Le Tour

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Aficionados of either cycling or Yorkshire will know that Le Tour de France starts in Yorkshire this year on 5th July. 

Today Mister E and I drove the route of Stage 1 and agreed that one of our first retirement exploits should be trying to watch this event at Buttertubs  between Wensleydale and Swaledale. Wherever we stay this is going to involve a long uphill walk, Buttertubs being one of the remotest part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

On the basis that every hotel and guest house in the vicinity has been booked up for at least 12 months, we have looked into the feasibility of driving there on the day. However the road over Buttertubs is closing at 18.00 hours the night before and into the Dales at 7 am on the day.

The idea of being gridlocked trying to get into the National Park at 5am holds no allure, so instead we have turned our heads to the potential for camping. We are guessing that established campsites will have been booked for months too, but I have fired off some e-mails more in hope than anticipation. Otherwise there are a number of  Pop Up campsites appearing in farmers' fields along the route, so we'll try those next. 

Unfortunately rural Yorkshire being rural Yorkshire, campsites don't seem to use the Internet to show availability. I have however managed to verify that the National Trust still has pitches on its Pop Up sites so there is some reason for optimism.

Sadly wild camping in the Yorkshire Dales is unlawful as the land is privately owned, so that will not be an option, although Mister E, carried away  by the sense of adventure and in a Bear Grylls' moment, did suggest that if necessary we could  bivvi out high up in the Pennines. I'll keep you updated.


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