The Source to Sea Trail connects bridleways, drovers lanes, coffin roads, canal towpaths, reclaimed railway lines, forest tracks, moorland singletrack and quiet B roads along the upper reaches of ten of Yorkshire’s finest rivers: Esk, Derwent, Swale, Ure, Nidd, Wharfe, Skirfare, Aire, Ouse and the Calder.

We’ve called this the Source to Sea Trail as it takes you from the Pennine moors where many of our rivers begin and many miles later onto the Yorkshire coast, across the Vale of York and then over the Humber Estuary where the rivers flow into the body of the North Sea. And back to the starting line in Hebden Bridge.

This is a unique and inspiring bikepacking adventure as no other trail into the world traces the flow of rivers in one region across such a wide and varied landscape. The trail is 850kms long with 11,460 meters of climbing and the start date is Saturday 25th May, 2024.

NB: There is a 700km ‘short’ version of this trail that we will use on the May event that goes due south from Selby to Castleford and then due west back to Hebden Bridge and as such misses out the eastern loop that passes over the Humber estuary.

included in entry:

1. GPS File

To get you around the route a ‘field tested’ gpx file will be sent to your email address a month prior to the event. This will be split into two files.

An ‘outward’ journey from Hebden Bridge to Scarborough

A ‘return’ journey from Scarborough to York onto Selby and the Humber Bridge to then head back to Hebden Bridge.

The ‘short’ version of the Source to Sea will have a ‘return’ journey from Scarborough to York onto Selby then south to Castleford and back to Hebden Bridge. This file will also be sent to all riders.

2. Starting line

All riders will gather and register at Butlers Wharf, New Road, Hebden Bridge, HX7 8AF on Saturday 25th May from 6am. There will be refreshments (tea, coffee, juice), fresh fruit and home made flapjacks. There will be a mass start at 7am heading along Market Street and onto the bridleway up Colden Clough.

The clough is a steep sided wooded valley clad in ancient oak with a fast-flowing stream whose powerful waters have been ‘captured’ using weirs and channels that powered 12 textile mills in the early days of the industrial revolution. It is a excellent way to start our adventure.

What3Words for wharf: ///fizzy.woodstove.secretly

3. GPS TRACKER page

On the Source to Sea Trail we will have an event page on the TRACK LEADERS platform so that riders can upload their own personal GPS tracker ‘dot’ and so enable event officials and friends / family others to see their progress.

4. Badge

Every rider loves a patch and so on the Yorkshire Divide there is an embroidered cloth badge with the ‘Source to Sea Trail’ highlighted on in bold letters. We are aware that it is normal practice to issue a badge at the end of a route but on this occasion we’re bucking that trend and handing riders the badge at the starting line.

5. Environmental action

50% of funds raised by the the event will be donated to Forus Tree, a worker's co-operative who have a tree nursery above Mytholmroyd with 50,000 young trees. Their target for tree planting in the Upper Calder Valley and beyond is 100,000 trees in winter/spring 2024. It costs approximately £15 to provide a single tree with a long term secure home.

Forus Tree have over 20 years of tree planting experience and their aim is to reduce the effects of climate change and restore biodiversity. During their Friday volunteer sessions they share skills and knowledge, bring people together to enjoy Yorkshire's great countryside and contribute towards a more sustainable future.

the route

ACCOMMODATION in the Upper Calder Valley

Campsite

There are lots of accommodation options within a 15 mile radius of the starting line in Hebden Bridge that range from hotels to Air B&B. There is also Old Chamber Farm and Camping that is 10 minutes from the start line. The campsite is on a working farm with basic facilities such as shower / toilets / barn.

Contact Ann Jones directly to book a pitch (£12)

Ann: 07814321606 (stating that you are here to camp for the Yorkshire Divide bike event)

Email: oldchamber.aj@gmail.com

Travel to the campsite:

The road up to us is a single-track road with passing places. You must follow the directions set out below. Do not follow your sat nav or google maps to get to us as it will take you up tracks that you wish you’d never been!!

Old Chamber Farm
Erringden
Hebden Bridge
West Yorkshire

1.  From the Co-op on Market Street in the center of Hebden Bridge turn onto the side road called Hebble End

2.  Take the left fork onto Shelf Road to head uphill crossing a bridge that takes you over the main railway line 

3.  Keep going past the houses on what is now 'Palace House Road' until you reach the end

4.  Take the concrete road named Wood top and follow it all the way up the steep hillside, going very slow over the little rough bit. 

5.  Take Spencer Lane which is a very very steep cobbled lane straight in front. 

6.  Turn right at the top passing a building with a big stone arch. 

7.  Our house is the very last property and the camping is just past it.

On arriving at the farm phone Ann or knock on her farmhouse door and she will show you where to pitch up / park on the field.

Ann Jones

Ann is a 2nd generation farmer who raises North of England Mules, a cross-bred sheep sired by a Blue Faced Leicester ram and a Swaledale dam, on 230 acres of land above Hebden Bridge. It's an old, intensely managed landscape but done so sustainably with a whole range of projects going on behind the scenes such as planting 700 metres of hedging and working with Calder Rivers Trust to monitor run off and water quality.