A TEAM of cyclists have made trips across the North Sea to promote walking and cycling in North and East Yorkshire.

Rupert Douglas, area manager for sustainable transport charity Sustrans, and Malcolm Hodgson, national trails officer for the Yorkshire Wolds Way and Cleveland Way, travelled to the Low Countries to promote the regions as the perfect place for walking and cycling holidays.

They attended the Fiets en Wandelbeurs cycling and walking show in Mechelen, Belgium – attended by almost 13,500 people - in January, and also headed to its sister show in Amsterdam, which is estimated to have had about 20,000 visitors.

Said Rupert: “With our growing network of cycling and walking routes, we’re increasingly able to tempt Belgians and Dutch to spend more, if not all, of their trip in our area, which is very good for our local accommodation and other tourism-related businesses.”

The pair were representing a partnership comprising Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council, the North York Moors National Park Authority and the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.