Riding the Wainwrights

Hi Sanny, sorry I haven’t contributed for ages but I am always glad to see your posts and get some vicarious adventures . 
The good news is…me and Mrs Wheel have moved to Penrith! Still settling in and trying to get the new place into shape but already exploring the area by bike and on foot. Interesting to read about your visits to the various-sized Mell Fells.as my local road rides are tending in that direction and I fancy a poke around on the mtb. Where’s a good spot to access it?

The other development is I turn 60 next week and therefore have to join CTC and give up mountain biking 😆

I can see Loadpot and Arthur’s Pike from our living room window so my suggestion for you would be those but you probably bagged them ages ago?

Hi Sanny, sorry I haven’t contributed for ages but I am always glad to see your posts and get some vicarious adventures . 
The good news is…me and Mrs Wheel have moved to Penrith! Still settling in and trying to get the new place into shape but already exploring the area by bike and on foot. Interesting to read about your visits to the various-sized Mell Fells.as my local road rides are tending in that direction and I fancy a poke around on the mtb. Where’s a good spot to access it?

The other development is I turn 60 next week and therefore have to join CTC and give up mountain biking 😆

I can see Loadpot and Arthur’s Pike from our living room window so my suggestion for you would be those but you probably bagged them ages ago?

@sanny

Totally agree that Place Fell is a great viewpoint and very easily gained (short scramble excepted). But down to the soggy saddle immediately S of High Dodd definitely counts as soggy in my book. Definitely. You just caught the end of a good dry spell by the sounds of things, or I've always been unlucky, or have a terrible memory 😉 . You then went NE that brings you out to the N of Sleet Fell then before picking up the Ullswater shore? That's definitely better than following Scalehow Beck down IMO. Sounds like you had a good day for it all so pleased you weren't put off.

@neilthewheel

Lucky you! Sounds great. Re the Mell Fells. Little Mell Fell is easy to access from the road that passes immediately south of it. Just go through the gate at the high point. Great Mell Fell has an obvious Land Rover access track by the road on the eastern flank. There are usually a couple of cars there as walkers park to go up the fell. A short ride up the track then through the fence on the right to get on the fell. Gowbarrow is the one you want to do though. As a loop, you can start from the same point that you access Little Mell Fell. There is a double gate arrangement that takes you onto an access track that joins up with the Fell. There is a two min carry over clearfell at the very end of the track. 

Ridden Loadpot Hill two and half years ago but not on this round so will be going back to report along with Arthur’s Pike. I really like High Street on a dry day. Going to start with Hartsop Dodd and finish at Pooley bridge to hopefully take the steamer back.

@bajsyckel

Yeah. Reckon I saw it at its’ best. There was zero bog. I did indeed take the NE track off as I figured the bogginess would be where the Scalehow Beck and the Moss are. Absolutely loved it and want to ride it again so that is a win in my book.

Cheers

Sanny

Right. Going to test the hive mind now if that is ok as looking for anyone’s thoughts or experiences on the following?

Far Eastern fells - Troutbeck Tongue, Tarn Crag and Grey Crag.

Eastern Fells - Arnison Crag, Hartsop above How, Middle Dodd, High Hartsop Dodd, Little Hart Crag and Red Screes.

Western Fells - Kirk Fell and Buckbarrow. Grike, Lankrigg and Crag Fell.

Central Fells - Rosthwaite Fell, Esk Pike along to Pike o Blisco and Cold Pike.

Thoughts?

Cheers

Sanny

I can't recall much of interest on the Eastern or Far Eastern ones you mention.

Red Screes down to Ambleside has been mentioned in this thread but I've not been that way.

High Hartsop Dodd could potentially have interesting descent off the north side - you can see the path as you drive south to Kirkstone Pass. Steep grassy sheep trod. One for a dry day.

Troutbeck Tongue would be a quick up and down, could be fun if you come down High Street and up the north side of the Tongue. South side would be short but fun descent.

 @thegeneralist posted a photo of him riding Bowfell slab a while back so may have some intel on the other Central Fells you mention. I've only been up there in the snow so couldn't comment on wether any of it would be rideable.

Helvellyn today from Thirlspot up via Browncove Crags and back down Birkside. A quick (if not brutal) ascent to the top. Birkside was awesome as ever.

2 hours round trip, so an option for a quick ride into the high fells

@neb

Sounds great!

Soooooooooo……..the dry Spring weather in the Lakes has been bloody awesome. After my abortive attempt to ride High Street in the deep snow back in January (you can read about bit in the April issue of the magazine), I had been biding my time for a sunny and dry day to make another attempt. A happy intersection of a meeting free day and great weather saw me make my now customary drive down the M74 and M6 at stupid o’clock. I wonder how many folk are out the door by 5.15am for a day ride? It felt early, probably because it was, but as I hit the border before 7, done to a soundtrack of Kermode and Mayo, Dierks Bentley and Lainey Wilson, I knew the early start had been worth it especially as most of it had been done in daylight for the first time in several months. Here’s to Spring!

