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Hey,
After a spot of help, me and a friend are off to keswick to do a days riding next week.
What do you recommend? Both of us ride at a good level and prefer natural trails and don't mid hike-a-bike.
So - looking for big descents, steep, rocky, flowy radness etc etc etc!
Thanks in advance!
Borrowdale Bash + Warnscale.
Keswick-railway-threlkeld-Glenterterra-Lonscale Cragg-Latrigg-Jenkin Hill-Skiddaw-Ullock Pike-Dodd Wood- Doups.
Keswick-Newlands-Stoneycroft Ghyl-Sail-Cragg Hill- wandope-Whitless Pike-Buttermere-Rigg Beck.
what lowey said on 1st post, that's a great ride.
also try here for maps: http://www.keswick.org/what-to-do/cycling-routes/ pdf of routes on the right, incl the borrowdale bash. The lonscale fell route is great if you're short of time, it's epic but short.
Also consider helvellyn isn't far away. 30 mins driving to glenridding.
Keswick-Newlands-Robinson-Dale Head- High Spy-Maiden Moor-Hause Gate- Grange-Catbells Bridleway-Swinside-Keswick.
You are literally spoilt for choice there.
Cheeky so exercise discretion.
I've always fancied catbells as it looks an easy climb but everytime we've gone it's had a families on it, being a wainwright advocated family walk and my mate is bit more funny about riding footpaths. I think I'd fancy doing it at night!
We're heading up that way for the bank holiday staying near buttermere. Depending on how far you're happy to travel you could look at a couple of the routes linked below.
Coincidentally I was going to start a thread today asking what people thought of the routes linked.
So a bit of a thread hi-jack, but you might get some value out of it 🙂
Helvellyn route - http://www.pedalnorth.com/content/helvellyn-entire - 25 miles, 4.4k feet of climbing.
Western Passes - http://www.pedalnorth.com/content/western-passes - 20 miles, 4.5k feet of climbing. The bit that sold it for me is 'scarily steep descents'!
Typically in the Lakes most folk aren't out and moving until 9am or so, so if you can get the cheeky stuff done by then you should be fine. Starts getting a bit awkward as the days shorten but there's still four hours or so at the moment.
The other option is of course to aim to hit the cheeky bits late evening after most have headed back down and are having their tea.
singletrackstinker - the western passes route is an absolute belter if you like that kind of thing. Lots of carrying and mega rocky descents. A long brutal day - we just did it over two staying overnight at Black Sail YHA.
The Helvellyn one keeps crashing my phone browser but it seems to involve going up Dollywaggon and down the Dodds which is wrong, wrong, wrong IMO.
Local rides leave the car park at the back of the Police station in the centre of town at 6.30pm every Tuesday. I was there on holidays in May and had two incredible rides with some lovely folk. First one was along to Threlkeld then up Blencathra, the second week took us up Grizedale Pike, over Whiteless Pike down towards Buttermere and Crummock then back over [s]Big Wreck[/s] Rigg Beck. All natural, big terrain, hike a bike and techy singletrack. Well worth linking in with them
I think you'd have to be a hardcore devotee of cheeky trails to even consider Catbells in the summer holidays. It will be rammed with walkers, and not the adventurous mountaineering types who tend to not mind us but ramblers and families out for a walk who really won't appreciate you bring there. And it will be too crowded to enjoy or get any speed up.
I'm all for a bit of responsible, well timed cheekiness but I don't think Catbell's is it.
There's no way you could ride on Catbells and enjoy yourself at any point of the day. I'm not sure why you'd want too either.
Which day next week- happy to show you round if I'm off....
Pheasant-DogandGun-Magnolia
What Lowey said!
Best bit of the Lakes.
Ullock, Whitless, Blencathra, take your pick.
tick.
sorry to hijack a little!!
I'm there myself next Friday and possibly Sat and if anyone has any gps stuff based on "what Lowey said" 🙂 and would like to share a few beer tokens will be added.
