A bit more cycle route

We discovered a section of cycle route signed with the NCN signs with the number 164. It seemed to be a newly opened route with the number 164. It seems to be part of a route designated the Yorkshire Wolds cycle route, but I didn't understand the numbering system.

We had followed a section from Beverley to South Newbald (see last post), so yesterday we then picked up from there, following the route onward. It headed through South Newbald and through North Newbald before turning up a rural lane called Stoneknowle Hill. The local council started to use a specific style of road sign about a year or so ago, so new signs are easy to spot and this sign is one of them. The road did not have a name tag in OSM, so I was pleased to add it.

The cycle route then leaves the road for a rather stony track, that in wet weather might also be rather muddy. This seems to be the only way of keeping the route off the A1034, which is not the safest road to cycle on. Another short stint on a quiet road and the route then crosses the A1079 - the main road from York to Hull which can be busy and carries fast-moving traffic.

Where did the 164 go?

The route coasts down a quiet road towards the disused railway line that runs from Beverley to Market Weighton which now carries the Hudson Way.  At the T junction under the old railway bridge there was an NCN sign but not for the NCN164, only for the NCN66. I guessed which way to go and followed the signs for the NCN66 towards Market Weighton, but then realised that the signs had the 66 label on them but also Yorkshire Wolds. This is where the confusion lay and I only sorted things out in my mind when I had got home. The cycle route is called the Yorkshire Wolds Cycle Route, but it uses various numbered routes, including the 164, 66 and 1.

The route goes through Market Weighton, climbs towards Londesborough and into Pocklington following the NCN 66, before striking out again on NCN 164 again. At this point it is joined by the Way of the Roses, which is a coast-to-coast cycle route. This is the best part of the Wolds route by far, meandering through the rolling hills and valleys around Millington and up to the village of Huggate. Near Huggate we found a sign for another cycle route, NCN 167, which was signed as going to Malton, but exactly what the route is I don't know, so there's another journey to investigate. The NCN 164 now drops down a long gentle slope to Tibthorpe, which is where we left it to head for home.

Marbled white

Clustered bellflower

The route was very well signed, once I'd understood that it wouldn't be signed with the same number throughout. The scenery in the Wolds is wonderful, with views through the hills and out over the Vale of York and the Holderness plain. We saw some birds, including yellowhammers, linnets, swallows and goldfinches. We watched a marbled white butterfly flutter through the flowers, which included a clustered bell flower.

I would recommend a visit and I really look forward to investigating the rest of the route and the other route too.