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Myself and five friends are planning a trip down to the Lake District for a weekend's riding in late April or early May.
None of us have been before, so I am looking for some recommendations and had some questions.
Where is good to ride? We are all quite technically capable and relatively fit.
Are the trail conditions OK there at that time of year? Will there be snow or too much mud to make it fun?
We'd need to find somewhere to stay. Something self catering and with a hot tub would be wonderful. Does anyone have any recommendations on that front? Hot tub is not a deal breaker.
Are the trail conditions OK there at that time of year? Will there be snow or too much mud to make it fun?
That is a firm depends!!
Bonus is heaps of rocky trails about so you can get away with it being wet.
Not quite what you're after but a few weeks back a group of us stayed at the Windermere Park hotel for a couple of nights. They have a bike shed (take your own locks) and a car park. Decent rooms and breakfasts and a minute walk into Windermere centre for food and drink on an evening.
Ride wise, I don't know the Lakes too well but on the Saturday we rolled down into Bowness and then through Grizedale via the Fox and then some bits off Trailforks down to the visitor centre, then the River Bed up to the top of Grizedale and then some of the endure trails down to Coniston followed by a spin into Coniston for something to eat before basically repeating something similar back. LOADS of scope to add stuff going through Grizedale too such as picking up bits of the NFT, doing Breasty Haw/Devils Gallop back instead of going back down the Fox like we did plus bits in Claife Heights on the way there/back. All pretty weather proof too as its generally all on rock as a lot of Lakes riding is.
On the Sunday we rode from Windermere out over Garburn (from the Ambleside direction), dropped into Kentmere and then back towards lunch at Staveley.
I've found decent self catering in that part of the Lakes for a weekend difficult to find before plus there are so many pubs/hotels which are muddy biker friendly that its just as good to stay in one of those, eat out and have a massive breakfast cooked for you 😀
Can’t really go wrong with Ambleside. Great riding on your doorstep to keep all levels happy, easy enough to get to bigger mountains if that’s what you want, great bike shops in town, good pubs, loads of places to eat and easy to get to from the M6.
Weather wise, you’d be unlucky to get a big dump of snow at that time of year. It may well be raining but there is a ton of fantastic lower elevation riding if conditions make going up high too risky.
I’m sure a lot of people will be happy to suggest routes but if it gets to the time and you aren’t sure, Biketreks (in the town) will happily point you in the right direction(s)
Yep, Ambleside or Hawkshead, basically anywhere around there over toward Coniston and Grizedale has a huge amount of riding, good low level options if the weather isn't playing ball.
Brilliant, my favourite riding in the UK.
Agree. People slate Grizedale for the NFT but I'm struggling to think of ever having a bad ride around Grizedale. The NFT is what it is but the sheer scale of what you can link into from there is mind boggling with some of the best riding around...
Ok, all good info - enough to get me started looking.
Am totally ignorant of The Lakes as never been in my life. Obviously trying to remedy that.
Check out coppermines cottages in coniston.
Plenty of year round riding from the door.In April or May it could be lovely or piss wet through. (imo)
They do have a hot-tub in one of their properties.
🙂
The YHA in Ambleside is really good if you want a cheap-ish and perfectly serviceable base from which to explore.
We did a three dayer at the end of June:
Fri: 'Warm up' 17 miler around Iron Keld
Sat: The Three Passes (Garburn, Gatesgarth and Nan Bield)
Sun: The Calf and Bowderdale (Howgills) on the way home
We were absolutely rinsed by the end (and the weather was fantastic - too hot even!)
we usually stop in keswick for a few days. Can stop at derwent water youth hostel, about a 30 minute walk into keswick, or can get a taxi for a few quid. Its cheap and decent hostel but no jacuzzi. Or theres a hostel right in keswick which is sometimes a bit more expensive, loads of decent pubs, restaraunts there.
We usually go and do whinlatter trail centre, north and south loop on one of the days, then theres a great ride from keswick called the borrowdale bash. Well worth doing, especially in decent weather.
Ambleside YH is awesome, only thing is that parkings murder if you get there late on the friday night, you'll struggle to get in all weekend.
I've stayed at the Grizedale campsite several times, they have yurts, pods and a bunkbarn although I've always camped. Pub nearby is very good and the riding from the doorstep is excellent. Breasty Haw is as fun as it sounds.
I'd be tempted by: drive up early, do Helvellyn, book into Keswick, then best day do skiddaw and grizedale, then worse weather do the extended borrowdale bash.
is the coniston YHA still open? close to setmurthy DH trails and natural hilly stuff.
was a great place to stay - bike friendly - storage etc.
EDIT - Actually meant cockermouth YHA not coniston - sorry!
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