Going up to the lakes for a week in a couple of weeks, we'll be staying in Hawkshead
My son has only recently learned to ride so isn't confident/strong yet
Are there any traffic free routes that are relatively short, say 3-8 miles that are flat.
The last part is the trickiest, there aren't many genuinely flat bits around! I think I did a bit near Great Langdale/Old Dungeon Ghyll, but it was hilly before and after so my mind could have been playing tricks on me
Needs to be traffic free as we'll also have 2 dogs running along with us!
This might solve your hill problem:
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Not a right lot tbh.
Elterwater BW
West side of Windermere (bonus of Wray Castle for kid stuff)
A fair bit of tilberthwaite can be done with a bit of help on the ups
West side of coniston to torver
Mostly out and backs but all Handy enough for Hawkshead
You could cheat a bit. Park at Moor Top, Grizedale - ride the fire roads (mostly downhill) to the visitor centre or further towards Satterthwaite. Buy ice cream, let your lad muck around on the swings while you ride back up to get the car (assuming you have another adult handy).
You'll have to keep tabs on the dogs though, while it's car free there are plenty of other riders and walkers to look out for.
I can think of a few possibilities nearby:
BW on west shore of Windermere, north from the ferry (mainly flat)
Cyclepath from Skelwith Bridge to Elterwater
New BW from Coniston north to High Yewdale (undulating rather than flat)
Edit: Great minds, etc . . .
A wee bit further north, but maybe the cycle route out of Keswick along toward threlkeld if the bridge has been sorted?.
Gotta be some lakeside paths as well, from Ambleside down to Windemere, along the other side of Windemere, the side you're at, just where you'd get the ferry across to bowness on windemere?.
Thanks for advice so far, out and backs are fine. It's just so he can get a bit more confident and we can do some interesting cycling. Out to a pub/cafe for a meal and back would be ace in fact!
@esme - that's how I ride to the park with the dogs, with two dogs pulling I can get some proper speed up! Less good with kids and others with me though. I do have a video of one of my dogs pulling me along, with me pulling a double trailer, no pedalling whatsoever. It was like a little train!
Fish house lane?
bit further south, runs parallel to the river leven from Low wood out to Penny Bridge across the estuary
https://www.google.com/maps/ @54.2434617,-3.0076079,17.07z
on that map follow the dotted line from about halfway.
Used to take my kids on there, not FLAT flat but not lakes hilly.
Bonus chippy at penny bridge halfway or the bakery in the village (born and bread? on Facebook I think?)when done as an out and back. Lakes motor museum up the road in Backbarrow.
windermere brideleway from the ferry to low wray is great. Nice ride along the lake, flat, you can combine it with a ferry ride too for more fun points and theres a café.
we were in the Lakes last week and took the kids to Grizedale - exactly as martin described, parked in Moor Top followed the blue path loop with the intention of heading down to the visitor centre - wasn't a terribly long ride but kids enjoyed it
Windermere looking good right now!
What's the blue path from Moor Top like? I'll be on an arkose with marathon plus tyres and my daughter on a rack top child seat (no child carrying abilities on my mountain bikes), my wife will be on a BSO type thing. I'm hoping for nice wide forest road? Nothing techy or similar
+1 for Fish house Lane Haverthwaite to Greenodd- tarmac - bit of off road and completely flat!
As above (1) Wmere lake shore - obvious choice
(2) Grizedale Moor Top but easy for FTs to overlook that it's quite jphilly for kids
(3) much shorter - have a Poole round Tarn Hows? Only if attention span is short and need other distractions.
(not that flat but park at 3 shires and ride to Cathedral Cave for a fun bit of exploring)
Nothing constructive to add, I just read the title as Fat child friendly and I've been giggling for about three minutes. I'm an idiot.
As you were
If you do a search of 'Hawkshead' on National Cycle Network map on the Sustrans website, it does list some nearby off-road trails. Not sure how flat they are though:
As per previous comments, west-side of Lake Coniston is nice (path follows the shoreline/edge of campsites etc) and you can drop down any time onto the beach for some fun (well, I think it's fun, so I'm sure a child will agree !)