makes it straightforward to choose a ride that suits your ability and available time.

The 30 circular routes are organised into short, medium, long and full-day loops, graded blue (medium), red (hard) and black (very hard), covering all the major dales including Wensleydale, Swaledale, Ribblesdale, Dentdale and Wharfedale
Highlights include a circumnavigation of Whernside, the Pen-y-ghent loop, the Cam High Road and Cam Fell Cracker, Mastiles Lane, Fremington Edge, Gunnerside Gill, Tour of Swaledale and the Howgills Classic
Old Roman roads, lead mining tracks and ancient droving byways feature throughout, alongside rocky gully descents, moorland singletrack and the unique limestone geology of the Dales
A route summary table allows riders to compare routes at a glance by grade, percentage off-road, length and estimated time, with 1:50,000 OS map extracts and recommended 1:25,000 Explorer maps provided for every route
Practical introduction chapters cover getting there, accommodation, equipment, food, bike checks, when to ride, rights of way, trail centres and a pre-ride checklist, alongside a bike shops appendix


Few landscapes in northern England offer mountain bikers such a variety of terrain and history. This is the comprehensive guide to exploring popular and lesser-known highlights of the Yorkshire Dales by bike.