travelling-blogger

comments

We scrambled to the top of Calver Hill, a few miles west of Richmond, paused and let our imaginations do the rest.

We had started our walk at rugged Reeth, a hard-hewn rock of a village in the magnificent Yorkshire Dales. I found the going tough as the road climbed higher, but the countryside became more and more beautiful.

Spectacular: This is the first time the Tour de France has visited the North of England, having previously visited the South coast and the capital

In a few weeks, the world's greatest cyclists will scale these peaks at alarming speeds in their fluorescent reds, orange and shocking pinks on day one — sorry, the 'Grand Depart' — of the Tour de France.

What a spectacular sight awaits, but what a pity the cyclists can't dally and soak up this unspoilt marvel: 680 miles of moorland interspersed with pretty villages, welcoming pubs and Northern nosh.

My partner, Sarah, and I based ourselves in Austwick, west of Hawes, one of the Tour's key staging posts.

Sunrise over the Dales: Early morning light over Appersett pasture in North Yorkshire

We booked into The Traddock, a Georgian country house hotel that offers guests a superb combination of fine food and comfortable rooms.

Austwick is an easy 15-mile drive from Hawes and in striking distance of the Three Peaks of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-Ghent, which dominate this side of the Dales.

A substantial breakfast (don't miss the black pudding and brown sugar porridge) meant we were only opening our packed lunches well into the afternoon.

As hunger struck, we found ourselves at the foot of a wooded valley on the fringes of Arkengarthdale, where we opened our sandwiches alongside the sparkling waters of Arkle Beck.

Other walkers were conspicuous by their absence. Then we climbed to the top of Fremington Edge, a lengthy stretch of fell that overlooks part of the Tour de France route.

The Dales: The Tour de France route encompasses miles of moorland interspersed with pretty villages

Conversation was useless as the wind picked up. Indeed, it was time for woollen hats and hoods as the weather turned threatening.

But the sheer thrill of walking along that spectacular edge trumped any other concerns.

Eyes right, and the cyclists' route from Reeth to the settlement of Muker could be traced; eyes ahead and the gale attempted to buffet us into submission.

Reeth was once described as a 'country in itself'. It proudly sits in the heart of the National Park, and on July 5, 100-plus cyclists will pour past its well-preserved village green.

Tour de France: In a few weeks the world's greatest cyclists will take on Yorkshire's peaks

Other recommended vantage points include the aforementioned Hawes, a beautifully preserved market town famous for Wensleydale cheese, and Buttertubs Pass, so-named after the deep limestone potholes once used as cooling points for dairy farmers' butter.

Arrive early or, better still, camp the night before as the Tour is arranging several 'pop-up' campsites via the National Trust.

The word is that Yorkshire is lucky to be hosting the Tour de France. On the contrary, the Tour is fortunate to be spending a few days in Yorkshire.

Travel Facts

Rooms at The Traddock start from £105 per night for a double, thetraddock.co.uk,  01524 251 224. Information about the 2014 start of the Tour de France is at letour.yorkshire.com. It starts on July 5.