I'm useless at following a map but can follow the black line on my Garmin ok!!
tick
As a Tuesday night regular Catbells is a stunning descent, but i would avoid it during the day, its probably the busiest footpath from Keswick and gets very busy at weekends, Loweys route above is a cracker and don't forget the Tuesday night rides from the old police station carpark 630pm, bring some lights and a warm jacket, helmets compulsory 😉
Singletrackstinker
That Helvellyn route is barking mad,Your missing out on some of the best single track descending in the lakes from Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale. Hellvelyn is best done from Either Greenside mine (shorter route) or the full day route anticlockwise from Great Dodd, Dollywagon is a real challenge to clean, not my favourite descent but always worth doing on a good day.
Your second route is excellent though but pack plenty of tubes or go Dual-ply for the full effect.. 😉
Dont dismiss Sticks pass into the cheeky seldom seen descent, its a stunner with great views over the lake and as a bonus your dropping all the way to almost sea level from 3000ft off road.
GaVgAs - Member
SingletrackstinkerThat Helvellyn route is barking mad,Your missing out on some of the best single track descending in the lakes from Grisedale Tarn to Patterdale. Hellvelyn is best done from Either Greenside mine (shorter route) or the full day route anticlockwise from Great Dodd, Dollywagon is a real challenge to clean, not my favourite descent but always worth doing on a good day.
Cheers GaVgAs. At the moment it's the only route i've got for Helvellyn, so it's good to know that I've got to continue looking.
Don't suppose you've got a link to the full day route you're talking about, do you? If not, could you list some names so I can plot out a route?
Another vote for Western Passes or the Bash with Warnscale. Or drive to Rossthwaite/Stonethwaite and do Langstrath, Stake Pass, Grasmere, Greenup Edge.
I'm not a fan of the traditional full Dodds Helvellyn route. Bruts Moss is horrific in all but frozen conditions and the ride from Great Dodd to Sticks Pass is a bit Mleh. I would recommend the following as a big day out :-
Glenridding-Dockray-Coach Road-St. Johns in the Vale-Sticks Pass-Greenside-Kepple Cove, then pick up the ridge to Helvellyn, Dolly and Grisedale to Glenridding.
What's the bridleway that leaves the Old Coach Road from further west and traverses the side of Clough Head like?
Its ok in dry summer conditions dun mail, but the trail is generally tussocky grass with a few boggy bits
GaVgAs - the seldom seen FP - would it be best to take the left fork or the right one near the bottom?
Here:
Ta!
Could someone answer a question Borrowdale Bash + Warnscale- at Seatoller do you go up Hositer Pass, then join BW going E to W, then back up over Honister and pick up the BW near the cattle grid to rejoin the Borrowdale Bash?
Ta.
Scruff, yep i would have said that was the most direct. Only other option would be a cheeky carry up Sour Milk Gill to Moses trod and descend to the quarries.
Bookmark
grum - right gives you a little more descent, and cuts out some road.
Just got back from the Lakes after putting a route together which was inspired by this thread. Don't really get to the Lakes as much as I used to with having a young family, so when I'm granted a day pass I have to make the most of it. This is the route I dragged my ass round - http://www.strava.com/activities/185315984 I Tried to squeeze in most of the stuff mentioned above, It was bloody tough but an amazing day (apart from the head wind I faced climbing back up Honistor Pass after Warnsacle - had to have some quiet words with myself at that point). Did a few trails I've never done before, Dale Crag and Cat O Bells to name but two. Think I dropped on with Cat O Bells as there wasn't a soul on it! Just wish I'd had more time to have a mess about on some of the more "adventurous" sections 😀 Anyway just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration and here are a couple of pics from today's outing
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I am heading up to Keswick tomorrow and have never been.
Can someone give me a decent route to ride as I have no GPS so files are no good to me .
Simple step by step instructions to follow?
I see loads of place names, I just need help stringing them together
Cheers
James
Er I'm pretty sure no-one's mentioned [b]THE PENCIL MUSEUM![/b]
From here:
A lot of the stuff mentioned above is cheeky, some of it very so, so won't be any guidebook or online routemap. Best idea is probably to get the north west lakes OS map and try to pick it out on there.
I have the map. I will study it.
Anyone got any tips on finding some of the cheeky stuff.
jmatlock - You mentioned on another thread a few weeks back that you're local to Ely. Let me know if you fancy going riding at Thetford any time - my email is in my profile.
BTW - Without GPS the Borrowdale Bash route isn't too hard to navigate.
Have fun in the Lakes