The first ride of 2012 in "Hockney Country" (aka the Yorkshire Wolds)
Approaching Middleton on the Wolds along an unfamiliar road
Ooh, dear. I see this morning's online Independent report about the Yorkshire Wolds (and David Hockney's A Bigger Picture exhibition that opens at the Royal Academy on Saturday) is in the Travel section.
Unless the intention is for tourists to travel the Wolds by bike, or on two feet, I'm against it. Those Big Skies Bike Rides start at towns on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, except the Sledmere loop. All can be accessed via main roads that avoid the many quiet tracks that make cycling in these parts so pleasurable, so that's okay. Leave the car there.
A couple of presenters from the BBC's Countryfile were shown last Sunday walking the Wolds – the news here was that there are public art installations going in various places – and the female presenter talked at length with "Britain's greatest living artist" (I think she said the "world's greatest..." or that could have been the "Wolds..." Or not). It seems that East Yorkshire will be on the map globally, or some such puff, but now every time I hear the area referred to as a "hidden gem" my eyes roll higher than those "undulating chalk hills, blah, blah, blah..." Apparently, Hockney is even cooperating with the tourism types to set up a 'Hockney trail' or something, which is a first for him it seems. (I suppose the thinking is that at least Hockney pilgrims will be directed to the places he painted rather than trample about trying to find the right sites.)
Anyway, last Sunday was a day of firsts for me. I'm certain I hadn't ridden along the road shown at the top of this post – although it did seem familiar – my first trip to the cafe at Hutton Cranswick ("Cyclsts Welcome"), and the first with my anniversary present: a Garmin etrex Legend. Less than fifty miles last weekend (plus getting to and from the start in Cottingham), but taxing enough with my present, poor level of fitness. I should be out later today in the Lincolnshire Wolds, where it's even quieter than the Wolds in Yorkshire.
David Hockney is like Paul McCartney. Should have retired gracefully about 40 years ago when Hockney Country was the swimming pools of LA. Instead, the has-beens make themselves look as foolish as they are irrelevant. He bemoans how artists have given up drawing yet 'every day' he 'creates pictures' on iPad to condense "four or five hours' work into 30 seconds." Pah!
I wouldn't worry about a sudden influx of travellers to the Wolds, Chris. The arty toffs from the Royal Academy are not likely to stray far beyond Watford. Besides, there is nothing there for them. "What's all the fuss about?" they would ask if they actually went. There is nothing there except for farmers and cyclists and I doubt if that will change in the long run, though it did look gorgeous on Countryfile. When is our next bike ride in the Wolds? I'm looking forward to it.
January 15th, 2012 at 9:45 am
Ouch! A little harsh, Mr Taylor. I went to see his Bigger Trees Near Warter when it was displayed in the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull. The side panels were wrapped around – as if to surround the viewer. I thought it was deliberate – turns out the room was just too small to show the piece flat as intended.
You don't have to be an arty toff from south of Watford to appreciate Hockney's work; I thought the numerous canvases were very effective when you stood back – although when you viewed the painting close up the joins didn't match!
January 15th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
McCartney should stick to songwriting where his true skills are. He is one of the worst singers I have ever heard. He strains at every note.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:18 pm
Hockney's paintings should never be viewed close!
[off-topic stuff deleted]
Well done with the Garmin, Chris
January 15th, 2012 at 6:07 pm
I have to confess I'd never heard of the Yorkshire Wolds until Chris started posting about them but now they seem to crop up all the time. I reckon its your fault Chris – you've started a trend!
January 16th, 2012 at 6:48 pm
January 16th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
That photograph looks fabulous, Chris – not a snowflake in sight! And it's amazing that Mrs.Bailey selected the exact Garmin model you wanted. Bliss.
I don't mind artists who keep chugging past their prime – they're a reminder of my own creeping decrepitude.
January 17th, 2012 at 2:16 am
I loved cycling though them on the Way of the Roses.
HEY! Maybe the Wolds should be our next BIG RIDE out and about?? It could then be cycled by all of us, and instead of breathing hard, we would have enough air to chat!
As always Chris, I am very envious of your camera work, beautiful pictures.
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:13 am
Unless we get run off the road by people wearing paisley scarves as they consult their Hockney Trail maps. Or whatever.
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:32 pm
January 22nd, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Oh, thanks for the comments about the photograph. I thought the view looked familiar.
I read a criticism of one of Hockney's landscapes that took him to task for having a road that drew the eye to nothing on the horizon. A sin, apparently.
(Patrick and I may well have our next ride in the Yorkshire Wolds in
MayMarch, from Stamford Bridge again. And I've added a comment to our plans for 2012.)January 22nd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Listen to David Hockney talking to Andrew Marr. Isn't the way he talks about seeing the colours in the Wolds reminiscent of the intense experience of Place that cyclists experience? I didn't used to be all that keen on his work but I have seen the films taken down Woldgate and am totally converted. It's a new and profound way of sharing a view. I'm considering furnishing our apartments (see website) and making them available as holiday lets during the summer. They are right by Hutton Cranswich station so could be reached by train (not much more than 3 hours from Kings Cross, changing at Doncaster or Hull), and can accommodate cyclists. I'm wondering what kind of uptake there would be for them. Would anyone out there be interested?
