Morning folks, I’m planning a trip to the Lakes this weekend and I fancy doing the titled three ridge descents. I’ve never done any of them and just wondering how ridable they are. I’m confident on Ullock Pike, Nan Beild, Rossett Gill etc… and I know there’ll be a lot of carrying, pushing and swearing to get to the tops, but thats all part of the fun in my eyes.
I plan on starting in Braithwaite then up Coledale Beck to Coledale Hause, Down Whiteless Pike, then back up Gasgale Gill to Coledale Hause, down Grisedale Pike (the next section depends on time, tiredness etc..) up to Stile End to Sail then across Scar Crags, down Causey Pike back to Braithwaite.
I’ve worked it out to be about 2200m climbing and 35km Long. I’ve got all day and plan to ride off at first light.
If anyone thinks this is going to be a waste of time and there’s better stuff than what i’m thinking I’m wide open to Ideas.
Cheers,
Mark

just follow the Bridleways and you will be fine 🙂

Not done the descents you mention so can’t help out there but have you done the bridleway descent from Honister slate mines to Buttermere? Easier than Nan Bield to Haweswater and Rossett Gill but very good fun. Try and ride it all without a dab!

You can put it into a good loop including Blacksail and Styhead Gill and can add in Rossett Gill or Black Crags as an additional loop if you want more.

I’ve wanted to try the bridelway over red pike too but haven’t done so yet.

The Whiteless Pike descent is a peach. The ascent is a good way of going with a short scranbly carry up Crag Hill.

Not sure about the descent off Causey Pike as I’ve only ever looked up it and not down it.

A mate has done Grisedale Pike and showed me video of a singletrack descent off the main track down that looked mint.

Parkedtiger and boxelder are your men for local knowledge!

Interested to know about Gasgale Gill.

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Sanny

I did Whiteless last night, going up from Gasgale Gill. I’d done the descent before but not going up from Gasgale. There’s quite a bit of hike-a-bike, you say you expect that anyway. The descent is quite loose in parts and even though rocky, it’s more solid rather than boulders…it’s definitely not easy though, mainly because it’s hard to find the right line at times!
All the descents off Grizedale Pike are rideable, as is Causey Pike.
Top part of the descent.

Rigg Beck descent for ultra-whizzy singletrack smiles per mile.

Just wondering if you’ve already done the four passes? Warnscale Beck is an itch I need to scratch sometime!

Some great info folks, cheers,
d45yth I’ve never done the four passes, Warnscale Beck looks tasty though 🙂 I’ll make a mental note to add that one to the list.
Everyones comments are convicing me that my route is a goer – I’ll post some pics up (if i remember to take any) and what the final route turns out to be. Cant wait 😀

I’m interested in this route, Scary – it’ll be good to hear how you get on and see some pics. Good luck!

Just registering interest in this thread too – no info to offer sorry 🙂

Afternoon scary_carey. Picking up after you’ve hiked back up Gasgill – the best descent off Grisedale is down the front via Sleet How. Once you’re back in Brathwaite, I’d say your choice to head up Stile End to Barrow Door and on up Causey is the right one.

One note of reassurance – the hardest section is up to Barrow Door; if you make it that far, you’ll make the rest ! Also, once you’ve joined the path coming up from Stoneycroft, keep looking to your left and you should eventually see a short cut, traversing the side of Causey and cutting out Scar Crags (if you need it).

You’ll enjoy the descent off Causey – there’s a short climb down off the summit but the rest is all ridable. After the initial technical section, take the left down towards Stoneycroft – avoid heading straight on along Rowling End as the descent off the end is mostly unridable.

How did you get on scary carey ?

