I’m going for a few days in the lakes (Ambleside). I’ve the option of taking either my road bike or my mountain bike. I’m inclined to take my road bike as it’s a family holiday so I don’t want to spend any time driving to trails but what are the roads like there? Are they likely to be unpleasantly busy?

But you won’t need to drive to trails! There are plenty of routes from Ambleside.

Are you **** joking? Gtfo..go on get..>>>>>🚪

Can’t go wrong either way – some of the best road and MTB riding in the UK. I’d go road on a family holiday just like you say, get rolling out the door.

Troll ?!

Roads are narrow rather than very busy , so you’ll be kind of looking over your shoulder all the time for traffic.

Good enough mtb riding there for a couple of days (easily)without repeating yourself.

Enjoy!

Don’t know when you are going but you obviously don’t know The Lakes very well. It is high summer, and even though the weather is far from perfect the place will be rammed full. That means the roads are full of grandparents, parents on holiday and every other sort of tripper imaginable. The roads – even the main ones – are narrow with lots of short or long uphill pulls. Just the sort of roads you don’t want some white Evoke behind you getting pissed off and trying to pass when “OOPS, there’s something coming the other way”. The lesser roads are even worse. Road riding in The Lakes in high summer is for grockles and the uneducated. Do you really want to be fighting traffic all day, or so far out of the centre of things just to find quiet roads?

Take the mtb and go onto the trails. Lots of nice routes which are quiet once you are 1/4 mile from the car park.

Agree with the above. Can’t think of anywhere better placed for FromTheDoor mountain biking than Ambleside.

Take the mtb

That’s the sort of info I was after. I’ve never been before and am lucky enough to be able to ride from my door and see very little traffic at all on the road bike. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case in the lakes. Sounds like the mtb might be the best idea then. Is trailforks the best place to find route info?

@ Sarawak, what a load of bollocks

There’s plenty of space on the roads, newby bridge to Ambleside to Grasmere will be heaving but the west side of Windermere will be perfectly fine, as will pretty much anywhere else. I live here btw.

Well, at least there are some cycle lanes around Ambleside

Something that bizarrely nobody has mentioned is that the trails near amble will be busy too. But easily worked round.

Not sure trailforks is what you need, but the I’ve never used it for UK.
Tell us what kilometrage/hohenmeter you want each day and I’m sure you’ll get results.

As a starter, the staveley three passes is close to the east.
West you’ve got langdales into Hodge close.
Then south west you’ve got all the good stuff at grisedale.

Loughrigg terrace is supposed to be good if you have a couple if hours free very late in the day. Don’t go peak times.

@thestabiliser – your definition of ‘fine’ differs greatly from mine.

MTB all the way in the lakes.

Tough call, the Lakes are great for both. Can’t agree with sarawak. I married a teacher and now have kids, so I’ve only ever been to the Lakes in school holidays and it’s just not that bad. As with most places, make even a moderately early start and you can have the roads to yourself (except for the sheep).

That said, if you’ve got to make the choice, I’d go MTB.

Basically, I’ll only have about 2 hours from the door. I’ve come up with 2 Road routes but have no idea whether they’d be any good. I’d probably be going out at about 6am or 7pm to work around our 1 year old. Hopefully the roads wouldn’t be too busy if I got out early morning.

Check out this route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/gR9jnebvWX — Ambleside South

Check out this route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/2FKSa3pvWX — Sweden Bridge Lane Ellerigg Road-Sweden Bridge Lane

Would either of these routes have areas to definitely avoid? Thanks

First one looks fine. Apart from the off-road section from the side of coniston water. Go all the way along to meet the Hawks head Hill road.

Edit :it’s taken you off road going towards nibthwaite as well.

The other is a classic climb. You might regret not warming up before getting on The Struggle.😀

Ambleside South loop looks good, kirkstone good too

I am infinitely fortunate to have lived and worked around the lakes all my life.

Take the MTB. The roads round here are perfectly safe, and fantastic to ride.
Unfortunately you are going to have to share them with the most dangerous idiots in the world – tourists!!

I have lost count of the times, I have nearly been killed by someone driving along with their head at 90°, looking out the side window at some sheep. Or a hill. Or whatever else they deem more important than looking where the F$#k they are going.

Besides a MTB can sub in as a road bike better than the road bike on a lake district trail.

MTB!

Check out the Loughrigg Fell Loop on the LakesMTB site. Nice MTB ride you could try.

Loughrigg Fell

MTB by far, & loads of options from Ambleside.
Why anyone would want to ride just the roads in the Lakes in summer is beyond me.

“Can’t think of anywhere better placed for FromTheDoor mountain biking than Ambleside.”
100% this.

Took my single speed CX bike on my last trip to the lakes.

Did a loop round Lake Windermere. Which I naively believed would be a flat gentle ride!

And a loop round Grizedale on another. Think I actually still have the Stava KOM round the 1 hour loop 🙂

Took the road bike in the end as I figured it’d be easier and I could hire a mtb for a day if I wanted to. So I’ve done my first ride today up the struggle and down kirkstone pass up to ulswater and back. It’s definitely warmed up some rarely used leg muscles. Those are some steep hills. Intend to something similar again but didn’t enjoy the descent back down the struggle so will find a different way back to Ambleside.

Good roads and good views (when not looking at my front tyre suffering). So far my impression of the road riding is that the lakes are kind of like a warm and less windy but busier version of the Highlands. Looking forward to getting a few more miles in this week and perhaps including a trip to Grizedale.

I’ve got a route in my head I want to do at some point this year starting from Ambleside.

Out through little langdale, Wrynose pass, left at cockley beck to seathwaite/Summerdale then over to the east side of coniston and back to Ambleside.

Still new to road riding really so leaving hardknott for another time!

Could be a goer for you?

Wrynose from the east is not massively easier than HardKnott from the west. It has less of the outrageously steep stuff, but is sustained at a not enjoyable steepness for much longer, rather than having flatter bits you can try to recover on.

That’s good to know, but it’s doing them both together plus the extra distance that entails which is also a concern!!