Author: Neville Andrews

In This Edition

Although our WoW and Wheel signs turn up all over the area and our rides leaflets should be available from all council libraries and are in many doctors’surgeries, not everyone knows how much Wakefield District Cycle Forum gets up to every year.

The Forum has a programme of 1 or more easy guided rides every week from March to December starting from one of seven different locations across WMDC, plus 4 steady rides a month and a guided WoW ride every first Sunday of the month. These start at 10am from, in rotation, either Nostell NT, The Hepworth Wakefield, Anglers Country Park or Pugneys Country Park. In addition, our bike doctors will be in attendance at Pugneys on the third Sunday of each month from 10am to 1pm.

In May, we celebrated spring with guided bluebell rides at Nostell NT and will be following this with a Try Cycling Event at Thornes Country Park on Wednesday 27th May 2026 from 10am to 3pm, when our Bike Doctors and an information stand will appear. For details, see later.

On Sunday 12th July, the Pontefract Liquorice Festival returns to town and we’ll be there to join in. Finally, we will be holding our annual ‘Holiday Wednesdays’ at Nostell on each Wednesday of the school summer holidays from 11am to 2pm, with a skills course for children, short guided rides around the park and a bike doctor on hand.We have a willing team of volunteers but more help would be welcome. If you would be interested in assisting us, do get in touch at info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk.

Our Annual Forum Festive meal took place at the Counting House in Swales Yard Pontefract, a charming medieval half-timbered and jettied building built in 1609. So far as I know, no-one fell down the twisting staircases or banged their heads on the low beams. The meal was delicious, with sufficient choices to suit a variety of palates, and the atmosphere convivial. Neville presented his now traditional quiz with a medley of cycling related ephemera going to the winning team.

The photo shows them slapping on their high vis armbands. Sharon, who now collates the rides figures for WMDC, used the information collected to reintroduce the practice of giving out commemorative certificates for the most rides led etc. The certificates were handed out by our chair Meg and accompanied by medals to treasure.

Photos show a brief extract from the proceedings and a group of happy medallists.

In an early Russian invasion, rhubarb travelled from Siberia to the more hospitable cold damp area now part of West Yorkshire and known as …(pause for a spooky drum roll) ‘The Rhubarb Triangle’. These days the triangle is a 9-square-mile (23 km2) area between Wakefield, Morley, and Rothwell, and includes the villages of Carlton, East Ardsley, Kirkhamgate, Lofthouse and Stanley. Here both field and forced rhubarb is produced. Since around 2010 WMDC has held an annual rhubarb festival each February to celebrate this local delicacy and the products made from it, ranging from pies, crumbles, jams, chocolates and chutneys to liqueurs, spirits and beer, are on sale. Ruby Rhubarb was there but this year we’ve been forced to include a somewhat taller and slimmer friend. The Forum was there to offer a less fattening alternative to these delicacies and a friendlier way to get around. Our Facebook entries for the event show more of the team at different times over the three days.

The WDCF volunteers I’ve counted included Sandy, David K, Elaine, Lisa, Richard A, Meg and Neville so this is clearly a popular event.

Saturday was hot and sunny, Sunday was cold and very wet so we had little idea how our Nostell bluebell rides on the Monday 4th May would fare. The morning started chilly and overcast so Neville and I loaded up the tandem with full waterproofs and extra layers. We put up a small table for our information stand under a horse chestnut tree near the entry to the courtyard, so we could take shelter easily if the heavens opened. In the event, the only showers were of petals from the chestnut candles.

Despite the overcast weather, publicity for the Bluebell rides at Nostell NT meant there were sufficient interested riders for each of our three rides meandering through the bluebells, ably led by Andy and David K. Meanwhile, Graham and Steve serviced the forum bikes and those of some passing visitors and Neville and I gave out publicity about the Forum, the WoW, the Wheel, Holiday Wednesdays and where to find the loos and the adventure playground at Nostell. Certificates of achievement were presented to those who completed the ride and wished to mark the occasion, as you’ll see from the photo below.

We are planning to issue a new map of our iconic circular cycle route around and named after the Wonders of Wakefield. Sadly, whenever I think it’s complete, David Keighley and his co-conspirators at WDCF improve it yet again! There is now a circuitous route through the estate to avoid the busy main road at Crofton and, while Sandal Castle can still be viewed from Pugneys, the WoW now climbs to include this wonder.
The WoW is definitely a bit longer but, as the mileage travelled varies between Strava on the back of our tandem, Garmin in the middle and the Bosch E Flow on the front by anything up to half a mile (and the bike’s not that long!), I wouldn’t like to put a figure on its new length myself.
With the plethora of daisies looking like snow at the field edges, hoards (or should that be herds?) of cowslips, bevies of bluebells and the May blossoms festooning the hedges, it’s a lovely time of year to ride it yourself and find out. The map may not be ready but the new route signs are all up to welcome and guide you.