Don’t know how he got on but my mate Donald and I had a rocking time doing it today. We headed up from Braithwaite via the Bridleway then the long footpath climb up towards Sail via Stoneycroft. Up the zig zags (steep but rideable) then down the brilliance that is Whiteless Pike. We then cut off across the footpath to the north of Rannerdale Knots. That is one glorious section of trail! Gasgale Gill is a lot more rideable after the inital scramble bits than expected. From the saddle, we headed for Grizedale Pike. By this time, the wind was up to the predicted 50mph gusts which made the first section of the descent a bit challenging. On a calm day, I reckon we would have ridden it but the wind kept forcing us off our lines into loose scree sections on the first steep section. After that, the descent was a peach. Smooth and flowy with some lovely sections to launch off in a having too much fun way. Getting back to the car, the wind was still pretty high and the cloud coming in so we opted to knock the final section of the ride on the head. It was still a great ride though!

So has anyone ridden Gasgale Crags down to Brackenthwaite? The ridge looks interesting!

The line off Grassmoor looks super steep at the top but I wonder whether it is a goer?

A return trip to ride Gasgale Gill as a descent looks pretty darn promising too.

Cheers

Sanny

Oh and as I’ve come to expect from Lakes walkers, everyone we met and spoke to was on fine form. We even got offered minstrels by a lovely couple from Surrey. It’s funny how folk in the Lakes are so chilled out about meeting riders on the summits riding footpaths. Long may it continue! 😀

How did you get on scary carey ?

He was arrested for riding footpaths and flayed with stinging nettles and bramble twines.

Long may it continue!

Not sure how discussions like this on a public forum might affect relations in future. Don’t you think they may encourage riders who don’t have the experience of how and when to ride.
Just asking like – was fairly cheeky myself today.

You cheeky…… Never! 😀

You cheeky…… Never!

Shut it you – had an email before telling me you’d taken a cheeky KOM!

Hehe 😀

It was a belter of a ride. Have to agree with you Sanny the wind at the top of Gisedale was too strong to atempt the top section. Gutted as it looked ace! Defo going back for another go. I also went over to the Knotts but I think I went wrong some where as I was faced with unrideable cliffs?? Gasgale wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be either and as a descent would be…. Let’s say challenging hehehe
I bailed on too as the wind was doing my head in, so I sold my soul and did a lap of Winlatter (have to admit I kind of enjoyed it)
The walkers I passed today were brilliant, full of encouragement and banter and I got no static what so ever. In fact I rarely get grief in the Lakes for riding on foot paths. I think if you act accordingly and don’t take the pi@& everyone can enjoy the fells in harmony. its a bloody stupid law that we can’t, but that’s another thread entirely
http://app.strava.com/rides/21376824 this is my route from today. As you can see my sense of direction isn’t great hahaha
All in all a top day out, helped as well by the comments and advise from the ST massive 😀
Check out my route from last week on Strava… Now that was a quality ride…. And shockingly some of it was legal
Cheers
Mark

So has anyone ridden Gasgale Crags down to Brackenthwaite? The ridge looks interesting!

Funny you should say that – that was our route on Saturday afternoon: hike up Grisdale, over to Hopegill Head and off the end of Whiteside. The first section off the top of Hopegill head is always excellent, however there are two choice off the end of Whiteside.

The left path we’ve only tried once, about two years ago, and it was very, very stop / start (and we’ve not tried it again). One of those paths the rain’s turned into a trench, very high sided with some tight turns. The right hand path, which is the one we went to take a second look at on Saturday, starts well but the lower 50% of the descent is a steep boulder field covered in ferns and heather.

There’s only one ridable descent we’ve ever found, but it’s not marked on maps. Easy to spot if you know where to pick it up, but easy to miss if not.

The line off Grassmoor looks super steep at the top but I wonder whether it is a goer?

Grassmoor’s very similar to Whiteless – perhaps a bit more loose scree.

http://app.strava.com/rides/21376824 this is my route from today. As you can see my sense of direction isn’t great hahaha

That’s quite a distance Mark – don’t think I would have had the energy for a lap of Whinlatter.

