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Was thinking about reworking a C2C route to make it a bit more Covid-public-transport friendly.
I can get an early train out to Carnforth, and want to head up from there back into the Lakes before going East.
I can see there is a 'Bay Cycleway' which heads up towards Whitbarrow area - can anyone suggest a reasonable off-road way to get back perhaps as far as Oxen Park/Grizedale to meet my original W-E route?
It's still coast to coast, strictly speaking, although it feels like cheating missing out the pushing across Harter Fell and Walna. 🙂
TIA
NCN 6 will take you from the Bay Cycleway (Milnthorpe area) up to Bowness, but that's mor road based
Sticking to the Bay Cycleway, there are some nice bridleways over Cartmel Fell: Simpson Ground, FOxfield, Sow How, Raven's Barrow, up to Strawberry Bacnk then Hartbarrow and onwards
Cheers, so it's a better bet to keep following the Bay Cycleway to Grange?
You can go off road all the way from Haverthwaite to grange near enough. Not too techy but the route goes right along the crest of the ridge to cartmel.
On road to Haverthwaite is much better on the west of the lake. Quiet and picturesque. There are a few off road bits too, if you map it out.
Why Carnforth? Why not continue by train round to the West coast?
Why Carnforth? Why not continue by train round to the West coast?
It's just a logistics/timing thing. The timetable is a bit different at the moment, by the looks of it - I can get to Carnforth in an hour, but Ravenglass, where I was planning to start, is two changes and five hours away.
I'd misunderstood. If you're riding from the train station then any of the stops along the southern line give you options, I think the service into Baarrow is more frequent than the one back out up to Ravenglass - you could get off the train at Grange-over-sands, or stay on until Ulverson or Foxfield, then head up via Broughton-in-Furness - or just stay on the northbound train and hop off at Oxenhope
I’d misunderstood.
No - that was useful, thanks.
I'm trying to avoid the trains into and out of Barrow at commuting times - they were surprisingly busy when I used the line last year. To get out to Ravenglass, I'd have to change at Barrow and wait a fair while.
Train to Grange or Cartmel might save me an hour's riding (if I decided to ride all the way around the bay), but if the weather's good, it seems less complicated to just spin north from Carnforth. I've got plenty of time if I'm there by 6.30am.
The bit I'm interested in is whether there is a decent way to link decent off-road trails heading north and west towards Grizedale from the A590, either from the Cartmel area or from Levens/Whitbarrow. I'll obviously have to drop under the south end of Windermere at some point.
Driven through the area often enough, but have never ridden it.
Martin - I grew up in High Newton (eeh, when I were a lad I were related to half t'valley!)
From Grange you could either head north to Ayside then up onto the tops towards Simpson Ground , Foxfield, Sow How, Strawberry Bank, Ludderburn, Rosthwaite farm, then get the ferry across Windermere.
Or continue on the train to Cark, road to Holker then up onto Mount Barnard, Speel Bank, Bigland Hall, down to Haverthwaite, roads to Oxen Park then tracks into Grizedale.
Agree with Whitestone. Both are good routes. I like the bridle way from nr Colton up to Stock farm then down to ickenthwaite and then over to Satterthwaite. Nice ride!
Cheers, will get the maps out.
Well, that was fun - managed to persuade someone to give me a lift to Foxfield in the end (and pick me up from Whitby...she's a keeper!). Allowed me to start with Walna Scar, which wasn't necessarily the best decision. 🙂
Will stick up a ride report with some pics at some point.