Day 3: Hebden Bridge to Giggleswick

Sandwiched between the railway, river, canal and road I was expecting a noisy night. However, aside from some occasional trains it was quiet. Last night's owl had clearly followed us to Hebden Bridge, as it twitted and to-woo'd in the dark night. 

Awake at 5.30, aware of the cold daylight outside. We could have packed up there and then as the station cafe opens at 6am, but that would have meant leaving the warmth of our sleeping bags. By 6.30 we have emerged into a lightly frosty world and are packing our bags

A short ride to the Station Cafe at Hebden Bridge, where we linger for a good hour over breakfast baps and mugs of tea

We are learning. Energy levels were dipping yesterday, and we need more high-energy snacks. After purchasing these, we are ready for the climb to Heptonstall 

As ever, it's a slow grind in our lowest gears 

And then a confusing choice. We think we should be following the Burnley road, but the Route 68 waymarker is pointing us towards Colne. This sounds like a shorter option and the signage has not let us down yet. I don't think Burnley will miss us, and I don't think that we will miss Burnley 

So we take a delightful road through green rolling countryside towards Colne.

Our new policy is to try and take things more slowly, with drink stops and snacks to keep our energy levels up. So brew up tea, have some of Mrs Crimble's finest lemon macaroons, and spread out the tent to dry in the sun

and then up the long and winding road, through the moorland tops. After many ups and downs we find ourselves in the large busy town of Colne

Here things go confusingly wrong. We have lost our friendly waymarkers and it is not clear in which direction we should be going. After much puzzlement and trial and error Dylan's Garmin manages to direct us back onto route 68. But I notice we are heading into the sun, his device is leading us back to Heptonstall 

We head back along the way we have come, and again the route markers seem to disappear when we most need them. 

We eventually manage to get ourselves back on track, but have wasted a lot of time and energy. We have been on the move for three hours, but have barely covered ten miles

We descend to the village of Foulridge, where we pick up the Leeds and Liverpool canal 

We need somewhere for lunch, and Vanni's Italian restaurant has an offer that we can't refuse. Two main courses and a bottle of wine for £26. No, they can't substitute soft drinks for the wine due to some complex bulk purchasing arrangement

So we take the wine. What can possibly go wrong? After all, the next stretch will be a gentle ride along the canal 

A gentle ride along the canal. 

Meeting Arcady, from Latvia, who is cycling from Lands End to John O Groats. He is wild camping, but wants a campsite tonight to get cleaned up. Dylan finds him a campsite and gives him details of the cycle camping UK group for future reference 

The gentle canalside ride is over all too quickly

and we are back to lumpy green rolling fields and countryside, through Gargrave and on to Airton

This is the start of our last climb of the day. A long 200m of ascent over 3 miles, with tired legs. The pinot grigio was definitely not helping here

But the climb to the wild open moorland is worth the effort. On a different day, with low cloud, wind and rain, I might think differently, but today it is quite sublime 

Then a long descent into Settle. I have had both my hydraulic brake caliper units replaced before this trip, and feel that I'm getting my money's worth out of that bit of maintenance 

In Settle we ponder our next move. We need a camping spot and we need food. 

The Craven Arms in Giggleswick will provide the food, and I am confident that we can find a nearby field for our tent

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