Thinking of a trip in September – train to Windermere and spending 2 nights in hostels.

Is there good riding around Windermere? Or would I be better cycling further to Ambleside or anywhere else where there's a hostel? Would be happy to cycle upto 30 miles if it was mostly offroad. Could even make a 3-day tour of it as long as it started and ended at Windermere station.

But ideally I'd like to base myself somewhere for the 2 nights that has 2 days worth of riding nearby.

Get the ferry from Bowness over to Far Sawrey and ride up through Grizedale to Elterwater/Ambleside way, base yourself from there.

That would be my suggestion anyway, a nice easy-ish spin from the station on forest tracks to start then go from one of the YH's in Ambleside or High Close or Elterwater.

Lots of riding. Could do 1 day heading North and doing a Garburn/Kentmere/Longseddale/High Borrans/Jenkin Crag/Ambleside then loop back to Windermere via Troutbeck again. Can be lengthened or shortened as required.

The next day you could whiz down to Bowness, ferry across Lake (£1 ish) then do Sawrey/Claife Heights and the natural stuff round Grizedale, then either ride back over the North end of Windermere lake / Loughrigg stuff or ferry back.

Plenty of places to ride. Ambleside not too far up the road anyway. Get ferry across lake to the Grisedale/Cleff(sp?) Heights. Biketreks,Ambleside for route info.

Have a look at:- (copy and paste address)

http://www.mountain-bike-cumbria.co.uk/index.php

As a Windermere resident I can highly recommend Windermere as a base. Garburn Pass, Staveley, Kentmere, Jenkins Crag, Claiffe are all 10-15 minutes ride away and Grizedale and routes starting from Ambleside (Elterwater etc)are about 30 minutes ride away.

The posters suggestion above though isn't a bad one to base yourself around Ambleside / Hawkshead way. You won't go wrong in any of these places though tbh.