Rocking round the route for the latest Calderdale craze

Calderdale Rocks, a group started on social media that encourages members to paint and hide rocks for other members to find and redistribute, have asked enthusiasts to line the route with Tour-themed efforts.

Gareth Helliwell, one of the group’s administrators and himself a keen cyclist, said that the idea is to give those visiting from outside the region a warm Calderdale welcome.

He said: “They’re very pretty and it’s a nice way to brighten the place up a little bit.

“It also gives people something to do while they are dotted about waiting for the race, it’s a nice thing for families to get upto.”

The group would like anyone who finds the decorated rocks to post an image on social media along with the hashtag #CalderdaleRocks.

The Tour is the latest in a number of themed events the group are involved in, including encouraging people to paint bees on rocks to mark the first anniversary of the Manchester bombings.

“We’ve found it’s a nice way of marking certain events,” Gareth said, “and people enjoy it. The group is getting bigger and bigger all the time.”