What would you do ?
Couple? Family?
From experience, going to great biking areas when you can't bike is most frustrating. Did it when injured last year, didn't enjoy looking at lines and start points for great rides from the car.
I'd go to another area I wouldn't normally go to because it had no decent biking opportunities, and save the Lakes for when I could go biking.
Go for walks... lovely scenery to take in when you aren't concentrating on not going over the bars.
Tarn Hows is worth a wander round if you want a suggestion.
Fell walking and real ale brew pubs.
and cake.
Used to live in Grange over Sands, so know lots of tourist stuff...
Deliberate no bike week, just me and Mrs TLR for hiking and scrambling.....
What about great cake and cafes, nice restaurants and perhaps cinema ?
We're staying in Coniston........
[i]Deliberate no bike week, just me and Mrs TLR for hiking and scrambling.....[/i]
Why? 😳
But then I don't understand Veggie's either, why take away the pleasure - its not like you'll have an 'after-life' to do it all again.
Because the week after ill be on a weeks biking holiday 😛
My deepest sympathies.
No need for sympathy...it's our choice for a week off the bikes......will ate the biking week even better....
We're taking Mrs TLRs MX5 so any good drives recommended ?
Cinema? Try Zeffirellis in Ambleside. Chester's cafe at Skelwith Bridge is nice for coffee and cake too.
Blencathra via Sharp Edge then back down Hall's Fell ridge is probably my favourite walk/scramble in the Lakes. Stunning views on a decent day and a bit of excitement to make up for not being on a bike. 🙂
Drive over west to duddon valley and pub in seathwaite, back over wrynose.
If you like ridges you could do helvellyn via striding and swirrel edges, then up blencathra via sharp edge and down via hallsfell ridge. That's 2 days. Get over to was****er and do scafell & scafell pike. Get a rowing boat on windermere, a steamer on ullswater and maybe go ape at grizedale? You could also walk round grassmere, walk on loughrigg fell above rydal water. And so on and so on...
As for mx5 passes, honnister and wrynose are the ones that spring to mind.
Imnotamused, Grum, boxelder, this is theinfo I'm after, thanks !
Any more recommendations ?
Shortish but scenic walk with lovely views of windermere - orrest head above windermere. Start at windermere station and walk uphill to the left of the hotel.
Maybe go to coniston and walk up coniston old man, then back down for a pint in one of the nice pubs.
Hawkshead is nice for a bimble and a pint/pub meal.
If you like scrambles then jack's rake up the side of pavey arc in the beautiful langdales. Straightforward with a bit of exposure. Loads of route guides on net for it.
My missus was ok with sharp edge and striding edge but didn't enjoy jack's rake at all - found it a bit sketchy for some reason.
Buttermere is very varied, with walks and scrambles for all abilities. The assent to Red Pike is very rewarding, as is Fleetwith Pike, while Rannerdale Knotts is the perfect introduction for those who aren't used to the fells.
Can't recommend the slow cooked lamb at the Kirkstile Inn at Loweswater enough. Worth going to Cumbria for that alone 😉
Nice one mangatank.... Keep it coming please 😛
There is a great little walk around and over Gowbarrow Fell from the NT car park and cafe. Good views down Ullswater to High Street etc.
Oh, one more thing: [i]Magnificent[/i] roman fort at the top of Hardknott pass! And the road to get there...well it's a legend amongst roadies...
Kentmere and Fairfield horseshoes? (Not on the same day obviously)
Tower bank arms for proper good pub
Drunken duck for posh pub
Chesters for coffee and cake
Skiddaw = best views in the lakes (if its clear obviously)
Driving roads, kirkstone will be OK if you get a clear run on it, but thats unlikely. I would get my drive in by crossing the northern pennines on the way there. Dunmail raise might be OK for a blast though.
Puzzle museum and the (Lakeland pedlar) veggie cafe (I'm no veggie) in Keswick are good too, if you are having a potter
ETA +1 on Fairfield Horseshoe, great easy ridge walking with excellent views.
Great stuff folks, almost a weeks activity covered.... More pub recommendations as Mrs TLR is driving 😯
Standard Dog & Gun recommendation if you get as far as Keswick.
Take a picnic up to castlerigg and also go find sunkenkirk.
Sunkenkirk ?
+1 for Dog and Gun in Keswick, with their goulash and XP. There's a cinema is Keswick and Ambleside, but that seems a bit of a waste. Then there's always Cars of the Stars and the Pencil museum....
Do you climb? The Lake District is a great place, with or without a bike.
There are scrambles on Coniston Old Man and Swirl How near where you are staying, as well as some harder stuff on Dow Crag.
The Aquarium at Newby Bridge is pretty good, especially for a family, with boat trip options near by.
