Gravel bike routes: Lake District & Yorks Dales

Any suggestions for non-technical gravel bike routes in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. Happy with a mix of off road / forest track / quiet tarmac lanes, but does need to be relatively non-tech, smoothish surface (but could walk short sections if needed).

I’ll be based in Eskdale for one week, and Buckden (Yorkshire Dales) for one week. Would prefer to ride from those places, as I’m not keen on “driving to ride”. Any suggestions, preferably with a map link or good description much appreciated 😊

Grizedale is the obvious one in the Lakes, there’s miles and miles of forest track, fire-road, little lanes etc, you can almost free-route it and just wander round there for half a day quite easily. The problem is that, while not that far geographically, Grizedale is still about 2 massive hills over —–> that way from Eskdale!

You could use this as a start point for planning

https://www.komoot.com/tour/241447538

Loads around grizedale forrest area.

There’s an obvious one from Buckden – to Horton via Beckermonds/ Langstrothdale Chase, then turn and head to High Birkwith, Cam End, the road at Fleet Moss, straight on via the Cam High Road to Bainbridge, then up over Stake Allotments to Gilbert Lane, Buckden Rake and back. About 36 miles, pretty straightforward mixture of good tracks, minor road and forest track. Couple of tiny bumpy bits.

I’ll be based in Eskdale for one week

Trickier, there is a good track which runs parallel to the road and the Esk Valley railway from Ravenglass up past Boot. You could probably climb the road out of Eskdale Green towards Ulpha, take the BW descent to meet it and return via the track.

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/visiting/things-to-do/cycling/eskdaletrail

I recall that someone came up with a version of the Lakeland 200 for gravel bikes which avoids the hike-a-bike and tech by skirting the fells on the edge of the valleys using tracks and minor roads, so you might well be able to head up towards Ennerdale that way – in theory you could pedal all the way up to Black Sail on decent tracks and reverse it to get back. Locals may be advise you better on that one.

Many of the Dales tracks are suitable for gravel bikes, there’ll be the odd section that’s a bit rough.

Another one that will be OK but has a mahoosive road climb to start: Buckden, down the road to Kettlewell, turn left and up Park Rash (EEEK!) down Coverdale (all road but it’s a very quiet valley) at Melmerby turn left to go over to West Witton but before the very steep bit of the descent cut left on a track that brings you out at West Burton. Go towards Aysgarth but turn left on a very narrow lane to Thoralby just after the pub there’s a BW on the right, steep at first, which leads up onto Stakes Moss. Turn left and follow this back via Gilbert Lane as indicated by Martin.

There’s a couple of BWs that shortcut this as you descend Coverdale, the first starts at Braidley, the other at Carlton. Don’t bother with the one that starts at Horsehouse it’s a steep and rocky path best done on FS in descent.

There’s also loads in the area between Malham, Threshfield and Arncliff. Pretty well any of the BWs in that triangle will be fine on a gravel bike, some might be boggy after rain.

For Buckden I’d v much second martinhutch’s route which I’d just started typing out going anticlockwise as given the state of my shoulders I’d rather go up Cam High Road than down it on an xbike. Advantage of clockwise I guess is you can finish, bar a roll downhill, at the White Lion in Cray, great place which does fantastic albeit restaurant price food. I’d probably take the road down to Bucken after that.

You can also ride down to Kilnsey and then up Mastiles Lane which gives you multiple options for loops over Weats Top and down to Hetton, or take the track over Boss Moor down to Threshfield to lose a bit of the road schlep back. Or shorter would be the classic bridleway descent down to Hawkswick. Done this on xbike and it rides quickly (I was in an event), but it’s a lot more fun on mtb. Whatever, it’s all gravel at its very best and the road riding is nice too.

I was going to suggest as above, head down to Kilnsey then up over Mastiles. We did a route a few months ago that from Mastiles headed to Malham Tarn, then along the roads to Pen-y-ghent and down to Litton via the permissive track by Darnbrook Fell and back to Arncliffe. Should be easy enough to wind back to Buckden from their.

Rode my gravel bike and it was fine.

actually, reading again…

mix of off road / forest track / quiet tarmac lanes, but does need to be relatively non-tech, smoothish surface

…some of the above may be slightly full-on. A shorter taster that ticks all the above would be to ride up the valley to Beckermonds. It’s a very quiet road but you can ride on the other side of the river up the Dalesway path (by which many campervans will be parked which is why I assume it’s easy riding. It’s beautiful and you can swim in some of the pools). Past Beckermonds and to High Green Field farm it’s still tarmac singletrack road but you will see no cars. Keep going straight ahead through the woods on forestry track until you reach the edge above Ribblesdale. There you can carry on and short cut Martin H’s route by a few miles by continuing to the Pennine Way bridleway and turning right up to Cam End.To cut it really short, instead of dropping down to Bainbridge, just take the road back from the top of Fleet Moss (highest road in Yarkshar mind).

Or much shorter and easier, when you get here you can turn north uphill going slightly back on yourself then curving round on the forestry track where it’s marked Beckermonds Scar and then Low Green Field Ings on the map. There’s been some clearing and it’s a bit industrial in places but the views are fab. Track carries on turns downhill across the stream, and you rejoin the main track and turn left back down past High Green Field to Buckden. This may be a bit short and easy but is a nice enough gravel blast right in the middle of the dales.

There’s a fair bit of perfect for gravel bridleway in Eskdale and down to muncaster and mitredale. Or can heave yourself over hardknott or harter fell to get to the duddon valley and hardknott forest. Grizedale would be a fair schlepp but doable either over hardknott and wrynose or walna scar. Actually that’s make a loop, and you’d definitely sleep that night!

Otherstuff might include Ennerdale,scarth gap, floutern tarn area, blengdale forest in there too.
NCN 72 for getting to and from the other valleys/exploring the coast

Above routes will be bumpy in spots but that’s the lakes really. Or just use the lanes

Thanks all – some great suggestions from everyone. Much appreciated 😊