Hi all I will be spending the weekend in Crosthwaite about 8 miles from lake Windermere with the family and thought I may take the bikes, does anyone know of any good riding locally. I will be riding with an 8 Year Old & 14 Year Old + the boss the youngest starts moaning after 15 miles so looking for easier routes. Any advice appreciated

If you have the Vertebrate Lake District guide book then ride 3 Cartel Fell and ride 11 Whitbarrow Scar are right on the doorstep. We tend to link the two together for a nice day out..the decent from Witherslack Hall and from Simpson Ground to Staveley in Cartmel are really fun. We also tend to do Sow How to Raven’s Barrow as a descent (rolling).
Pubs at Underbarrow (Black Lab) and Levens (Hare and Hounds) are ime better than the Mason’s Arms, Punchbowl in Crosthwaite and Hare and Hounds in Bowland Bridge.

I used to eat in the punchbowl at crosthwaite, and the others listed above, in the last 10 years along with alot of the lakes pubs the prices have just gone stratospheric. I know it’s demand and supply but people just keep paying higher prices, so they keep going up.

Sorry I can’t add anything about the cycling, I love the low level walks round there.

What I would do though is stock up on pies from higginsons in grange en route, their steak pies are truly awesome. Ditto the cakes at hazelmere cafe.

Thanks Lapierre unfortunately I dont have that book I was just looking online seems I can only get hard copy but advice you have given I am sure I will be able to work with really appreciate it.

Thanks Poolman I am sure we will be eating out the venues advised would you suggest to book a table.

The topography is a little fun in this end of the lakes (there’s more lumps than you think) but there is a lot of fun to be had. Also, we rode all day last August bank holiday and only saw 3 other people.
Worth noting Garburn pass route is very accessible too…

As in it’s easy to get to! Descent is a lot lumpier than the Witherslack, Gummer’s How and Sow House ones.

No need to book a table, hazelmere cafe is at entrance to grange. Bakery is next door and its cakes are the best, I usually get a box of assorted ones. Try the unusual ones, like the ones you have never seen before.

Higginsons butcher’s is at the other end of grange, loads of different pies c 3.5 each but full of meat and gravy. Sausage rolls too.

In fact theres another bakery around the corner from higginsons but I prefer hazelmere.

Enjoy, when I go to the lakes i just take takeaway food from the above and just have a beer in the bars. I m drooling over the higginsons steak pie as I tap away.

Actually I just looked at the map and at crosthwaite you are v near low sizergh farmshop. The cafe upstairs is lovely, the kids can watch the cows being milked. The back road is v quiet, clearly avoid the a590 on a bike tho.

I got loads of other places in the area if you run short of ideas. But grange, low sizergh and then onto staveley for the usual suspects, wilfs, brewery, more bakery.

Oh yes, the Low Sizergh farm shop and cafe is lovely. They have a 24hr raw milk vending machine as well if you need to stock up and the garage is closed! There’s a short stretch of bridleway in crosthwaite itself that goes through the churchyard.

Awesome all just had bike rack fitted so no cancelling for me looking forward to my first real riding break, hopefully the weather will not be to bad.

If you don’t mind a bit of road, and the ferry is running, then you can cycle to it (about 30mins by mountain bike). Turn right on the far side of the lake and you are quickly on the lake side cycle path to Wray Castle which is pretty and traffic free. The cafe at Wray Castle is very good too. (Much better than the one at Claife Heights).

Hi can anyone advise what the weather is like and condition of trails if possible?

Thanks

Join the fb group I love the lakes, loads of photos showing high river levels but they are currently arguing that they are from 2015 not today, bit like here then.

It’s currently very wet all over the Lyth valley, forecast is for heavy rain all day tomorrow, strong winds and light rain Saturday and light rain Sunday morning. Sunday afternoon looks ok. The bridleways around chapel house woods are mostly rocky so shouldn’t be too bad to ride, but most of the paths that are used to link up the bridleways will be mud bogs!
Whitbarrow scar will be pretty good on the ground as it’s all limestone up there but the wind will be an issue as it’s mostly in the open. Most the fields in valley bottom are flooded or sodden so avoid these! As above, If the ferry is on, a lap of Claife is great in any weather and a far better ride than anything near crosthwaite. Cheaper option for food in this area is the damson dene hotel, only a limited menu but nice enough pub food. Hare and hounds at Bowland bridge is under new ownership and I think you can have a Sunday roast for £12.95, looked alright last week when I was in for a pint mid walk. Enjoy the weekend!

I grew up close to Cartmel Fell (have a look on a map and you might see my username 😉) and my brother still runs the family farm there. He rang a few nights ago, his neighbour has a rain gauge: two weekends ago he recorded 50mm of rain one day and 75mm the next!

I’d stick to the stoniest routes you can find and not on limestone since that will be as slippy as hell in the wet.

Best all weather trails near you are really Claife and Grizedale. 20 mins across the ferry.

Yep, head north/west and ride Claife, Grizedale or around Ambleside (Loughrigg, Iron Keld, etc). The trails will be wet but as they are rocky, perfectly rideable.
To be honest, regardless of the time of year and conditions, the trails in the Lakes will be wet and perfectly rideable. You invariably get a wet backside on every ride 🙂

The Windermere ferry isn’t running at the moment due to the lake being so high, given the forecast that’s unlikely to change soon. Last weekend the lakeshore track near Wray Castle was under two feet of water!

The Windermere BW near Wray Castle last weekend.
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Thanks all for your advice we ended up at Grizedale not sure what trail we done but started from visitor centre, unfortunately my 8 Year Old found climbs a struggle but we still had fun. Surprisingly the weather was ok only had one Hail Storm but we was well covered at the time, we will certainly try again in the summer.