Ullock Pike. Crops up a lot on here and it’s on my list. What are good routes incorporating it, and which would be a quick way of doing it if time was short? Is it rammed with angry walkers, and how technical and long is the descent? Ta for any info or tips.

Its an excellent ridge-line walk but sadly not legal for bikes..:)

Here is a vid of a night time ride we did down Ullock Pike back in July. Should give you an idea of what to expect!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IO3O1kawSI

We did it by going up spooney green lane and the main bridleway to the summit of Skiddaw. Then down from the summit to Longside Edge and Ullock Pike, dropping down to the road at the Ravenstone Hotel. From there back to Keswick on road, this took about 3 hours.

Have done it the following ways.
Keswick – threlkeld – Skiddaw House then striking up to the summit from there it’s down the screes then down Ullock Pike and into Dodd wood then Keswick.
Also up Latrigg – Jenkins hill – Skiddaw summit then down as above.

You could park at Dodd Wood and bike Forrest track to and hike bike up Carl side then down Ullock and then cutting back into Dodd wood.

Hope the above makes sense?

Gavgas- pffffffffffffft. Trails is trails.

wl- It’s incredible. A brilliant piece of technical trail riding. It starts of Skiddaw with a great scree slope that is very, very, very steep then gets more gentle with technical sections. Last time I did it we split off about 3/4 of the way down, heading west to Ravenstone. Then we rode back up through the woods (which is a real bind) to Dodd then up a bit toward Carl Side before descending again on the footpath to Millbeck.

We’d ridden up the main Skiddaw bridleway, parking in the main car park and so our ride ended with a brutal road climb. One of my best days riding this year. It’s also good just blatting down it to the bottom but doing it as an out and back means a much longer climb time-wise than going up the bridleway.

Yeah Gav
Being a bit “preachy”, or just wanting to keep it secret ❓

Everyone – cheers for all this – plenty of great info and those pics are mint. Footpaths are fair game in my book – I just choose my times and give way to walkers. Never been a problem so far.

If you’re travelling from Hebden to do it can I come with you? 🙂

Steady on guys, it’s a very popular footpath that can be full of walkers including organised ramblers trips just at the back of one of the busiest walker tourist spots in the UK. Treat it with a little respect.

Grum – no idea when it’ll be as I’ve just got back from 6 days of riding in Lakes. Could keep you posted tho. Did you just move up here? If so, could do a ride from Hebden sometime if you’re keen to get out/see some trails.

Yeah been here a couple of weeks now. I know about the obvious trails like Blue Pig/Peckett Well etc but I’d be keen to get some local knowledge if you don’t mind me tagging along. I’m *ahem* not the fittest person in the world though.

Been meaning to do Ullock Pike for ages but never managed it – don’t worry if it doesn’t fit in.

Drop us an email sometime to will at williamlake dot com – sure we can fix up a local ride at some point – certainly loads more trails for you to get to know. I’m a freelancer, based in Hebden, so midweek rides are just as good for me as weekends.

Cheers, YGM.

Steady on guys, it’s a very popular footpath that can be full of walkers

aye I wouldn’t do it on a bank holiday weekend. I’ve only done it on weekdays, it’s been quiet and the few walkers have been pretty chilled. You don’t want to meet a bunch of walkers on the scree and Ullock won’t be fun if you’re waiting for walkers to give you a free run at each section.

Carlside to mill beck is mental

Its been on my “list” to ride for years, ever since I saw an article in Dirt Magazine about Tracey Mosely where the picture caption showed her riding “a ridge near keswick” 🙂
Still haven’t got up there with the bike yet though.

As for Gavgas’s comment, I can smell the sarcasm from here 🙂

Hola WL!

For me, the classic is up the main bridle way to the summit then drop down the slatey footpath of steepness that curiously looks steeper from below than above. There is another parallel trail about 50 metres to the west that is switchbacky goodness that walkers tend to avoid. Both are excellent. You then follow the ridge down (try the tricky right hand rocky switchback – managed it once then fell off. garrrr!) my mate Pete straight lined it on his DH bike in very impressive style.

At the bottom, I like to follow the Allerdale Ramble then follow a super narrow footpath beside a fence to get over to Carl side. At the saddle, climb over the style and follow the wall until you connect onto the main Carl Side path. If you are feeling fit, carry up Carl Side then come back on a narrow parallel path that is swoopy fun. At the bottom, head down the steep, loose awesomeness of Doups. Your Verbier honed skills will serve you well. I love it but I know a few folk who REALLY dislike it.

An outstanding ride!

I’m sure that you will manage to ride it politely and give way to walkers. Consider it taking the ethos and intent of the Kinder Mass Trespass to the next stage! 😀

Sanny did your mate on the DH bike clean whiteside too? Right at the start was a massive rock step/chute/cliff that didnt look doable without getting very creative*. I may have slightly upset a walker on doups by calmly overtaking him fully in control while he was sliding down on his arse all out of shape 😉

*ignoring the path completely

As for Gavgas’s comment, I can smell the sarcasm from her

Well aye, I was pretty chuffed to get a clean run down unlock this year(including the craggy bit halfway down) and theres only a hand full of riders in the tuesday night group that have done it,Its easily the best ridgline descent in the lakes, but as the above posts have already said you would be daft to ride down here at weekends.

To add my concerns, I do worry a bit that posts like this will encourage more usage “incitement to trespass” i think its called,and videos and photos posted of bikes on footpaths in the national parks can only fuel evidence for controlling mountain biking in the future.

Rant over,

I know Gav doesn’t do sarcastic. 😀
And I don’t do steadying on…. Mike ya Pom 😀

Sanny – ayup, hope you’re well, and cheers for all the detail in that info. Will head up Ullock at some point, defo.
GaV – fair point – it’s why I didn’t mention Ullock in the title. Agree about posting pics and vids of footpaths, but since the above pics went up there anyway, thought it only fair to compliment them!

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/trespass_and_nuisance_on_land/#a03

Re Trespass – a very useful link on what you can and cannot do. The long and short of it us don’t expect any prosecutions any time soon by riding Ullock Pike………..

As for the civil law, it’s for the land owner to ask you to leave. Be polite and courteous if challenged and leave the land…..though of course there is nothing to prevent you from returning another day! 😀

DONK

Is Whiteside the rocky chute where yo have to head left
then it is a wheel hop endo hop to get round it? If so, yes he did!

P1080548 by vw.splitscreen, on Flickr

P1080550 by vw.splitscreen, on Flickr

Doh, sorry whitestones, below carlside just after the climb up from dodd (we didn’t bother pushing upto carl side) There’s about a 4ft white rock (Baryte?) step, a walker had serious trouble getting down it, as did we – carrying our bikes.

That bit in your pics is the killer for me, 1st pic IIRC step down then sharp right, could see a line, rode up to the step but jibbed, dropped the bike over the step rode the rest but still got well out of shape. Sketchy as ****

<edit> hehe that sorta ride 🙂