By Dave Allen, ran on 10th December 2022
My brother-in-law, Matt and I were pondering a long run this weekend and after I had unimaginatively suggested going over one of our old favourites, he suggested we give the relatively new Yorkshire Heritage Way a try. The YHW traditionally runs from Bradford Cathedral to Ripon Cathedral, but given we are both Ripon bois we set off from our end, with the aim being to then get public transport back home when we were done.
We met at Ripon Cathedral at half six and it was very, very cold. Minus three according to my phone. Once we got moving, we warmed up sharp enough. The first few miles saw us on familiar territory, passing through the Valley of the Seven Bridges at Fountains Abbey, picking up a bit of the Ripon Rowel and then up through Brimham Rocks. As we dropped into the woods after Brimham, Matt caught his knee on a rock and hit the deck like a sack of spuds. He was in a LOT of pain, and I really thought it might be ambulance o’clock! After a few minutes he got back onto his feet, walked it out a little and before long he was moving well again. After a section of Andy Purll’s ‘Pateley Pig’ we then picked up a chunk of the LDWA Six Dales Trail, down by Thruscross Reservoir and onto a bit of the LDWA Blubberhouses 25. A real compilation album of other routes so far!
The first half of the course had been a bit stoppy-starty, as we kept taking our eye off the GPX and losing the trail, and there was quite a lot of undulation on the course. Progress had been fairly slow – our first 13 miles had taken 3.5 hours. Around the halfway mark I started to feel a bit queasy and was struggling to catch my breath – probably a combination of being a bit out of shape, and the cold. I felt rotten as we went through Burley in Wharfdale, but Matt gave me a tracker bar and that got me sorted out (briefly). We got into a good rhythm going over Hawksworth Moor. I was still blowing out my arse though but from here it was down into Baildon, picking up the Leeds Liverpool canal through Saltaire and Shipley, before taking off into Bradford. It’s fair to say the last ten miles of the route were a little less idyllic but hey – this is Yorkshire Heritage Way, so it all counts!
One thing to note – because the route is envisaged as starting in Bradford, 95% of the signs are only visible if you’re heading towards Ripon. But if you’re unsure, just look back at the gate you just went through and there will usually be a sign on there. Some kind soul has also rather extensively stickered the route from Burley all the way to Bradford. The GPX we were following said the route would be 42.3 miles with 3.5k ft of ascent. But with a few wrong turns and double-backs we actually clocked 44 miles and with 5.3k ft ascent. I felt crap for most of the second half, but we got it done in a whisker over ten hours, so I was very pleased with that!
This is a fantastic course for anyone looking to get out for a DIY ultra-run. The GPX was generally spot on, and the terrain was brilliantly varied – with woodland trails, open moorland, reservoirs and track roads, with a more urban flavour in the last (or first) ten miles. If you finish in Bradford you’re minutes from the Interchange, so getting home shouldn’t be too much of a pain. Finishing in Ripon will see your public transport options a little more limited (no trains), but the 36 bus gets you to Harrogate, from where you can get to most place.
If you fancy a guided crack at it – give me a shout 
DIY Ultras 