There’s something quintessentially Dalesy about seeing a stack of cycles leaning up against a signpost or a wall outside a café. Brightly-bedecked cyclists are usually scattered around or crammed inside the premises enjoying some banter and a cuppa – or should that be some high-energy power drink nowadays? This month we find out why the cyclists’ stopping places are so popular and what it takes to be the kind of café owners who put up with the antics of some of their lycra-clad visitors.

Tom Puddings sound like something you might pick up in a Yorkshire café but actually they are special tug boats that once chugged regularly along the Aire & Calder Navigation from the county’s pits to Goole docks… I hope you enjoy our nostalgic trip down the canals.

I know how much Dalesman readers enjoy driving around Yorkshire so this month we’ve included a classic circular route from Malham. Fingers crossed that the weather is suitable… if not, it’s worth holding on to for spring which hopefully is just around the corner.

In the February issue:

A love for life in Leyburn
Helen Johnson visits a couple whose guesthouse is now home to the local Tourist Information Centre

Grandma’s wheel of the year
Caroline Fields remembers celebrating Imbolc with her grandma

Final flourish
Maggie Chaplin looks into the history of Lych gates

Keeping cyclists refuelled
Paul Richardson checks out some favourite watering holes of Dales cyclists

Reviving ancient blacksmith skills
Helen Johnson heads to Chris Topp’s traditional forge

Improving aquatic environment
The rivers of the Yorkshire Dales are getting a health check, finds Sheila Bowker

Whitby’s unassuming fisherman hero
Sean Gallagher shares fond memories of a remarkable man

Unearthing boltby’s secrets
Boltby Hill Fort reveals more about Yorkshire’s prehistoric inhabitants, finds Helen Johnson

Walking with dalesman
John Devlin visits Cauldron Snout in upper Teesdale

Back on our screens
We catch up with some of the stars of the second series of The Dales, presented by Ade Edmondson

On the beaten track
Sarah Myles follows some of Whitby’s interesting town trails

Bringing Rossington Hall’s history to life
Phil Penfold visits a couple who are embracing their biggest development challenge yet

Memories of a mobile library
Ian Stringer shares his memories and photographs of when he worked on the mobile libraries

Touring limestone Country
Andrew Gallon sets off from Malham on a scenic drive

York’s iron man barges in
Rob Wilkinson meets the current Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths

In the February issue:

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