The Yorkshire Dales have been, of course, extensively covered in the Singletrack Worlds of yore, but Nidderdale has largely been left off the list. Sure, there are mentions here and there, but, for the most part, dropping Nidderdale into the deep black pool of Singletrackian knowledge yields only the barest ripple – followed perhaps by a slight sigh.
Why could this be? Perhaps it’s insufficiently northern sounding, compared to Garsdale, or the magnificently Yorkshire Skegdale? Perhaps, to some ears, the name sounds fairly ridiculous when compared to the infinitely more macho ‘Swaledale’, or the presumably ’80s hard rock obsessed ‘Coverdale’? Nidderdale is so named as a dale (or valley, etymology fans) of the River Nidd. Wikipedia (yes, I’ve researched this article extensively) suggests that Nidd is actually likely a Celtic word for ‘shiny’. It’s also home to Stif, a damn fine bike shop in Summerbridge – not to mention its sister company, Jungle, which imports a couple of brands you might have heard of…