Since March 2026 we’ve reinstated our easy rides from Pugneys, initially braving the chilly spring weather and later enjoying the cherry blossom.

We’ve also introduced Bike Doctor sessions starting at 10am on the morning of each ride so if anyone needs some last-minute adjustments or suffers a puncture on the way, these can be dealt with before the ride starts. Malcolm and Neville remain on hand until 1pm so can assist passing cyclists or those who would be cyclists if they could get their brakes to work, the gears fixed or the saddle adjusted to a comfortable height.

At the same time, we’ve watched progress on a new active travel hub to be known simply as J’s. This will cater for cyclists, runners and walkers, selling cycles and appropriate clothing as well as hiring bikes out. If what your bike needs to get it back on the road is beyond the tools or parts our bike doctors have available or you’ve just missed them and don’t want to wait until next time to get back on the road, J’s will probably have the parts, tools and mechanics required to fix it, a new bike to replace it or one to hire in the meantime!

On the basis that in hot weather cycling can make you thirsty and there are plenty of bikes and cyclists on the label, your editor thought you might like to see a couple of bottles, sadly now empty, of Pedal Pusher golden ale. We purchased them from the beer shop at Queen’s Mill Castleford which is close to both our cycle storage unit and the starting point for our Castleford rides. Other beers, a tea room and stone ground flour are also available from Queen’s Mill.

On Wednesday 27th May, between 10:00am and 3:00pm, WDCF will be attending a Try Cycling Day at Thornes Park Stadium. The aim of the day is to provide families, young people and people with disabilities the opportunity to try cycling in a supportive, inclusive environment.

The day will showcase what is possible and what is available across the Wakefield District.

The Forum will be providing Bike Doctor sessions and leading short rides around the park as well as manning an information stand. Others will be bringing inclusive bikes and adult/family bikes for visitors to try and a pedal-powered music bike. Harry Wood will be there too with a bike trail for youngsters.

In This Edition

The positive introduction to the last newsletter may have been somewhat premature.  We came out of Lockdown 2 into Tier 3 restrictions, high winds, rain and a smattering of snow and then Lockdown 3.  The Forum’s rides to the end of the year, including our two Christmas rides, were cancelled. Our Guided Rides and Events 2020 leaflets have been shredded but you can still get out on your bike for exercise and essential shopping.  Two loaves of bread or a packet of cereal will fit in a pannier but it will take more than one trip to stock up your wine cellar. We were relieved to find that brake disk pads count as essentials.

We have agreed with Wakefield MDC to lead a minimum of 50 guided rides in 2021 and four bike doctor sessions.

Details of all rides and bike doctor sessions will appear on our Facebook page. In all cases, booking is essential on info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk.  If a ride looks particularly popular, we may be able to call on additional ride leaders to enable a second ride to set off from the same point at an appropriately socially distanced interval if that is what 2021’s rides require. 

When I first saw this photo, I thought it was a decorated mantelpiece.  The accompanying snap revealed it was Libby and Richard Hall’s cycle helmets. 

To complete the gallery of Wakefield District Cycle Forum’s best Christmas photos of 2020, here is a photo of Joan Sherriff Alexander’s festive attempt to convert her Circe to a cargo bike.  I suspect the proximity of the pine needles would make the rear seat unpopular, which perhaps explains why there are no decorated riders in view.

Our last newsletter reported that WDCF has joined with Agbrigg and Belle Vue Community Association to press for the provision of a shared use footway/cycleway from Oakenshaw Lane Walton to Montague Street Agbrigg along a section of the disused Barnsley canal.  An open letter in the following terms has been sent to the Chief Executive and Council leader:

‘Agbrigg and Belle Vue Community Association (ABVCA) and Wakefield District Cycle Forum (WDCF) are collaborating on a project to develop a foot/cycle path with an all-weather surface to link Montague Street in Agbrigg with the entrance to Walton Colliery Nature Park at Oakenshaw Lane. The project was developed with the support of Countryside and Highways Departments of Wakefield Council. Funding has been secured for the construction of the path and WDCF is committed to investigating further funding opportunities if necessary.

