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The following is an account, written by Roger Lewis, of the some of the experiences that he and his wife Pam had as they circumnavigated the Diocese of York on a sponsored cycle ride raising funds for the continuing refurbishment and repair of the magnificent Lewis organ, one of the pride and joys of St Mary's Church. As a church our thanks go to them for their magnificent effort.

A cheque for the amount they raised, approximately £1430, was presented to Mr Alan Binnington, our Organist, after church on 18 May 1997.

Its over and done with. The panniers are unpacked and the contents put away for another time. The one thing that will not go away as easily are the memories. The early morning send off from the gates of St. Mary's. Mist boiling out of the ground as we rode across the farmland along the Humber Bank. The eeriness of riding down to Spurn Point in the fog, hearing the waves breaking on the beach but not being able to see them. The dramatic scenery along the east coast up to Middlesborough. The hills, those long steep, never ending hills. The people we met. The memories go on and on. The legs don't ache, the weariness has gone.

Somewhere, sometime, somebody suggested a sponsored cycle ride to raise money for the Organ Fund. Whose idea it was is not important, the important thing is that it caught the imagination. Where to go, when, how many. A phone call to the Diocesan office in York and the following day a map dropped onto the mat showing the boundary of the Diocese of York. A quick look, an estimate of total mileage and the realisation that it is achievable took root. A closer look and a little bit of gentle persuasion to convince Pam that she really could do it and the commitment is made. The idea was mooted to Alan Binnington who considered it for all of 30 seconds. before saying yes. Realisation dawns. We have gone public and now we really have to do it.

We were unable to fit the ride into a busy 1996, so the idea was put onto the back burner until the winter of 1996 when we started planning for 1997. We decided to do the ride in the last week of April 1997. This would give us a better chance of good weather, the coast would be quiet before the holiday-makers start to arrive and there was a Bank Holiday Monday in the following week that would give us a day to recover before going back to work. The plan was to leave Beverley on a Sunday morning and to return in time for the next Sunday morning. The bit in between was still a mystery.

Much studying of Ordnance Survey maps eventually resulted in a route that followed the Boundary of the Diocese as far as possible with a measured mileage on the map of 314 miles. Who said that we could do this in a week!

The weeks that followed were a blur of preparation, trepidation and much discussion between Pam and myself as to who suggested this in the first place.

Christmas came and went followed by New Year and Easter. Time to get the publicity going and the sponsor forms out. The publicity was efficiently handled by the Organ Appeal Committee and the sponsor forms were distributed by the Committee and ourselves. Photographs were taken by the Hull Daily Mail and we featured in an article in the paper on the following Monday. There was no turning back now. The die is cast.

The appointed weekend arrived and with it the rain on the Saturday. This was not looking good. However, the Sunday dawned fine and we left home bound for our starting point at St. Mary's, where we were met by Alan Binnington, the Vicar, and hardy members of the congregation who had risen early enough to see us off on our journey..

At last the pedals are turning and the tyres are humming along the road. Our route takes us out of Beverley to the Corporation Pier at Hull where we meet the Humber and the start point of the Circumnavigation of the Diocese of York. We will return to the same point to close the loop sometime in the next week we hope.

Out along the Humber Bank, through Paul, along farm roads and eventually to Easington where we take refreshment before braving the run down to Spurn Point and back. Then onward up the coast to Hornsea for our first nights stop. Day 1 completed and 80 miles completed. Yes 80 miles from Beverley to Hornsea!

After a good nights sleep we wake up to an overcast morning with a freshening breeze and more than a hint of rain in the air. From Hornsea to Bridlington was uneventful if you ignore getting soaked to the skin between Carnaby and Brid! The sound of walking with your shoes full of water has to be heard to be believed. A cup of tea at Brid and some time to dry out soon found us flying down to Flamborough Head. You soon learn on a bike that if you fly in one direction, the wind is on your back. If you have to turn round to come back then the wind is in your face. Now Flamborough Head has only one way in and out. You've got it. We didn't fly from Flamborough Head! On through Bempton and Filey and into Scarborough for a bite to eat. We decided to make Scarborough our stop for the day and found a B&B down on the harbour. This was a classic British seaside B&B with a soft bed, plumbing that vibrated and windows and doors that rattled with the wind in the night. The landlady however was the salt of the earth and served up a great breakfast.

