Route master

WHAT this ride lacks in originality it more than makes up for in quality. In fact it's so enjoyable that you won't mind coming back the way you came - especially as there's an excellent pub meal awaiting at the end of your outward journey.

On top of that the route could not be more accessible from York and is comprehensively signed. Just follow the signs for National Cycle Route 65 and you can't go wrong.

You can start in the city centre by Lendal Bridge. Descent to north bank of the river via a steep, cobbled side road (where bike hire is available) and turn right along a path past Museum Gardens and St Peter's School playing fields. Alternatively, like I do, saddle up at Clifton Bridge.

Within moments of leaving the city you appear to be deep in the countryside, a perfect place for lovers' lunchtime liaisons. The silence is golden. The flat expanse of Clifton Ings stretches as far as the British Sugar factory.

Recorded in the Domesday Book, the Ings are winter-flooded hay meadows of a type that is almost unique to lowland eastern England. Flooding prevents the growing crops so they are managed as grassland according to a system that dates back possibly as far as Roman times.

More recently, in the early 18th century, the Ings were the official venue for York races each summer before flooding prompted the switch to the Knavesmire. Now, as if in memory of the nags that preceded them, joggers forever plod around the perimeter. Ings aren't what they used to be.

The track continues to wind through other parts of the Rawcliffe Bar Country Park.

Developed in 1990, the area includes a small pond which was formed by excavations necessary to provide a surface for the cycle track. Snipe, red buntings, yellowhammers and even kingfishers are supposedly hereabouts. At an underpass at the ring-road there is a small car park which provides another potential starting point.

Later, after a row of cottages, the route follows a minor road through Overton but it's so quiet it could still almost be described as traffic-free. On the opposite side of the Ouse a group of houses in Nether Poppleton compete with one another for the highest view of the river.

If you're flagging at this point (which is unlikely) you can always shuffle off in the sidings - quite literally. That is the name of the restaurant and hotel housed in several former railway carriages just before the junction with the A19 at Skelton. As a novelty venue it takes some beating - and the food is good too.

The highlight of the route for me are the grounds of Beningborough Hall. Approached from the rear the hall is perhaps not seen at its best and seems empty, but the estate road is ideal for cycling while numerous cattle spectate among the trees.

As you near an archway to leave the grounds you will panic as it appears to be locked. Fear not! The chained gate opens just wide enough to allow a bicycle to pass through.

The finale is a triumphant pedal up a cherry tree-lined avenue into Newton-on-Ouse. In spring the blossom provides a bunting-like greeting.

The village has two pubs with gardens, The Dawnay Arms and, at the end of the avenue, The Blacksmiths Arms. When I last cycled the route in July the food at the latter was first rate and very plentiful.

Billed as the Pizza Medici, the eating area serves a selection of 41 different pizzas in a choice of three sizes. There is also a broad selection of other Italian dishes, burgers and kebabs.

Being part of the National Cycle Network, the ride need not stop there, of course, but for me Newton is far enough. It takes about an hour to cycle the ten miles back to central York making this an ideal route for a long summer's evening or, equally, for midwinter when daylight is at a premium.

Updated: 08:50 Saturday, September 07, 2002