The Agbrigg and Belle Vue area is recognised as having significant indicators of multiple deprivation, including long-standing health inequalities. The area is likely to be affected by Covid more than most according to studies on the impact of the disease.

 The recent development of Neil Fox Way has increased the use of Agbrigg Road as a ‘cut through’ from more affluent areas increasing danger from traffic and pollution. Whilst there is a reasonable provision of sports and health facilities in the area, cost is a significant barrier to many of the most vulnerable residents.

The proposed path is an important part of a sustainable, free -to- access strategy to improve both physical and mental health of all the communities that live in the area. If the current path is improved, there are plans to develop the community centre in Montague Street as a fitness/cycle hub to provide opportunities to introduce new walkers/cyclists to the network of paths within and beyond Walton Colliery Nature Park.

The route would provide a much-needed safe corridor to access the nearby countryside, with obvious leisure opportunities for the people of Agbrigg and Belle Vue but also encourages zero-carbon travel into Wakefield for work and shopping from other areas such as Walton and Crofton.

Unfortunately, the Highways Department has now withdrawn their support for the project after some safety and environmental issues were raised in a safety audit. ABVCA and WDCF have questioned the issues raised but Highways have not explained why higher standards are being imposed on this path compared with many similar paths in the district nor have they addressed how any problems can be positively addressed.

Highways have agreed that ‘there is merit in improving this link’. Rather than allow the issues on safety and environment to halt the project we call on Wakefield Council to use their expertise to develop ways to overcome these issues and take the project forward.’

Open Country, a Yorkshire disability charity, is fully supportive, believing that the proposed new path would improve access for all, and has signed a copy of the letter.  We have support too from Mandy Loach of the Trans Pennine Trail, John Trickett MP and Bridget Gill of Spectrum.  Local resident Kamran Akram said, ‘to have the path improved would mean that my little lad, and all the other kids in the area, would have a safe place to learn to ride his bike and it would make it so much easier for the people of Agbrigg to get to Walton Nature Reserve’ and another local resident, Chaudry Khan, commented, ‘I am a keen walker but stopped using this path because it was so churned up. The countryside is close to where I live if you get in a car, but that just creates more traffic. It makes sense to develop safe walkways; they are important for all aspects of health’

These maps illustrate the route of the proposed new path and how it would link into the existing network of traffic-free routes to the south and east.

Like the Trans Pennine Trail, problems for cyclists extend beyond the boundaries of Wakefield MDC.  Leeds Cycling Campaign has released a new film highlighting the need for urgent action to provide safe access for cyclists, runners and walkers to the Aire and Calder canal at Skelton Grange Road Bridge.

The canal tow-path forms part of the scenic Trans Pennine Trail and Sustrans’ National Cycle Network. The steep and often slippery steps at the Bridge make access to the tow-path very difficult for anyone with a bike and impossible for people in wheelchairs or with chronic health conditions. Many riders with e-bikes, families with buggies, mobility scooter users and others with disabilities are likewise prevented from using the Trail.

In 2006, a full fifteen years ago, a feasibility study undertaken by Leeds City Council recommended a new pedestrian and cycling bridge at Skelton Grange. Another option would involve rerouting the path through the Council owned Thwaites Mill museum. Leeds Cycling Campaign is working with Leeds City Council, Leeds Local Access Forum, Leeds Civic Trust, Sustrans, the Canals and Rivers Trust and the Friends of the Trans Pennine Trail to explore both these options.

Olympic star Alistair Brownlee MBE, lending support to campaign, said: “The Aire and Calder canal tow path has just been resurfaced and is a fantastic active travel corridor. It makes up part of the Trans Pennine Trail and the Sustrans’ National cycle network and is a great commuter route into the city centre. It is a quiet and traffic free path that winds its way through natural and green habitats even though the user is never far from habitation. Promoting and increasing its usage are fantastic causes. Unfortunately, at the moment, access to it is restricted to users who can make it down a steep and narrow flight of steps. The creation of a new bridge here would be a very positive step for all of the current users and more importantly open up the path to many more. We all know the importance of health and activity, especially in the current climate. This project would be of real benefit to all parts of the local community.”

Leeds Cycling Campaign’s film about the steps at Skelton Grange Road Bridge can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/-pLVQBRPFFo and their petition at:

https://www.change.org/p/leeds-city-council-secure-a-safe-and-accessible-crossing-for-ncn-route-67-and-the-tpt-at-skelton-grange-road

The first, and so far the last, ride of the year was the steady plus ride from Darrington on the 2^nd January.  A total of ten riders were split into two groups beforehand, starting at separate time to comply with the government restrictions then in place. Coffee stops at Womersley meant that the riders were caught in a snowstorm on their way back to Darrington, providing some useful experience with no adverse effects.  

