Sarah and I had been invited, and readily accepted, an opportunity to join some Stockport Community Cycling Club members on a short cycling vacation at Lancaster. We had planned three cycle rides. The first of which started at Galgate, near to Lancaster, and went to Jubilee Tower near Quernmore. Tina led this ride.

We left Galgate.

Then soon joined NCN Route 6 and crossed the M6.

We passed Dolphinholme and made our way towards Abbeystead.

It was a rolling route.

For the first half of the route we climbed.

And climbed.

The views were fantastic.

There was also the occasional downhill.

Eventually, we crossed the River Wye at Abbeystead.

Of course, river crossings are typically at the bottom of a valley. Hence, a climb out of the valley quickly follows.

We turned on to Abbeystead Lane and continued a steady climb.

Eventually, we joined Quernmore Brow.

At the top of the brow is Jubilee Tower.

From here you can view the Lakeland Hills, Fylde Coast, Yorkshire Dales and enjoy some breathtaking views of the stunningly diverse landscape of Lancaster, Morecambe and the Lune Valley.

The tower itself is a square stone-built tower designated as Queen Victoria’s Jubilee commemorative tower, built by James Harrison (not literally!) a wealthy Liverpool shipbuilder who lived in Hare Appletree, near Quernmore.

After enjoying lunch at Jubilee Tower, we set off again down towards Scotforth.

We skirted the edge of Skirtforth.

Of course, there was always another hill to climb.

Our route took us past Blea Tarn Reservoir.

Soon, we were heading back down towards Galgate.

Soon, we were arriving back at Galgate and a well-deserved pint at The Plough Inn. We had cycled just 19 miles, but there had been plenty of climbing. This had been a challenging route. That said, it had been a fantastic day, and a great start to our little vacation.

You can view our Galgate to Jubilee Tower route below: