I’m having a night at Skiddaw House YH next weekend with my 9 year old son. I’m trying to decide whether to make it a walking trip or an MTB one. What are the trails like heading up to Skiddaw House from Threlkeld, and the trail heading down into Mosedale from the YH? My son has a rigid Islabike and is not too confident on anything technical but is happy plodding along most other stuff.

He’ll probably be okay heading up from Threlkeld – it’s a land rover track that turns into singletrack for the final mile and a half / two miles. Nothing too technical and it’s not so bad if you end up pushing a bit. I’d maybe avoid heading towards Mosedale though – it’s very boggy at the moment and he might find it frustrating; it’s not a rock garden but it’s tricky if you’re a newbie.

You could head out to Dash Falls and come back around Skiddaw, although that gives you quite a bit of tarmac (and the Carlisle Road isn’t the nicest to ride down during the day).