I’m going to be staying in Hawkshead in a couple of weeks and was wondering if there’s any decent riding close by, without resorting to using a car to get to the trail head?

Grizedale is right on your doorstep. Awesome

You’re in luck – loads of great riding can be done from there without getting in a car. You can do a cracking ride incorporating bits of Claife Heights and Grizedale forest. There’s a nice descent from Claife Heights which finishes right in Hawkshead.

This is a good un – http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1277261&code=03d494d4d7f8e00b80592dde45b6c084

Loads! Get yourself a map, and check out the dashed red or green lines (depending on scale)

Or take a look at the Bogtrotter routes – Grizedale and Claife Heights, as Grum says

Iron Keld, Hodge Close, Tilberthwaite,Skelwith Fold, Loughrigg Terrace into Ambleside. This route or similar has been in various mags recently.

could do a version of this

Super! Thanks for the links. I will browse this evening.
🙂

We’ve stayed near Hawkshead for a total of 2 weeks this year and I’ve been amazed at the quality of the riding. People may slate it but having the NFT to link bits and pieces up is excellent too.

Yeah the first climb and the bit from Moor Top to the VC on the NFT are alright I reckon. The climb is a good way to get towards Parkamoor.

Parkarmoor to Satterthwaite bridleway just has to be ridden.

2 km of utter bliss

Trig Point
Parkamoor to Nibthwaite
Ickenthwaite
NFT to Lawson Park to East side of Coniston
Breasty Haw
Fox Run
Graythwaite

All good descents

Agree with the above. Parkamoor to Satterthwaite is an excellent descent. Breasty Haw is good (and as I’ve been told many times on here – the bit over the road from the bottom of Breasty Haw, Devil’s Gallop, is meant to be excellent too). Theres also an excellent little descent coming over from Thwaite Head to Satterthwaite – this: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=334170&Y=491930&A=Y&Z=120

I stayed at Thwaite Head at Easter and used that trail almost daily for a week to get over to Grizedale etc. Good coming back towards Thwaite Head too – proper woodsey singletrack that feels like it should be a footpath but it isn’t!

Cool. Now to make it super easy for me, can anyone point me to, or supply me with, GPS tracklogs?
Cheers 🙂

You can dl a GPX file of the Claife/Grizedale one I posted here – http://www.theedgecycleworks.com/mtbroutes/parkamoor-claife-heights

You can make it a bit shorter/less climbing by doing the descent to Satterthwaite from Parkamoor mentioned above rather than right to Nibthwaite. That’s also a very good descent though.

Lazy fecker 😛

😀

http://www.mtbroutes.com/content.php?PAGE=3

An excellent route, Grum! I managed it yesterday, with almost no rain! Recommended.
I also managed the North Face Trail in full, which was ok (the best section was incorporated in your route IMHO) and Claiffe heights in the p*ssing rain (which was fun).
Many thanks for all your help and suggestions.
😀