Hi Boxelder

I’d be really surprised if folk were to try this route who don’t already have experience of riding in big hills and have the common sense to be polite and courteous to fellow hill users. There’s a lot of carrying involved and the ability to read a map is an essential. I suspect that’s enough to put off a lot of people. I could definitely see teddys being thrown out of prams when carrying up the two scrambley sections of Gasgale Gill.

As for the walkers, I tend to take the view that if I’m polite, courteous and yield the trail, it gets paid back in spades. We met some really lovely folk on the fells who hopefully got an equally good impression of us.

Cheers

Sanny

Sanny – Mark, for future reference your better off taking the higher path at the start of gasgale gill(Mark I can see you took the lower one from your strava), its all rideable if you’ve got the legs. The lower path was badly damaged during the floods, used to be good, its just a pain now.

Neil

Hi Neil

Yeah we reckoned that was the case after we had done the scramble. No matter. No matter. It added to the fun!

While we were riding, we were looking at the peaks to the south of the lake. What’s the riding like there? I’m thinking of the likes of Haystacks and everything that surrounds it.

Also, is there a good off raod descent off the top of Honister Pass?

Another one I want to do again is the horseshoe that starts off going up Catbells. I last rode it on my Heckler back in September 97 so it’s been a while! 😀

Another one I want to do again is the horseshoe that starts off going up Catbells. I last rode it on my Heckler back in September 97 so it’s been a while!

Better in the opposite direction Sanny: Robinson, Hindscarth, Dalehead, High Spy, Maiden Moor, Catbells.

Also, is there a good off raod descent off the top of Honister Pass?

Best option is to continue up and over; to pick up the bridleway around the back of Fleetwith and down to Warnscale Bottom.

Another one I want to do again is the horseshoe that starts off going up Catbells. I last rode it on my Heckler back in September 97 so it’s been a while!

Did that yesterday! 😀 Great ride. Route we take

The offroad option from honister would be to go in at the slate mine up the zigzag climb over the back of fleetwith then down Warnscale.

Fells over the lake are ok, scarth gap, High crag, High Stile, Red Pike then back down to Burtness wood. Final descent is quite tech and pitched a lot. Its not a route we do often cos the hike’a’bike at the start is harsh.

anc – Its not a route we do often cos the hike’a’bike at the start is harsh.

If you’re saying that, what do you need to get up there? Ropes? Hike-a-bike doesn’t normally put you off! 😛

Hehe 😀 Going soft in my old age I Recon. Last time I did it with M his shoes fell apart with the abuse!! Had to duck tape them up to finish it! 😀

Cheers for the info Parkedtiger. That sounds like it could be a lot of fun.

Anc

I’m liking your Newlands tour. How busy was it? We saw a lot of fell runners with a couple taking a seriously steep descent down into the Newlands valley.

Out of interest, has anyone ridden from Ambleside via Langdale to Keswick off road? My mate did it last year and said it was terrific. Not an easy ride but lots of fun!

It may be slightly off topic but what do you guys reckon to be the best high level ride in the Lakes? The more I explore there, the more top class stuff I seem to find.

Cheers

Sanny

Well spotted! Yes it was very busy yesterday, some mountain point to point type thing going on. Usually its fairly quite out of silly season.

Out of interest, has anyone ridden from Ambleside via Langdale to Keswick off road? My mate did it last year and said it was terrific. Not an easy ride but lots of fun!

Up Rosset or stake pass across to Esk Hause > Sprinkling Tarn > Styhead > Stockley Bridge > Seathwaite > Castle Crag. Although its not strickly speaking a high level(tops) route its definately one of the best. We start from Borrowdale though and go up through Langstrath and stake’s and join via langdale combe then angle tarn.

I think if you act accordingly and don’t take the pi@& everyone can enjoy the fells in harmony

Let’s hope everyone does then.

Ambleside >> Keswick? There’s the bike bus now to get you home.