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What's good in the Lakes right now? I'm planning on spending a couple of days up there en route to Scotland/tweed valley next week and want to know if anyone's on the ground right now and could advise where best to go. I was considering Helvellyn/sticks pass go but if the diggers are up flattening it it might be best to wait a few months until it starts showing its teeth again.
Did love a big nan bield loop from Staveley so not averse to a hike-a-bike. Grizedale off-piste a possibility as well? Only ridden the lakes once so I don't really know where to start looking! Probably looking for more big mountain descents rather than gravel distancey stuff.
Cheers!
Nah, Helvellyn and Sticks is still good - they've only tidied up a few hundred metres. It's not worth avoiding the route just because of that.
To be honest, most of the Lakes is prime right now - in this dry weather, everything is running very sweetly indeed
Like Beiber says, Sticks is great it's only the top part very little has been done yet.
Just finished day 4 of riding trip up here, everything is running sweet.
You'd have more fun riding Helvellyn by going up Keppel Cove and down Dollywagon and Grisedale anyway, it's a better descent. More technical and more exciting.
If you're there midweek then doing Skiddaw and descending via Ullock Pike is top quality for someone who can handle a bit of tech.
Following on from skiddaw / Ullock anything else as similier to that amazing trail to try?
Up coledale from Braithwaite, onto Grisedale pike, great descent back to Braithwaite...
I love the NW fells, nice n quiet, and oodles of amazing descents.
Still loads of options on helvellyn without coming down stick pass. In my opinion dollywagon is rubbish, just a whole bunch of man made stone water ditches to cross and it becomes a bit of a boring ball ache manualing over them ever 20 yards, unless that’s your thing. 2 of the best ways down are either birkside of the top or sticks pass west rather than east. Both take you down to thirlmere you can then pedal down to grasmere and pedal / hike a bike back up to grisedale tarn via the bridleway from grasmere and then you have that great descent from the tarn back to glen ridding. About 5500ft in all if you got to the top of helvellyn. Skiddaw / ullock are awesome especially the scree switchback descent off Skiddaw rather than the straight traverse, which is still very very good. But do pick your times, if you are not aware it’s a footpath and very busy at the moment and avoiding any unnecessary conflict between walkers and mountain bikers is no bad thing for us all.
scree switchback descent off Skiddaw rather than the straight traverse
would that be the one marked as FP rather than a track? I've never really even noticed a second path... I think I've been taking the track all along.
Following on from skiddaw / Ullock anything else as similier to that amazing trail to try?
If you are around Skidaw also do Whiteless Pike descent to Buttermere and Grizedale Pike via Sleet How. If anything these are even more amazing / terrifying 🙂
As with all Big mountain riding in the UK, stick to weekdays and/or Dawn Raids and evening expeditions.
would that be the one marked as FP rather than a track? I’ve never really even noticed a second path… I think I’ve been taking the track all along.
The footpath is this bit (further to the west, appears more direct but has a load of very satisfying zigzags in it)-
The track is this bit (further to the east, steeper and more precipitous but just a straight line, the more difficult line)-
Crag -
Whiteless Pike (probably the easiest and most "fun" option, but still a tough day out)-
Grizedale Pike (my favourite descent in the Lakes but the top is extremely hard, probably unrideable by a normal rider on even a damp day)-
Jeeeees, all of these look amazing! Thanks for the inspiration.
Has anyone any GPX files they could throw my way of these sorts of routes? Tbh I'm interested in anything munrobiker has posted up here as it all looks insane!
Thanks for all the input
Interested in that Crag picture !
could you divulge exactly which track that is and where it pops out?
ndthornton - that's actually the lower section, around 320475,520570 which pops out at Stoneycroft, but you'd be better off following it down then taking the left turn at 322015,520565 and riding over Barrow to finish off.
Crag itself at the top is a really tough trail, then it opens out into all this lovely flowy goodness after a fairly tame bit that's been "fixed" between the summit of Sail and the saddle up to Causey Pike.
Sorry, I don't have the gpxs to hand or I'd send them round!
Cheers
One to try for next time
I can work that out from the OS