Nidderdale, North Yorkshire – 38km (23 miles).

TV’s biggest ‘mowf’, Janet Street-Porter, owns a house in Nidderdale, and regularly hikes many of the trails in this route. In fact, in a 2005 article in the Independent she found herself uncharacteristically lost for words when trying to describe “how exhilarating this huge expanse of nothing is”.

Maybe she should have just fallen back on its official designation; an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

On a good day, it certainly lives up to its billing, although it can get a little bleak up there when the cloud rolls in and the wind is howling up the valley.

Perhaps that’s part of its attraction. But whatever the atmospheric conditions when you visit, you’re assured of firm going for almost the entire route, and with simple navigation and easy bail-out options on the road, Nidderdale makes an excellent winter ride.

For another Street-Porter recommendation, fill your boots in the Sportsman’s Arms at Wath.