Settle gears up for county cycle race

Giant bright yellow letters have been put up on Castleberg in Settle in celebration of the Stage One finish of the Tour de Yorkshire on April 29.

A team of climbers worked for hours on Thursday to hoist the letters up onto the striking landmark high above the town.

Sharon Hudson, Craven District Council’s communications & partnerships manager, said: “This was a brilliant idea to raise awareness of the Tour and celebrate Settle at the same time.

“We’re delighted how much Settle has embraced the Tour de Yorkshire and this fantastic sign will create some iconic images for the town.”

Settle mayor, Coun Ian Robinson, said: “We are delighted to be hosting the finish of Stage One of the Tour De Yorkshire. Settle is embracing the spirit of the tour and Settle Town Council are joining in by decorating Castleberg Crag with the big yellow letters ‘Hollywood style’ – thanks to the volunteer rock climbers for making this happen.

“We are sure the day will be a success so fingers crossed for the riders and some good weather and that the sun will shine down on Settle; unfortunately the elements are beyond our control!”

A group of local climbers volunteered to help, including Dave Musgrove, a member of the British Mountaineers Council.

He said: “Most of us have been climbing around the Yorkshire Dales for as many as 50 years and this was something we could give back.

“I think it looks impressive. It wasn’t too difficult once we worked out the plan – there are permanently fixed bolts in the cliff for protection when we’re climbing, which helped.

“I think the overall effect is pleasing. People will remember Settle as they see it on the television.”

The huge wooden letters were created by Timberworks in Settle.

Becky Bullock, who owns Timberworks with husband Ian, said: “We’re really excited about the Tour de Yorkshire and we were keen to get involved. We’re very proud to be a part of it.

“It looks fantastic and it’s lovely to see our work every time we drive through the town centre.”

Meanwhile, keen cyclist Kabel Taylor may not be competing in the Tour de Yorkshire but he’ll be making sure that the crowd who attend won’t be doing it on an empty stomach.

Kabel and his brother George, who both work at Country Harvest, near Ingleton, will be supplying more than 1,000 burgers and another 1,000 bangers on Friday, when the cyclists tackle a 115-mile route from Beverley to Settle.

George, who was named Young Butcher of the Year in 2014/15, said they will be getting up at 1am to make everything fresh for Ingleton Cricket Club, which is having a stall in Settle to raise cash for its junior teams.

“We started supplying burgers and sausages to the cricket club so when they approached us to help out with this fundraiser we were happy to help,” said George. “It’s an early start for us but we’re quite used to it when we get big orders.”

Kabel, 26, who regularly goes on long bike rides in Gisburn and the Lakes, is in charge of making the burgers and his younger brother George will recreate his award-winning Country Harvest thick pork sausages.

Dave Mcgonnigal, captain of Ingleton Cricket Club, said if they sell out of all the burgers and sausages they will raise about £1,500.

He said: “That’s almost 25 per cent of what we need to survive a year; it’s a one-off opportunity.

“We’ll be there from 7am until 10pm...or until we’ve run out of food.”

Dave said they are running the stall in conjunction with the Royal Oak pub in Settle.