Rural Route
A new rural bus and rail service connecting the Ribble Valley with the Yorkshire Dales is giving adventurers access to some of the UK’s most beautiful countryside
A new cross border-bus service has launched in the Ribble Valley. The Service 11 bus between Clitheroe and Horton-in-Ribblesdale, North Yorkshire, was launched last month and is already proving popular with walkers and adventurers in the region.
The new two-hourly service is supported by Lancashire County Council and North Yorkshire Council.
The service runs six times a day, from Monday to Saturday (there is no Sunday service) between Clitheroe, Dunsop Bridge, Slaidburn, Settle, Horton via Bashall Eaves, Whitewell, Newton and Tosside.
Keen to experience the new service, Janet Willacy and her husband recently caught the No 11 from Clitheroe at the Platform Gallery (Stand 3) to Settle and enjoyed the most scenic bus journey: “It was a lovely day out so we would encourage anyone to try it. The service will be useful for linear walks, great for lunch at one of the excellent eating venues along the route or simply a picnic on the riverside at Dunsop Bridge or Slaidburn.
“Coming up in Settle is a free annual Flowerpot Festival every day from 13th July to 1st September so it will make for a lovely day out with a relaxing scenic journey thrown in!” says Janet, who helps run monthly piano meetups at Clitheroe Library. She thinks the new bus route will help attract other pianists to meetings: “Anyone living on the other side of the border or in the rural areas that the bus route covers, might find it useful for getting to our meetings because the timetable ties in quite well.”
Campaigners like Janet, have found it difficult to get the new bus service restarted and having won the support of the two councils, it is hoped that by spreading the word it will become a popular route: “It is on a trial basis so it’s a question of ‘use it or lose it’ – so please pass the information on locally and further afield to anyone you think might benefit such as campsites, hotels, B&Bs, holiday lets and walking groups.”
Both Lancashire and North Yorkshire councils have indicated they are delighted to join forces to provide the new cross-boundary service and having met with residents in the Hodder Valley, the bus route is deemed the best solution in order to provide vital and sustainable public transport for residents. It will also give visitors to the Ribble Valley access to some of the most beautiful countryside in the country, without the need to take the car.
In addition to the new bus service, a new Saturday-only rail service between Clitheroe and Settle is starting on 8th June which also has train connections to and from Morecambe and Lancaster (change at Hellifield).
So, here’s to a lovely summer trundling around our stunning countryside discovering the Forest of Bowland and the Yorkshire Dales!
A timetable for the new No 11 bus route can be downloaded at: forestofbowland.com
clitheroepiano@gmail.com