Pubs? Dungeon Ghyll, good selection in Hawkshead, and several foody ones that featured in [s]Alan Partridge's[/s] Steve Coogan's The Trip.
Cars of the Stars has gone.
@the_lecht_rocks. Sunkenkirk is a wonderful Cumbrian stone circle (I think I actually prefer it to Castlerigg in some ways). More commonly known as Swinside stone circle.
The Aquarium is Phish even my daughter was disapointed with it,The Car museum was worth a punt it even has loads of bikes.Grizedale is worth it for a drive and some decent walks around with views.
Chester's cafe at Skelwith Bridge is nice for coffee and cake too.
Aye, queuing for it should occupy a good couple of days, if my last trip there is anything to go by 🙁
You could pop over to the Blacksmith's Arms at Broughton Mills; that's not so far from Coniston and a nice twisty road to drive along. That said, the Church House Inn is en route and that's a great pub too. Hell, visit them both!
If you head further south, Cafe Ambio at the Motor Lakeland Museum in Backbarrow, and the cafe at Holker Hall, both serve tasty food at reasonable prices.
Holker Hall.... Used to drive past every day as an apprentice !
May is a great time in the Lakes. We have a place in the north east, near Penrith, and one thing that I'd say is that it can take a long time to get around the lakes, so bear that in mind. I'd guess that Coniston to Buttermere would be well over an hour.
Nice walks near you
Around loughrigg, and you could case it for a ride at another time
Crinkle Crags and Bowfell from the three shires stone at the top of wrynose - fantastic walk, Bowfell is terrific
There's a scramble up the front of Dow Crag, called easy gully I think, which is a much more interesting way up to the Old Man.
A bit further afield
Blencathra up sharp edge, and Helvellyn up striding edge are both great walks
Also up Whiteside from Crummock Water, over hopegill head and up onto crag hill, then down over wandope and whiteless pike.
Wainwright s are a great way to plan these.
Non walking you could try the steam yacht gondola on Coniston, and I'm sure that biketreks in Ambleside and wheelbase in staveley have demo bikes!
Have a good time
There are walks a plenty but the Sharps Edge trail up Blencathra is an experience not to forget. Not particularly hard but certainly exhilerating!
A couple of things we have tried in recent years include the Via Ferrata at Honister Slate Mine (brilliant!) and we also went gorge walking which was good as well but dependent upon the amount of recent rainfall.
[url= http://www.honister-slate-mine.co.uk/via_ferrata_at_honister.asp ]Via Ferrata[/url]
[url= http://www.mobileadventure.co.uk/outdoor-activities/ghyll-scrambling ]Ghyll Scrambling[/url]
If you are looking for a pub then take your pick from these:
[url= http://www.theangelinnbowness.com/ ]The Angel[/url] at Bowness - great food and drink made all the better if its a sunny day and you can sit outside
[url= http://masonsarmsstrawberrybank.co.uk/ ]The Masons Arms[/url] at Strawberry Bank - home brewed and imported beer along with very good food.
Hah, te masons arms... Was there 20 years ago just enforce we left Grange !
the_lecht_rocks - Member
What would you do ?
Don't drive like an idiot, you might knock me off my bike 😀
Depends which dates you're going, but you could always heckle the idiots trying to ride their bikes up Hardknott on the 12th.
In an mx 5 with the top down must does are kirksten pass coniston to ullswater and then round the base of ullswater. Also the drive to was****er not to be missed.
Trevh, nice..... Anything else worth driving ?
Trevh, nice..... Anything else worth driving ?
With the top down and Dre 2001 on, laps of Ambleside
Looking good outside Gaynors ?
Agree that Helvellyn and Blencathra round the edges are hard to beat. Closer to home, I think the ascent of Wetherlam from Tilberthwaite is an oft missed classic with an unmarked descent down the obvious ridge that points straight down to Tilberthwaite. If weather is crap, the loop around Hidge Close is nice with a retreat into the Three Shires pub. Agree with Grum, Jacks Rake does catch a few out, there is one exposed bit about 2/3 of the way up.
For value The Outgate pub is a change from the better, but more expensive Drunken Duck.
Are you swimmers with wetsuit? If you are in Duddon Valley on way to Hardknott, have a quick swim in the little gorge by Birk's Bridge
Hardknott pass if you have balls of steel with a rear wheel drive
Brilliant stuff..... More please ???
Looking good outside Gaynors ?
😀 I dont think you can fail in an mx5 with the top down!
If you smash it over hardknott, you could always have a bash on the larl ratty, have a look round muncaster castle, go back to eskdale and then have a drive back over birker fell (nice run), down the ulpha valley, over wrynose and back to Conistown.
Edit, or go [s]right[/s] sorry, left then right after Birker and take on the Blacksmiths arms as per one of those other suggestions.