Heading out of Scarborough along Marine Drive proved interesting as I didn't know that the wind could blow from three directions at the same time. Luckily the tide was out and not throwing itself against the sea wall. Shortly after Scarborough we headed into Harwood Dale, crossed the boundary of the North York Moors National Park and entered that world loved by cyclists called hills. Harwood Dale has a nice Tea Room called the Grainary that we intended to stop at. We arrived at 10.00 only to find that it did not open until 12 noon.

We continued through Fylingthorpe, Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, Sands End, up Lythe Bank to Runswick Bay and to our overnight stop at Staithes. The scenery through out the day was fantastic with the coastline becoming more powerful and dramatic as we went further north.

The following morning, it is Wednesday by now I think, we had two possible routes out of Staithes, up a hill or up a hill. We decided to go up a hill. We headed from Staithes to Boulby Bank which is like trying to walk up a wall and push a bike at the same time. The views from Boulby Bank were amazing but conversation was not possible as Pam and I tried to regain our breath. Over the top of Boulby Bank the road took us to Skinningrove where the hill going down is so steep that we had to get off and walk again but this time down hill. There must be better ways of spending a morning.

Out of Skinningrove, up yet another hill we headed for Saltburn-by-Sea, Marske-by-Sea, Redcar and Middlesborough, leaving the hills behind us and heading out into flatter country. From Middlesborough our route took us to Yarm which is a small market town not unlike Beverley in character. Pam had decided that Yarm would be a nice place to stop for the night. However, somebody else had their sights set on Danby Wiske, 20 miles further on. There wasn't much conversation on the way to Danby Wiske for some reason!

The White Swan at Danby Wiske is on the Wainwright Coast to Coast walking route and the Visitors' Book is well worth reading as it has entries from people from most countries of the Western World.

The terrain was now quite different from the early part of the ride as we were now following river valleys as we headed south. It was Thursday 1 May and if we hadn't noticed it was the election and we passed more than one Polling Station as we passed through various villages.

Chris Hairsine had returned home from the North Sea on Wednesday night and had said that he would meet us somewhere on our route for lunch. We eventually met in the Crab and Lobster at Dishforth Road, Asenby, near Thirsk, which is a very unusual pub and worth a visit if you are out that way. The menu is varied, different and definitely dangerous to the wellbeing of your bank balance. Not the place for cyclists of meagre means, so we moved onto a smaller pub in the next village. This pub had a notice on the side stating that it was an election free zone Pouring Station. Chris left us after lunch and we made our way to Boston Spa for our overnight stop.

Friday dawned fine and warm. This was going to be our make or break day. Boston Spa to Beverley is a long haul and we would just have to see how the day went. By lunch time we had made it to Snaith where we stopped for lunch. We contacted Chris on the mobile telephone and arranged to meet in Howden for some photographs and a cup of tea. We left Howden at 15.00 and followed the road along the bank of the Humber. We were finally on the last leg. By 19.00 we were back at the Corporation Pier in Hull. The loop was closed and the Circumnavigation complete. But the ride was not yet finished as we had to get back to St. Mary's in Beverley. A fast run from Hull saw us arrive at St. Mary's at 20.00 and a welcome from Chris and Margaret Hairsine, Alan Binnington and the choir who were just finishing their Friday evening practice session.

The ride was now fully completed in six days, we would be back in church on the Sunday morning with a tale to tell and memories to share.

Presenting the 'fruit' of our labours!

Thanks to the generosity of the members of St. Mary's, the people of Beverley, our friends and colleagues and the efforts of all those who encouraged sponsors, the ride will realise more than £1400 for the Organ Appeal Fund.

Our thanks go to you all.

For those interested in the detail they are as follows:

Roger and Pam Lewis  

Last Updated: 9 July 2001