Getting into Glenridding, as I got ready, a friendly driver stopped to tell me how jealous he was of me. Turns out he runs the bike shop in Glenridding. Seemed like a good bloke so I will make the effort to pop in next time I am there. On the road before eight, I happily span along the valley road to Hartsop. Despite the sun and blue skies, it was a brisk morning meaning I was glad of my insulated gilet and windproof jacket. First up, Hartsop Dodd. An iconic peak if ever there was one, after a brief detour up the more obvious but wrong track, I started the climb proper. The ride up to the stile was steep and brief. Getting over it, it was a carry all the way up. The going was steep but as a trail, it was packed with interest. A mix of switchbacks, stone pitching, dirt and bedrock, every step was genuinely enjoyable. The top stayed hidden all the way up meaning that it did not feel like a slog. Quite the opposite, in fact. Finally cresting the top of the steep section, the track continued to climb on grass track beside a wall which made route finding a cinch. The summit is fairly non descript but the setting is lovely, particularly looking north to Ullswater and west towards the peaks of Fairfield and Helvellyn. 

Over the top, the trail rose steadily all the way to Stoney Cove Pike and was all rideable. Conditions under tire were incredibly dry. Looking over to Caudale Quarry high on the hillside to the left, I made a mental note to return and explore the footpath descent from Caudale Moor. Caudale Moor is another rounded lump but again, offers spectacular views west and south. Two down, ten to go. Retracing my steps to Stoney Cove Pike, a brief stop for lunch and a donning of my windproof and knee warmers as the fresh wind was on the icy side of fresh, I was ready for the drop into Threshwaite Mouth. Starting with a nice bit of flow, the descent quickly became a rocky carry down. With several opportunities to really spanner yourself, I was happy to carry down. A couple and their dog on the way up adopted a look of concern and bade me be careful; something I was more than happy to do. With a chill wind, an off could have been Dixie Chick serious. 

Hitting the saddle, I broke north up a sheep track that took me onto the saddle of Gray Crag. Cresting the ridge, it was an easy out and back on grass track to the summit and entirely rideable in both directions. Chatting with a young couple who had started in Staveley, they were impressed by my plans for the day but I was more impressed by their day out that would taken in the Kentmere Horseshoe on foot. They had already travelled far and it was still not even noon! Sore tootsies ahoy! An easy climb soon saw me reach Thornthwaite Beacon for a welcome nibble of food. Last time, the beacon and surrounding fells were absolutely plastered in snow. The contrast was stark. A brief chat with a walker who had managed to pick the perfect week for a stay in the Lakes and breaking out a Compeed for the couple I met on Gray Crag and in was off again.

High Street came and went at pace. The trail from the summit down the Straits of Rennigidale was as fun as I remembered it. High Street has a reputation for being boring but this part of it is anything but and especially so if you head over to Kidsty Pike as I did. The views east to Haweswater are definitely worth the effort to get to and reminded me that I need to return soon to ride the western shore track. From there, I quickly knocked out Rampsgill Head and the rocky rounded summit of High Raise. With the ground unseasonably dry, I took my time to properly enjoy riding the ridge. I last rode the ridge on the first day of autumn in 2022 for the magazine. That November, I lost my dad which proved to be the catalyst for me to explore the Wainwrights and it felt good to be back on this particular trail. For those expecting technicality and a gradual descent, forget it. High Street is the classic Ulysees Everett McGill geographical oddity. It feels more up than down for much of the traverse until you get to Loadpot Hill. You can imagine a Roman Legion just thinking forus fukkus sakeus as they crossed it some 2000 years ago. 

Breaking off from the bridleway, I knocked out Bonscale Fell and Arthur’s Pike in jig time. There is clear track on the ground to follow and they afford great views over Ullswater but are probably more for the completer unless you don’t mind an extra push between the two. With twelve summits ridden, it took on lay a few minutes to reach the bridleway beneath Barton Fell. This was a curious unknown to me. For some obscure reason, I had never ridden it before so it came as a very welcome end of the ride bonus. It is a wide track with little in the way of tech but the steep sided peaks to the left that I had been atop only a few minutes before gave a real sense of Lakeland grandeur. With it not yet 4 in the afternoon, I had one last card to play - the steamer back to Glenridding. The previous week saw me ride the Ullswater eastern shore trail but in my head, the early start meant that the steamer might be a welcome option and so it proved to be. After a welcome extended bit of lazing about on the sandy shore at Howtown in the afternoon sunshine, it felt like being on my holidays as I stood on the deck of the steamer. Not a bad way to end a glorious Spring day out!

So in summary, a great little adventure ride. Not technical but a most enjoyable day out on trails that have a reputation for being boggy and wet. Hartsop Dodd has me planning a return trip to ride down it as it looks like a very fun option for pissing your height away in jig time.

Looking back on my January attempt, we absolutely made the right call to bail at the beacon. It would have been a very long and hard trudge through deep snow and would have almost certainly taken the best part of twelve hours. best of all, it gave me the perfect excuse to come back on a perfect Spring day!

Cheers

Sanny

Tarn Crag and Grey Crag - best done on foot, but I guess up Gatesgarth, turning right for Mosedale/Swindale near the old quarries, then up over Tarn Crag along the wall. Generally wet and a slog I would think. Electric fat bike? There may be some decent bits on the descent back to Sadgill from Grey Crags.

Again with Rosthwaite Fell - hard work with a bike - and I think it would be much more 'with' than 'on'. It's such a nice trip to scramble up Cam Crag ridge, I've never considered it on a bike. I guess up Langtrath, Stake Pass to Angle Tarn, then over Allen Crags and Glaramara to Rosthwaite/Bessy Boot would be the day out. Plenty of pushing and tech though.