Calder Divide Trail | 160K

Event HQ

Mytholmroyd Community & Leisure Centre
Caldene Avenue
Mytholmroyd
Hebden Bridge
West Yorkshire
HX7 5AF
UK

Cars/train

The Event Hub has a large, free car / van park and is 2 minutes from Mytholmroyd train station on the main line between Leeds and Manchester. Vans can stay overnight in the MYCC Car Park on the Friday and Sunday.

Camping

All riders are welcome to pitch up at the camping village halfway round the trail. It's a working farm with a level grass field for your tent, a water tap, secure lockups for your bike and portable toilets with sinks / cold running water that we hire for the weekend. Two water taps. No showers. 

Nutrition

Tea / coffee / juice / toast / porridge at the Event Hub.

There will be an artisan van serving delicious hot pizza.

Description

Decide nearer the time which routes you want to ride and swap between them on Day 1 and Day 2.

The GPX file shown here is the ‘original’ route which connects tracks and lanes around the watershed - the edge of the ‘basin’ - of the River Calder and its fluvial sisters the Colne, Hebble, Holme, Ryburne and Spen.

British Rail has closed a section of the Spen Valley Greenway where a pedestrian and cycle bridge crosses the main road. There is a short detour through the centre of Dewsbury. The detour will be in place till 2027 as the rail improvement project is a major affair.

The watershed of the Calder is not a fixed line, permanently marked on a map. It is a broad divide that separates rivers along a ridge of high ground. 

This corner of Yorkshire the watershed is criss-crossed by bridleways, causeways and greenways etched into the landscape over the last 700 years as farmers, labourers and merchants went about their day-to-day lives.  

This has gifted us one divide but many trails you can take to explore this diverse landscape. In summary there are five trail options along the Calder Divide:

• The Calder Divide Trail is a single fixed 145-mile route for rider, runner or walker

• The Calder Divide Trail bikepacking event has four route options from 100 to 150 miles

Gravel bike route

The ‘Washlands’ route is the long gravel bike route and a rewarding ride over a number of days.  It is easily linked via the many train stations.  It differs to the ‘black mtb’ in three aspects:

• It takes gravel tracks below rather than over Midgley Moor
• It takes in ace gravel tracks through parkland at Bretton Hall
• The trail climbs up to Flower Scar Moor (Source of the Calder) and the huge descent directly into Todmorden

Included

• Venue and large car park
• Two minutes from a train station
• Four GPX files emailed to you
• Changing rooms
• First class showers
• Option of GPS trackers
• Campsite option
• Luggage transfer option
• Pie and peas at the finish line
• Certificate
• Embroidered cloth badge

In aid of Overgate Hospice.

• £25 for 25 year olds and under (includes campsite option)
• £65 Bikepacker (self-supported + includes campsite option)
• £105 Ride + campsite + luggage transfer of all your gear
• £130 Ride + campsite + luggage transfer + GPS tracker
  
  

Entry fees

Just finished the fantastic Clader Divide trail event. What a brilliant event. I opted for the slightly shorter 106 mile blue gravel route... To be welcomed in to a nice warm community centre and immediately offered beautiful, locally made pie and peas, with a big mug of coffee, was sublime! All in all an absolutely amazing couple of days. Adrian and Helen are fantastic orgnisers and cracking hosts. Nothing was too much trouble and tea, coffee and cakes were offered at every opportunity. Adrian exudes passion and enthusiasm for the routes and events, and it really shows. The event has a wonderful, local atmosphere and the riders were all incredibly friendly and keen to chat. Two guys had even travelled from Lithuania! See you next time. Nick H

Absolutely loved the Calder Divide Challenge this weekend. Beautiful route, all the weather and awesome folks. Big test for me, first solo event and the first on the full suspension MTB, which was 100% the right decision. I'm so glad I took it, the beginning of day one and parts of day two were so techy, even if I was pushing up at least I could ride down. I rode the long MTB route on day one, the weather was perfect and the route was fantastic but 12+ hours on a MTB really took it out of me. I was struggling at the end and the amount of help I got from the organisers when I rolled wearily on to the campsite tells me it showed, I was happy but cooked. Kate S

Sunset and the burger will be remembered, it was a great event. Organisers and riders were all really lovely, made for a great atmosphere. I'll definitely be back but on my mountain bike. Rachel W