January 23rd, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Thanks for the link to the interview, Pamela. I'd seen the photograph of Hockney and Marr (for the Radio Times, I think), but assumed it was from a TV programme I had missed. I've started to listen to it, and will return when it's not so near to bed time
Well done with the conversion of the fibre glass store. It looks wonderful. Hutton Cranswick is fine but a bit limited as a holiday let place for cyclists on the Wolds, I would have thought – somewhere like Huggate would be ideal, for example. Although there can't be many other places with a railway line, almost literally, on the doorstep. The only problem with cycles and the railway, though, is the notional limit of two bikes on a train. Then you're in to hiring bikes and all that bother. Hmmm. I'll update this when I've had a bit of a think. Good luck, anyway.
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:16 pm
Thanks for the speedy reply, Chris. Much appreciated, and I'd be grateful for your further thoughts. Hutton Cranswick is well served with pubs,chippie, farm shop, local supermaket etc and the raiiway line runs from Hull to Scarborough, stopping off at Bridlington, Flamborough, Filey as well as quick links to Beverley and Hull but I didn't know about the limit of 2 bikes per train. How does that operate? Also has that radio link disappeared? It's not on my page so here it is again – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b018g2yz
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:29 pm
I am lucky to be living in the same town as David Hockney and know the area around Bridlington very well in which he has painted many of the artworks on show at the Royal Academy. The location of many of these paintings are documented in the website at http://www.yocc.co.uk with places through out the scenic Yorkshire Wolds. There is a route map as well for cyclists. All Hockneys work was done on very minor roads with traffic on the roads pretty rare – ideal for a peaceful cycling trip.
January 30th, 2012 at 12:35 am
I find that the roads on the Wolds are busier nearer to the coast. I suppose it's because there are fewer options as you come away from the seaside. I certainly hope that Woldgate and the minor roads near Warter, Thixendale etc. don't get clogged up with motorists trying to follow in Hockney's steps.
Yes, I came across your web site the other day. It seems to be very well researched, although I think point B on your 'David Hockney Art Trail' page should read "Bigger Trees" rather than "Bigger Trees Near Warter" that you also call point A. Or is it the other way round?
Your Hockney Trail would indeed make a nice bike ride from, ooh, Hutton Cranswick, maybe. Up along the NCN 1 to Bridlington (or taking the train – space permitting) then along Woldgate west and eventually to point A. From there (heading back to Hutton Cranswick) towards Middleton on the Wolds, Lund (not by the most direct route: a few hundred metres west along the A614 then left (south) towards Kiplingcotes and eventually east towards Lund), towards Lockington, but turning left (north) on to Bracken and back to Hutton Cranswick along the NCN 1.
I was a bit harsh about Hutton Cranswick, Pamela. It is certainly better placed than where I live to explore the Yorkshire Wolds. I was thinking about the difficulty of getting out east. You have to go north before dropping and going east if you want to go further down the coast, I think. (I had that problem planning a coast to coast cycle route – I had to go through Driffield to get across the River Hull.)
My link to an earlier post discussed the potential difficulties of taking a bike on a train. Only two conventional bikes are officially allowed (although I have seen four at least once). There are no restrictions on folding bikes, however. I'm no businessman, but if I were to pitch the apartments at cycle tourists who would want to leave their own bikes behind and take the train up from, say, Kings Cross, I would think about buying folding bikes. Or maybe striking a deal with one of the bike shops in the Wolds? Not sure, but there are plenty of options when you have a larger wheeled quality folding bike, off the top of my head:
1. train down to Beverley, steady ride to Skidby, and the restaurant at the last remaining working windmill in Yorkshire.
2. a loop out east then back to Watton, across the A164 towards Kilnwick (on a road not shown on my AA North of England map) and it's not far to South Dalton and the Pipe and Glass (Pub of the Year according to the 2012 edition of the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide).
3. if the Michelin-starred pub at South Dalton isn't what you're after, how about the Star at Sancton (just south of Market Weighton), where the head chef recently won the title best Yorkshire Pudding maker! Sancton is on a very busy main road, but you can drop down from a minor road, just don't have too many Yorkshire puddings before you winch yourself back up the road and the hill out east.
4. train to Scarborough, then take the cinder track to Whitby, home to the abbey that was supposedly the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
5. While we're on the subject of authors, there is the resting place of Winifred Holtby, and the largest standing stone in England, at Rudston.
And a great deal more, if the touring cyclists have the legs for it, though they may want to bring their own bikes to go much further afield.
January 30th, 2012 at 8:16 pm
Thanks for all that positive input Chris. There are definitely some worthwhile destinations in the area but the things I like most about cycling on The Wolds sound insignificant put into words, but really lift the soul – being close to the roadside and seeing all the variety in the hedgerows, reaching the top of a hill and then seeing so far that the land looks blue, breathing the air, feeling my skin tingle...getting hungry enough to eat a prize-winning Yorkshire pudding. It's all good!
February 4th, 2012 at 7:11 am