It is raining in Dewsbury but this town is still immediately beautiful, with its rows of elegant stone buildings. There has been money here – from heavy woollen cloth, I am told, when I ask.

Again, I hear the story of the unloved cousin, the place that has been forgotten, the sense that somewhere else (Huddersfield in this instance) gets all the attention. And yet I am also told about local pride, about very strong attachments to specific places, an appetite for arts activity and a willingness to come along, to talk, to be interested. Still the story of being forgotten, overlooked, but more of a sense of confidence than I've picked up on in other places.

Rebecca tells me there has been a history in this area of new initiatives full of promises and injections of cash over fixed periods of time. 'Things come in and then leave,' she says, 'And so there is an element of distrust.' This is a huge issue for all the CPP projects I think – how to have impact; how to create something that lasts; how to avoid being just another initiative that comes and then leaves – or if that is unavoidable, then the question is how to do it well.

I chose to cycle along this northern belt of CPP projects because I wanted the opportunity to see and experience and reflect upon the landscapes and specific localities of each project, and get a sense of what lies between, how one place connects to another. I cycled many canal paths and disused railways – peaceful, rural-feeling spaces away from the hustle and aggression of A-roads and hurrying traffic. And yet, historically, these were transport links supporting huge industries, now gone. This relationship between rural/green/peace/(wealth?) and urban/industrial/grey/(deprivation?) was maybe the most striking aspect of the journey.

Again, I turn up tired from cycling, my bike spattered with mud and my cheeks flushed from hours cycling against a strong headwind. Tea and chocolate cake are immediately offered, along with a conversation with volunteer Pete and LeftCoast staff member Helen about how the Spare Parts Festival has grown out of the long standing Tram Sunday event in Fleetwood. Listening to Pete, I think about how essential these people are for CPP – local people with open minds, a willingness to try something new and the confidence to invite others to come along on the journey with them.

From 14-17th September I cycled from my home in Manchester to Heart of Glass, St. Helens; then LeftCoast, Blackpool and Wyre; and on to Super Slow Way, Pennine Lancashire (I will continue my journey east from Dewsbury to Hull next week). The following posts are some reflections from those visits. I have not included everything I did and everything I saw, but have tried to pull out the themes, ideas and questions that arose during my time with each project. I will be posting some creative responses in the coming weeks. You can also search #morethan100stories on Twitter for more photos and tweets from my journey.