Staying here for a long weekend with the family.
If I’m a very good boy I should get an afternoon to myself to go riding. Is the stuff a Keilder any good or would I be better off hopping over the border to Newcastleton?

They’re about the same IME. There’s enough at Kielder to fill an afternoon, just don’t expect a mega-gnarr tech-fest.

You could ride over to Newcastleton and back in an afternoon if you’re fit. It’s a bit of a slog in bits, but nice views and feeling of remoteness. Depends if you like that sort of thing.

It’s decent at Kielder and there’s a fast rocky black descent down a bugger of a climb up if that’s your thing. The trail around the reservoir (30-odd miles I think) is nice as well in a gentle bimble, flask-and-butties, take-the-camera sort of way.

Take midge repellent. And a midge net. And more midge repellent

Not sure if the K101 is running this year, but the Kielder 100 used to run at this time of year. It did involve a lot of fireroad, but I remember some quite nice singletrack sections not far from Kielder Castle. The race also went to Newcastleton so presumably took in some of the trails there, but not sure how much. Worth doing, but not worth driving to do.

yep, enough for a few hours. The climb up deadwater is worth it for the view and descent. There’s an event on the 16th i think.. Kielder 101 so you might find more traffic than expected if that’s when you’re going. Worth a trip to the observatory if its a clear night too. You should be past peak midge season but bring repellents anyway 🙂

Cheers guys, I’ll pack some Smidge then!.

I’m going this Friday so I’ll miss the Kielder 101

Take a map that is from after the dam was built and don’t walk halfway round the lake and the decide you feel a bit weary 😳

I really like the Deadwater trails, though unless it’s been redone the very top section is poor- a climb up a fire road, to ride down a fire road. Never done the Lonesome one with the massive boardwalk.

just my opinion but I enjoy the red route at Newcastleton way more than the red at kielder.

If you’re already at Kielder I’d just ride that. IMO it has a bit more to offer in terms of riding interest than Newcastleton.

Both are kind of similar though – nice quiet places to ride a bike with a bit of an out there feeling. There isn’t a lot to keep the enduro brigade entertained and both reward decent fitness so they (unfairly) get a bit of a bad reputation.

The Lonesome Pine trail is decent. Worth a wee detour to the observatory on the way down.

Route around the water is good for a relaxing spin. Quiet on the east side, busier with a couple of snack stops on the West (road) side.

Ride over to Newcastlton via the old railway and return via Bloody Bush and Lonesome Pine descent is a good outing. 2 pubs in Newcastleton (next door to each other) as well as a nice cafe.

We stopped at the Anglers Arms-

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x487d9c524fe49c35:0xbfe551321e0ecb4!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname%3D105152754557813697879%26id%3D6350981861430777714%26target%3DPHOTO!5s+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e3!2s-Rh8tMsBQnp8/WCM4WqGH13I/AAAAAAAARaE/Ej9JuBKfGMc-Tvz-UxmoRowVwzBNA10UgCLIB

for a very welcome beer when we rode around it.

Obviously you’ll hate it. Can’t actually believe this thread is 12 posts in and none of the Northumberland fanboys have mentioned this yet 😉

This is the 101 course from last year. If you’re staying near the castle, you could easilly do the first parts up to the boardwalk, and then back down to the observatory and follow the course across the valley and back down to the castle again.

https://www.strava.com/activities/699097712

To add, 101 is not running this year, so should be a bit quieter, not that it ever gets crazy busy

To reiterate some points already made…

– Definitely not worth driving to Newcastleton instead

– The trail around the lake is wide and smooth (though not flat).

– What NW said about the Deadwater fell trails. Must be a decent loop to do the red and black descents.

– There must be some fun off-piste stuff around too, NHD have run some funduros there in the last few years.

But, yeah, no, don’t come here. It’s rubbish. Stay down there, etc…

Obviously you’ll hate it. Can’t actually believe this thread is 12 posts in and none of the Northumberland fanboys have mentioned this yet

ha – well Kielder is one of the less interesting and picturesque parts of the county IMHO but it’s still not bad.

Didn’t realise the 101 had been cancelled, it’s on the same weekend as ‘Ard Moors but didn’t seem like they would necessarily attract the same riders. Maybe they should run a Dirty Reiver ‘Lite’ for those (like me) without the time to train for the full thing 🙂

Stayed there a couple of weeks ago, hardly any midge problems, maybe I wasnt smelling tasty?

I did the blue Osprey route with my son, for a blue route it’s really good, some technical bits, but nothing too scary. No really honking climbs, and the descents were nice and tricky with small rollable jumps etc.

The dead water trails are good too for a bit more of a challenge.

Both red routes for a full afternoon, I’d say. The Lonesome Pine one is a wee bit boring (apart from the very end) but as someone else has said, they are quiet. Newcastleton red is OK (better now it’s been extended), but I wouldn’t bother driving over if you’ve just got an afternoon. You could always do the Cross Border route and a red at either end. Might be a long afternoon …….

