A good firm, hard dirt track leads up to Urra Moor, the highest point on the North Yorkshire Moors. This track can get very soft during constant periods of wet! Continue east and drop down to the old railway turning right to Bloworth Crossing. You now turn south east onto Rudland Rigg for ten miles of easy hard track riding. The end of the track meets the "Bransdale Road" . Turn right and dip down to Ousegill Bridge, a bit of a beauty spot, despite the road. Continue up a short climb from Ouse Gill and turn left at the track for Hodge Beck. (Signposted Low and High Lidmoor). To right of Moor House Farm there is still a requirement to dip feet and wheels. Please be responsible and do the necessary. The track or road, it does'nt seem to be either, zigs and zags it's way down across fields to Hodge Beck. You might have some difficulty here as the last 100 yards or so is not clearly sign posted and you may feel you have gone the wrong way. The track turns into a path (but is still a bridleway) and hides along the stream bank. Eventually or hopefully you will find the narrow foot bridge to cross.

So far you have probably enjoyed the ride. Things are about to change. The 'path' from the bridge is a little indistinct but you should be able to carefully pick your way through the bracken, steadily upwards and find your way to the ruins of Stork House. On the map there are a coupe of bridleways marked. Ignore these and follow the grassy track alongside the wall in a south east direction. The ground was so soft here, it was not ridable on the day we did this! it does eventfully turn into a decent ridable track as it pulls away from the wall. Turn right and north west at the track junction on Pockley Moor. From a distance this track does not look very ridable, but you have a choice of three ruts to ride in which will get you across the heather to meet the road on the ridge. a short ride on tarmac and turn off again onto a decent track, still northerly to Stump Cross.

This is a nice easy section crossing Slape Wath Moor to Tripsdale. The final descent is steep on a wide hardpacked, dolomited track. What have they done to tripsdale? It must be a long long time since I was last here. It used to be one of my favorite spots. At this point it is a steep sided, wooded, narrow valley with the stream bubbling through. A narrow path used to give entry from each side and it was rarely visited. Now it has a motorway ploughing straight across.

Continue along the motorway, starting very steeply and zig zagging up the slope. It is still a wide, hard packed dolomited track so as long as you have some energy and strength left, it is ridable. The track brings you onto the escarpment above 'Black Intake' and turns sharply north. Continue until you come to the track which runs Seave Green to Urra Moor near Medd Cragg. (If you are almost wrecked by now, it may be an easier route back, although initially uphill, to turn right and follow this track to Round Hill and then on to Clay Bank).

There is a small sign at this junction which is misleading. It shows the bridleway straight ahead. If you look around you will find a small narrow path which gets difficult to follow. You need to turn left at the junction and drop down the hill a couple of hundred yards. If you are using a map this should be clear.

This bridleway, not much more than a path, is also still very overgrown through lack of use. It is ridable but there are many places where you have to push through boggy bits or over rocks and the heather is constantly trying to drag you off. There is also a tricky short drop to the stream. After the stream, the bridleway climbs steadily onto Carr Ridge. Again, this can be difficult to ride in places if your energy supplies are gone!

Once through the gate on Carr Ridge, you are back on the paved highway and a drop down to Clay Bank. There is a sign advising that you should dismount from your bike.... and your horse if you brought that too. Be warned!

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Start Clay Bank Car park GR 572035 - Road/Track 572033 - Gate 578030 - Round Hill 594015 - Track/Old Railway 610017 - Bloworth Crossing 615014 - Track/Road 659925 - Road/Track 636947 - Low Lidmoor 627948 - Hodge beck 621941 - Stork House 622944 - Tracj Jnc 617933 -Track/Road 612952 - Road/Track 60962 - Stump Cross 606981 - Tripsdale Beck 582988 - Track Corner 576991- Track Jnc 574009 - Track Jnc 573009 - Stream Crossing 582021 - Gate 578030 - Clay Bank Car Park 572035

16.3 Miles, 26.23 Kms, 2376 Feet, 780 Metres, 13 Gates, 87% Off Road