A couple of weeks back I went up to Kielder to experience the trails. The wife and I booked a week off and headed north…
The first day I rode the Lonesome trail. I felt like I’d wasted an hour or so of my life, infact it was so dull to ride it got named Dullsome. Oh well, I thought….it can only get better.
So to the next day and onto Deadwater. A long drag up a gravel road (marked as black) was the largest portion of this odd trail. Once at the top I enjoyed the view but alas not the rather dull down – all marked Black?
It certainly wasn’t worthy of a grade at all in my humble opinion
After this the trail finally headed into the woods….it probably resembled a good trail 5 years ago but now nothing but a worn out, over grown swoon. It carried on in the same vain – man I was now getting a bit cross and extremely bored. I have to say the only bit about this route I enjoyed was the last few hundred meters or so of the red.
I then tried to console myself with a play in the bike park.
Alas, the bike park was worn badly, so much so the first jump had a gap in the middle of the lip. The other jumps had worn to the extent that speed rather than finesse was needed to get quality air time.
Any ways by the time I arrived at the car park I had built up such frustration that I ranted for a good 5 mins about hours of my life I’d never get back.
Mi poor ole wife had to sit and listen to a greying middle age has been…bless her.
Any one else been and thought ….umm I’d rather been watching Last of the summer wine?
I know I sound like a grumpy ole fella but c’mon these trails are a tad tragic.

It’s a few years since I visited but I still remember the dissapointment.

Did it cost much to ride the trails? Shame you didn’t use a map and get out onto some ‘natural’ trails – they’ll be great with being so dry….

Went to Kielder in the summer as a family holiday. Only did a bit of riding, but did the Lonesome, as was staying at the waterpark down the lake. Climb at the beginning was a bit techie, then the long fireroad, was pretty boring. Zigzag through the hillside to the planks was OK. If I had the map, I would have added the bloodied bush in as well at that point of left or right, but didn’t. Wasn’t ‘that’ great, but was better than sitting with the parents in law for an afternoon, so couldn’t complain. Go lost as I came back to the road by the petrol station with the gym in it, with a boat out the front !! ended on the road a bit before finding the lake edge again. As for the trail head at Keilder ‘ er castle’ seen a bigger castle on the beach made of sand !! Didn’t venture in there as was under orders !!

Kielder is a bit meh.

I can’t remember which trail but one of them finished with a lovely bit of flowly singletrack. No other part sticks in my mind, except for the cross boarder bit being pretty rough on the K100. Just as well Scotland voted no or we would of had a border control on the trail..

Alas, I did not bring a map.
Most of my riding is on natural trails,mostly Lakes and dales and usually would be carring.
I wouldn’t presume to need one at a centre..mind you given the crap sign posting you needed one.
It cost the parking.
I think the lovely bit is the section I enjoyed at the end of the deadwater trail.

My favs for trail centres are Gisburn,Stainburn and Llanghockspiten.

I do prefer the real deal though..

Funny seeing all those families, riding the lap of the lake. Everyone looking shattered, with kids in buggies being pulled along. Its 26 or so miles long, but 1500ft of climbing according to my GPS, so not really easy for the average joe. I must admit to enjoying going there, but I wasn’t there just for riding, that was an added bonus….

Got to say, I had a similar impression of keilder, lots of expensive looking trail, and probably an equal ammount of hard work gone into it. But there was a simoultaneous lack of both ‘flow’ and techy stuff. Just a lot of berms that weren’t quite big enough to hold all your speed.

Lonesome pine is indeed bad – tragic malappropriation of trail building funds.
Deadwater, though, I would say is fine – not amazing, but completely in line with what you expect out of a typical trail centre. The very top loop is a bit ordinary – maybe there was a cashflow issue there – but you shouldn’t let that cloud your judgement of the trail as a whole.