When I was an XC whippet, I enjoyed the cross-border route.

Now I’m not, I don’t 😆

Did nearly all of it this weekend. The Deadwater trails were pretty good (my expectations were low following the Lonesome Pine on on Sat). Don’t bother with the long fireroad climb for the black ‘Downhill’ trail. Do the black, then go back up and do the red – they are mutually exclusive.

The lonesome pine trails are a bit of a plod, and bit dull, I might do them again one day when I have time and fitness to go over the border to Newcastleton and back. More to tick the box than the awesome riding of it. Don’t do the bushy blood or whatever its called if you aren’t going over unless you find descending miles on fireroad to be an uplifting and joyous experience.

by the time I reached the bottom of that I had the most appalling tourettes that I was unleashing at any object that happened to catch my eye. I found that whole trail confusing actually by way of the choices made and the signage unnecessarily irritating.

Well at least you didn’t fall off some of the boardwalky stuff that the chicken wire had worn through & you didn’t slide off & drop 3ft & break your femur & have to get a helicopter ride to hospital.

Like a mate of mine did. 😐

There is no chicken wire at Kielder ..but given even damp conditions the woodwork can be treacherous ..there is loads of stuff away from the man made trails ..some really nice singletrack bridleways if you know where to look ..
I’m local ..(Bellingham).. and an ex Kielder Trail Reaver..have an intimate knowledge of the forest and could show you a route mixing the best of both which wouldnt leave you feeling short changed .
However I’m recovering from broken ribs after an otb..maybe some other time ..
Hope you enjoy your visit ..

Its fun in the snow…

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhQGhLZIwDA[/video]

Just back from a weekend up there. Lucky enough to stay at the skyden which is amazing.

Trail wise, the lonsesome pine main climb is a pain, (the surface has to bear some responsibility here) you can shortcut a pile of it by just following the fire road up towards the observatory.

Deadwater trail is a classic. Have been riding that since I learned to drive in 1992 and could make the 60 mile trip up from
Sunderland. Again the climb is a tortuous pain but worth it.

Blue trail is really nice. Did that with our 4-year old on his cnoc and the 2yo in the chariot on Sunday. We just fit down the trail, straddling the path with the trailer. Have also done it on the fat bike in 6″ of snow, on my own in February.

Castle cafe is ok, but a bit 1974 in its offerings. Cafe at Tower knowe is much better. Ice cream is great.

Midges were out in force, particularly around leaplish holiday park children’s playground and the pub’s bouncy air bag thing as they’ve failed to clear the run off drains. Get some bog mertyl and citronella to keep them at bay.

It’s great to see Ian / the Bike place have taken over the bike hire following the demise of Purple &£#$s.

If you head to newcastleton, bear in mind that the road out of there south is closed. The diversion is long and adds about an hour into the drive out to the a69.

We had a truly magical time. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Hot F.
I agree with most of what you have written there ..but fall short when you describe the climb up to the top of Deadwater as ” being worth it ” ..I think you will find you are in the minority there…as you rightly point out it’s a grinding fireroad slog up to the summit for an initial drop which although fast is definitely not a “black”…
It’s maybe worth doing on one of the two days in the year when there are clear skies for the views into Scotland …most of the time it’s covered in mist.
Most folks that I ride with ( including Ian ) would turn down at ” Into The Valley ” .
At some point I will record and post a route which takes in a lot of the best bits of Lonesome Pine /Deadwater/ & The Osprey Trail..which actually starts out along the Lakeside Way ..
Myself & Ian are also sitting on a 50 mile circular route starting out of Bellingham which is basically a tour of the North Tyne Valley on little known bridleways as far North as Falstone before returning ( loosely) down the other side ..and taking in a section of the Pennine Way to return into Bellingham ..
With the opening of Flittingford Bothy earlier this year ( close to Falstone ) it would also make an excellent two day trip..if that’s your thing ..
It had Mountain Biking UK magazine very interested a couple of years back ..but we were asked by the F.C.to mothball it ( even though it’s 100% legal) .
It might get to see the light one day ..in the meantime we periodically do some trail clearance to keep it alive !
Nice to see your positivity about the area ..it is a great place to ride ..

The slog to the top of Deadwater is… well, a slog. I’ve done it a few times, mainly out of masochism. It’s worth it for the view if it’s clear, as mentioned, but it almost never is. Once I went up there and it was clear on the Kielder side but there was a bank of cloud sitting on the other side of the hill and you could see about 10 yards 🙄 There’s also a good reason Northern Powergrid have their facility to test power lines in high winds up there.

I’d be very interested if you’d care to share any good natural riding Hodgynd. A couple of weeks ago I took a chance on a footpath in Kershope Forest and ended up bailing by dragging my bike uphill through clear felled forestry because the path had disappeared into an impenetrable tangle of undergrowth and windblown trees.