We hope to restart rides towards the end of May. Please keep your eyes open on Facebook.

Although it has not been possible to lead any rides, the committee are still keeping active via Zoom.  In fact, we’ve probably had more meetings so far this year than we did in the whole of last year.

WDCF’s complaint about the installation of a kissing gate at Haw Park Wood (see photo) has now been referred to the Local Government Ombudsman.  We will keep you updated on the progress of the complaint.  If it is successful, it will serve as a useful precedent when opposing situations like the new kissing gates at Pontefract Park.

When the Agbrigg project has been approved and we can all get out, working parties will be needed to help clear vegetation in what is a pleasant countryside track beside the canal. If you would like to be involved in future working parties, which usually happen on Tuesday mornings, do email your details to info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk .  A van or a trailer would be very useful to move equipment, but we welcome all volunteers and will let you know in advance what equipment would be useful.

Like many organisations, we were not able to hold our AGM last year due to the Covid 19 restrictions. This year, we provisionally planned to hold the AGM in your dining room, study, spare bedroom or wherever else you keep your laptop, tablet or phone, using the wonders of technology and Zoom.

When the proposed relaxation of restrictions was announced, we considered holding the meeting outdoors in May but the limitations on the size of the meeting to 30 and the fact that April showers can extend well beyond the end of that month caused another rethink.

The current proposal is that, subject to any further restrictions, the AGM will be held in July.  Details will be emailed to members, appear on Facebook and may even be in the next newsletter.

The steady stream of donations to our Go Fund Me page towards WDCF’s plan to provide a bench as a memorial to the late John Harvey, a keen and enthusiastic member of the forum, has now slowed to a trickle, although we are only partway to our target.

This is the type of bench proposed – something cheerful, colourful, made of iron, robust, serviceable and eminently useful – like the man himself.

This is a photograph of the site on which we would like to site the bench.

If you wish to make a contribution towards the cost, rather than just ‘liking’ the idea of it, please go to John Harvey Fund

In This Edition

The positive introduction to the last newsletter may have been somewhat premature.  We have come out of Lockdown 2 into Tier 3 restrictions, high winds, rain and now a smattering of snow.  The Forum’s rides to the end of the year, including our two Christmas rides, have been cancelled. Our Guided Rides and Events 2020 leaflets have been shredded but you can still get out on your bike for exercise and essential shopping.  Two loaves of bread or a packet of cereal will fit in a pannier but it will take more than one trip to stock up your wine cellar.

We have agreed with Wakefield MDC to lead a minimum of 50 guided rides in 2021 and four bike doctor sessions.

Details of all rides and bike doctor sessions will appear on our Facebook page. In all cases, booking is essential on info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk.  If a ride looks particularly popular, we may be able to call on additional ride leaders to enable a second ride to set off from the same point at an appropriately socially distanced interval if that is what next year’s rides require. 

As this year’s Christmas rides have had to be cancelled, why not enter into the Christmas spirit nevertheless, by dressing up in a festive manner, decorating you bike and just going out for a ride.  To inspire you, here is a photo from last year’s outing at Nostell, with the Christmas tree decorated by WDCF in the middle.

You could even choose to go out when the weather is good.  Not like this intrepid bunch in 2019, who braved rain, sleet and high winds just to bring some Christmas cheer to Castleford.  By the end of the ride, it was red noses all round, not just on Rudolph.

We did manage to fit in some rides before the shutters came down again. The government restrictions meant that the easy ride to Fairburn on the 10^th October was split into two groups.  This one on the right doesn’t have a tandem in it!  It was a lovely crisp morning with beautiful autumn colours and the rain didn’t start until after we got back to Castleford.

The second team diverted on their return journey for a brief fungus foray.  Only photos were taken so all, including the toadstools, survived intact.  Award yourself five points if you can identify the mycologist. Their name will be revealed in the next edition if enough people ask for it!

25 Miles for 70 Years

Barbara Phipps posted a request for sponsorship on WDCF’s Facebook page.  To celebrate her 70^th birthday, she was proposing to undertake a 25 mile cycle ride in aid of Children in Need, aiming to raise £500. 

The route was based on the Wonders of Wakefield circuit, with some additions/ diversions to suit the proposed mileage and to meet her support party/gang /family.

Our offer of company was accepted and the tandeming twosome duly turned up to meet Barbara at the New Inn in Walton on the 30^th October in good time for a 9 am start.

