Just looking for some input please

Looking at going cycling with the wife and kids tomorrow (10 and 7) just wondering if it’s going to be ok with them, to do some of the trails? As I’ve never been before?

Thanks in advance

Most of the trails have climbs but its a nice place for kids. Depends on the ability of your children the north face isn’t too hard, the orange trail is quite nice but again has some climbing.

Should be fine. There’s a fair bit of climbing on some of the marked trails (they take you to the top of the forest), but apart from the North Face trail, they are fire roads so no technicality. There are ways of gaining some height without so much effort, though. Starting at the Moor Top car park and picking a route that stays high would be the main one.

The NF trail is a red, and tricky in places if you’re not a confident rider.

Unless your kids are pretty good tech and fit I wouldn’t recommend it. If you have to go there, then fine, make the most of it, but if you have the option of another TC then I’d take it.

The problem with Grisedale is that there are no flattish routes. Even the beginner trail has some hefty hills on it. I seem to recall there being a sign at the top of one downhill suggesting cyclists dismount or something.

So given that all the routes we found are hilly, you might as well go for the one with some decent singletrack. I think most of the beginner routes are all tedious fire roads. Which leaves you with the North Face Trail.

We’ve done the TNF a few times with our kids, since the youngest was about 6 with huge amounts of assistance. But it’s not ideal. I think the big one was 8 before he rode nearly all of it. Normally I tow the wean up the biggest hills at trail centres, but the TNF starts with some really gnadgery techie uphill singletrack which you obviously can’t tow on. It’s a lovely piece of trail but a 7 year old would need to be pretty good and pretty fit to enjoy it.

There is a detour option marked on the OS maps past it, but I’ve never managed to find it. So we always do the singletrack uphill and the wean always moans about it. He loves the rest of the route, but the first bit is just too hard for him. (he can do the Freeride northshore at Llandegla as a reference point).

The trick might be do uplift. Drop the car off at Moor Top, do a mix of up and down (mainly down) to the visitor centre, have an ice cream, and it’s a pretty direct 20 mins or so for one of you uphill to pick up the car.

Sadly that one person will be you, but that’s the price of family cycling. Could probably get a pass to ride a mini route for an hour or so back to Moor Top that includes a decent descent!

The surface on the north face is really rough so unless they’re really into riding they’ll just find it hard work, good alternative would be the trails around tilberthwaite if you’re in the area anyway. As martinhutch alludes there are ways and means of putting the more fun bits together but needs a bit of local knowledge. A good bet for an easyish hour would be start at the visitor centre, set off on the NF but don’t turn onto the first climb just keep going on that fire road until you get to moor top, turn around and follow the trail back

Hire the Segways instead; great experience. Don’t prat about, otherwise you’ll get a bollocking.

Ok looks like grizedale is out then, any other easy to find/follow places locally for the kids, looking for about 10 miles riding maybe more

If you are in the lakes then Whinlatter blue is a nice option. Claife Heights is good for the kids too. They could ride from Windermere ferry up to Wray Castle and back the same way along Windermere. You can take the slightly more techy route back higher up and drop into the start.