The English Lake District offers mountain-bikers everything from manmade singletrack to wild trails over high summits and passes, in Earth's most celebrated scenic area.
I’m not sure if Miss Potter was a keen cyclist but Renee Zellwegger’s new film is focusing attention on the English Lake District, also the land of Wordsworth and Swallows and Amazons. And I can testify that it is also fantastic cycling country.
This article focuses on mountain-biking but the Lake District has quiet lanes and tracks for gentle cycling and steep passes with spectacular views for challenging road tours.
For mountain-bikers there is currently one purpose-built trail, the North Face Trail in Grizedale Forest: masses of enjoyable singletrack, boardwalks and berms. Grizedale also has easy fire roads and the forest has engulfed older tracks, some of them bouldery and technical. I love the track which breaks out of the forest onto Bethecar Moor, giving some of the best views anywhere (and I mean anywhere) before you have to focus on a speedy descent where spiky slickrock sections lie in wait. Lanes and another moorland crossing swing back towards the forest. Top quality bike hire from Grizedale Mountain Bikes too.
Biking is permitted on any trail classed as a byway or bridleway, and there are a lot of these, but the art is knowing which are most suitable. Fortunately, websites like Mountain Bike Cumbria detail routes recommended by local riders.
One of the best centres is the village of Staveley in the south-east Lakes; it’s on a rail line and it has a big bike shop and a great cafe. Some great trails fan out from here too. There are moderate loops around the Kentmere valley or you can tackle the notorious Garburn Pass - beware blood on the rocks.
There are legal trails over some of the highest summits, where mountain-biking becomes bike-mountaineering. There’s no wussy uplift here so be prepared for big climbs, or long pushes, but the rewards are great: long top-of-the-world miles along the sweeping ridges of the Helvellyn range or the awesome descent from Skiddaw, regularly polled as the best downhill in Britain.
‘Back o’Skiddaw,’ as they call it, there are lonely wilderness trails. Around the fringes of the District the hills are lower and often wooded but don’t be fooled; the trails can be just as steep and entertaining. But however rough and tough it gets, you’re never too far from a cosy pub or comfortable bed and breakfast. The Lakes really is a complete biking destination.
For background info see Lake District Outdoors
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