It was showery at times, with sunny intervals and small autumn gales.  Barbara’s Children in Need t-shirt mean we got smiles and cheerful waves along the route.  We encountered a cycle group from outside the area in the woods.  We explained our motivation for what was by then a muddy ride and, duly impressed, they kindly donated £20 from what was probably their beer money towards the cause.

After a photo stop at Nostell, we got back to the New Inn marginally later than planned, to learn that Barbara had reached her target.  It was a satisfying day all round.

Working Party and other efforts

Correspondence continues with WMDC concerning the Haw Park Wood access barriers, or rather the barriers to access. The council seems more concerned about the need to keep out troublesome, if rarely seen, motorcyclists than permitting easy access for cyclists on recumbent cycles, tandems, those with children on tagalongs, on tricycles or wheelchair users.  Writing only from a personal point of view, I would suspect that the more users of this type there are on cycle paths, the less attractive they become to budding scrambles riders.

WDCF had joined with Agbrigg and Bellevue Community Association to press for the provision of a shared use footway/cycleway from Oakenshaw Lane Walton to Montague Street Agbrigg along a section of the disused Barnsley canal.   The route is in a very strategically important area for Agbrigg in the development of cycling, with the flood alleviation scheme at the top of Montague Street offering a great beginners circuit.  The Community Centre nearby is a good spot to store bikes and host training sessions.  The proposed route is an area that needs safer cycling as the Neil Fox Way development has turned it into even more of a traffic cut-through.

A safety audit carried out by Leeds City Council Development Department raised some concerns which we believe we have been able to answer.  If some of the objections made were accepted, many of the cycle routes in the centre of Leeds and York would be threatened.

The pictures illustrate the before and after effects of some pruning and clearance by a WDCF working party, socially distanced at all times. If you would like to be involved in future working parties, which usually happen on Tuesday mornings, do email your details to info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk .  A man with a van or a woman with a trailer would be very useful, but we welcome all volunteers.

John Harvey

WDCF would like to provide a bench as a memorial to John Harvey, a very popular and likeable man and a keen and enthusiastic member of the forum, who died too soon on the 23^rd October 2017.

John was a gentleman: polite, honest, reliable, hard-working and always willing to help. He joined the forum in April 2012 and over the next five and a half years completed nearly 350 rides with us.  He didn’t just ride, however. John’s enthusiasm, willingness, persistence and hard work were unprecedented and his dedication to Wakefield District Cycle Forum was without equal. Ride leader, workday manager, logistics manager for our village events and odd-job-man, he never refused to help with any task the forum asked of him. And all done with a smile and often a wee bit of mischief.

Organisations like the Wakefield District Cycle Forum are built on individuals who give of their time and talents freely and unconditionally and we are lucky to have so many in our midst. John was a shining example: assisting or leading rides, bicycle repair man, encouraging new members, organising and leading workdays, transport manager- there weren’t many areas where he wasn’t involved. He loved helping people and all was done with a smile in that quietly calm and endearing manner.

There is not a corner of WDCF activity that John did not influence, but his contribution to our workgroup activities has proved to be irreplaceable.  When he died, cycling around our area, every filled-in pothole, every signpost, every newly surfaced stretch of cycle path and every reinforced canal towpath had his name written on it.  We try to carry on the work of improving and repairing the cycle infrastructure through our workgroup but, without John’s storage, transport, technical expertise, direction and organisation, it has proved a struggle.

The proposed bench would be more comfortable than that shown alongside, supporting John, our present chairman David Leigh, who met John on his first ride with us and spoke movingly at his funeral, and member Warren Miller.  We are hoping to site it next to the river Calder, in a spot easily accessible by bike, where riders can enjoy a flask of coffee or a swig from their water bottle and a few moments of quiet contemplation, or swap stories of past adventures. 

If you would like to make a contribution towards the cost of the memorial bench- perhaps you weren’t able to send flowers to the funeral-then we are proposing to open a Go Fund Me page for the purpose.  The address will appear on our Facebook page and will be emailed to members.

The first ride of 2021 will be a Steady Plus road ride from Darrington, starting at the Darrington Hotel car park at 10 am on Saturday 2^nd January.  Alastair Wilson will be leading the ride, with David Leigh backmarking. 

This is not a ride for novices and places will be very limited in light of Covid19 restrictions.  For those who do book via info@cycling-wakefield.org.uk, it will be an ideal opportunity to blow away the cobwebs and work off some of the Christmas calories