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Got an opportunity to briefly skive off from a family holiday.
Can anyone suggest a few bridleway options to enliven the shrug-inducing way-marked stuff around Grizedale?
Got about half a day to play with.
There's absolutely tons, and you can work it in with the trailcentre quite well too. One good one we do is to park up in Hawkshead, ride up the vicarage climb into the forest, join the NFT and follow it for a while. After the climb with the elephant you'll do a little short section onto a fireroad; at the top of the fireroad the NFT turns right. Ignore it and go straight on up the short techy rocky climb. At the top of that, head right then straight away left onto the fireroad. When you get to the woods at the top, things start to get fun. Follow the bridleway on the left (Grandad, Dad and the Dentist). It goes over a couple of fire roads and eventually spits you onto the road. Turn left into the village, and head up to Bresty Haw. Take the bridleway climb, then at the top head straight over the fireroad into some singletrack that heads down through the woods (Red Mist). Again, when you come to the road turn left, and look for the bridleway down to a stream. Cross the stream, up another climb then down the final descent (Hole in the Wall). At the bottom turn left on the road for an easy apin back to Hawkshead.
You might want to find a better route guide than my ramblings mind!
Cheers! Some of that sort of makes sense, based on previous visits. I'll dig the OS map out and see if I can overlay your description.
If I die, it's still your fault, mind.
Heh heh heh..."Breasty Haw".
Hhuhuhuh. You should be able to plot it on an OS fairly easily, or I'm sure if you google it something'll come up.
In fact this is very useful: http://www.ridethelakes.co.uk/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?t=704
So, so much.
You won't go far wrong with flyingmonkey's route. Personally I'd park in the forest, probably at Moor Top, then head south to the Parkamoor-Nibthwaite descent, which is great, then head back across to Breasty Haw via Force Mills, then onwards to Hole in the Wall, back round and climb up again to the Fox before dropping to the visitor centre up again via NFT to the opposite top fire road and down The Riverbed before heading back to Moor Top. Five great descents packed in there.
I've actually not done Parkamoor, though it's on the list. There's just so much though, and it's all awesome. The one above is the route I've done most, so the one I remember the best. The Fox and Lawson's Park are both ridiculously good too. And some I can't even remember the names of.
And that's not even including Claife Heights, which can be tacked on to both of those rides.
All great! So so many options.
And also don't forget heading out north leaving forest at High Cross - hidden away cafe at Betty Fold, then Iron Keld, Oxen Fell, High Oxen Fell, round the back of Hodge Close quarry, down to bottom of Tilberthwaite, cross the Coniston valley at Yewdale then back up Lawson Park and off towards Parkamoor. Or do all that backwards (but going up main Tilberthwaite valley to Hodge close) and making into a loop with strategic use of NFT.
Sigh. Wish I wasn't at work.
Suggestions so far are full of win. Hard to go wrong really - some of my favourite riding anywhere.
Lawson park descent too, steeper and faster than most. Particulalry the top section
Oh give the new black a go for rad sicknezz
Parkamoor down to Satterthwaite
Hole in the Wall
The Fox DH
BW to High Nibthwaite from Parkamoor
Lawson Park DH
Carron Crag DH
Claife Heights
Descent towards Wray/Hawkshead from Latterbarrow
All sorts of rabbit track cheekiness to explore and get lost and come out oh I'm here again!
WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
That's some of the best riding I've ever done in the Lakes. Cheers, all.
Did the road climb from Hawkshead and took the NF trail back to the visitor centre then continued back uphill on the NF trail before cutting across to Parkamoor. Descended to Satterthwaite via Grandad, Dad and the Dentist; cackled all the way down.
Went up and over Breasty Haw from Satterthwaite. More giggles on the descent; some big slabs to pop off and loose little steeps.
Light was fading a bit by this point, but couldn't resist cutting back up into the forest to finish with the fox descent (some local boys I met also called it the Cresta Run). Wide open, but with proper corners and as many line choices as you like.
And now, BEER.
I know there are places with bigger hills and much more technical trails but in the Claife/Grizedale area there are soo many good trails to choose from, its right up there with my favourite places to ride in the UK.
Got a weekend booked there in October already but may need to get a few day trips over beforehand...
Might have to try to get up there this weekend.