I’m up in a few weeks when my GF does the half marathon and I usually take the bike so a new route would be nice.

If you head to newcastleton, bear in mind that the road out of there south is closed. The diversion is long and adds about an hour into the drive out to the a69.

What road is it that’s closed? I’m travelling down from Glasgow, coming off the motorway just before Gretna and travelling along the B6357 and then crossing the border just north of Kielder Castle

T.N.W…
It’s maybe going to have to be the visit after next ..but would be happy to show you around at some stage ..
I had an over the bars tumble in the Eastern Cheviots ( Bewick Moor area) a few weeks back and have been off the bike since while my bruised or cracked or broken ribs are mending ( no x-ray taken so no one knows for sure) ..Im giving them a chance to heal properly to the point where they are no longer sore .
I will give you a shout when I’m back riding again ( and regained a bit of fitness) ..but it would be a pleasure to show you something new ..

@richmtb its the B6357, the signs say its shut 6 miles south of Newcastleton until 22nd Sept, signs on other roads suggest that the junction with the B6318 is also closed. The diversion is huge and sparsely signposted, we ended up skirting around the SW of Spaedadam forest to Gilsland. Fek knows what way it’ll take you from the NW, (Lockerbie > Langholm & over the weenie road?). Was a right PITA for us as the C200 out of the valley was shut for the tour of Britain, as was a portion of the A68 so we couldn’t use the forest drive exit.

@hodgynd ribs are a pain, broke two in June at Antur. Cramlington Chiropractic helped much more than a real doctor.

When I was an XC whippet, I enjoyed the cross-border route.

Now I’m not, I don’t

Ah, takes me back, I built a big chunk of that, the section with the bridge up to Bloody Bush – 1991 😯

A great day out, especially if you grabbed some lunch in the Holm

FWIW, The trail round the lake may be totally non-technical, but it’s really, really enjoyable.

There is a Dirty Reiver lite – the Dirty 130 😎

The way to avoid the diversion if coming from the South is via Brampton and Roadhead. You come into Newcastleton past the old trailhead.

Hodgynd – I’d be really interested in being shown some of the off-piste stuff in Kielder when you’re fit. I’m in Brampton, so not too far away.

thanks for that hot fiat that’s saved me an annoying detour as Google maps shows no road closures.

failedengineer..
No problem ..we will get something sorted..
Just to clarify though ( as I’m always cautious when I see the term off piste )..these are ” natural ” trails not purpose made as in say The Golfie at Glentress/ Innerleithen ..
There is a lot of bridleway singletrack & also old forest roads that have been reduced to singletrack through very little use ..in very remote locations within the forest ..which also means that there are chunks of fireroad to link these together..
If that sounds like something you would like to explore then I’m more than happy to show you around ..give me a few weeks and I will get back to you both to see if we can organise a meet up.
Working from home I can also fit in weekday rides too ..if that suits better ..weekend rides are usually on a Saturday with a bunch of mates ..we are all getting on a bit though..

we went to newcastleton last year and the best part of the downhill track near the quarry was closed so wasnt worth going back. We usually do deadwater first, dont bother going to the very top of the fireroad climb as its not worth it.
Finish deadwater, head along and do the climb right up to the boardwalks, class views up there on a clear day.
We then turn left and do the bloody bush trail, altho no that good, takes you onto the fire road, then we turn left and do the big climb back up, instead of going back on the zig zag climb that takes you back to the board walks we go staight ahead then you turn left onto the lonesome pine and then back to the finish.

Hogdynd,
That sounds good. Saturday is my preferred day, too. As for ‘getting on a bit’, I’m ‘getting on’ more than a bit, myself!

Yup, sounds good to me too. Weekend is good for me, though I’m often busy with other stuff, but I work 4 days a week so I could potentially fit in a midweek ride too. I wouldn’t say I was getting on a bit, but I can encourage my sciatica to play up if it’d make you feel better 😉

My advice is don’t ignore the blue routes too – I took my son around the Osprey in the winter and it was a cracking trail with great views over Kielder Water. Nothing too technical (albeit certainly not flat!) but sometimes you just need to enjoy the ride and the views 🙂

thenorthwind ..re:sciatica ..I will let you know on the day 8) 😆
daern..you are spot on with your advice ..The Osprey Trail has some of the best “flow” of any of the trails in Kielder and is criminally ignored by many riders who feel that a “blue” trail is not worthy of their attention..
It’s also a real shame that funds got diverted away from this trail due to the cost of the woodwork on the Lonesome Pine Trail ..but the long section along the Forest Drive after the initial singletrack at the start was flagged out to be developed ..
The Lonesome Pine also completely swallowed a brand new JCB digger..so boggy were the ground conditions (that being the reason for woodwork)..lost forever !