The Calder Valley is home to some of the UK's steepest and most leg-sapping climbs. The southernmost of the Yorkshire Dales- though sitting just outside the National Park - this deep gritstone trough follows the River Calder, while the valley sides offer a mix of winding ramps and brutal pitches that make the whole area a climber's playground. Historically a textile hub, the valley floor is still dominated by the towering mills of the Industrial Revolution.
It makes for a claustrophobic riding environment, where ruins, rivers, and canals are squeezed into whatever flat land is available. But I'm not here to linger in the basin. Instead, I'm looking for the exit: nine vicious ascents that rise straight out of the post-industrial gloom. I start my ride in Halifax, at the sensational Piece Hall. This Grade I listed building is a remarkable feat of architecture that looks as if it's been plucked from the centre of Bordeaux or Vienna and dropped in a northern English town.
