Ullswater Lakeside Bridleway

After reading about it as MBR’s top 20 trails in the UK, I did a long 140 mile drive to do this today. To say it was disappointing is an understatement.

When it went downhill it was good (but too brief), but nearly every climb resulted in me having to shoulder the bike uphill.

Probably getting a pinch flat put me in a bad mood as well, plus all the flying insects everywhere.

But still how did this get into the top 20 ? Unless you’ve got high trails skills, those uphill sections are impossible, and having to keep shouldering the bike so frequently gets tedious quickly.

I did it from North to South, I don’t know if the other way around would have been any better.

North to south is the best way. If you’re not good enough to make the climbs, it doesn’t make its a bad trail it’s just means you’ve found where you could improve.

Those uphill sections are not impossible. Challenging yes, and I’ve yet to clear the final section in one, but not impossible. I can see how people wouldn’t like it though, because,well, it’s quite hard isn’t it?

I think it was just worse today than normal, there were 3 trees that had fallen over and were blocking the trail on an already challenging rock climb. Plus me being tired didn’t help. But there were at least two places where you have to get up a steep uphill staircase, which to me didn’t look ride-able at all without high-end trails skills.

I have to agree with you trevmccdonald It’s not on my list of favourites. I’ve enjoyed riding it once interestingly that was south to north, there are much better trails in the lakes.

Yes, it is passable, I have friends who have ridden it all, they have much greater trials skills than me. Still not one of the trails they regularly ride.

After reading about it as MBR’s top 20 trails in the UK

There’s your mistake, believing that mag. They called the Ciaran path the best in the UK once…

UBW is good, but not in isolation, as part of a bigger day – Pooley bridge-Askham moor-Howtown–UBW-Hartsop-Knott-Satura Crags-Boredale hause-UBW-Howtown-Pooley bridge.

That’s a great day, especially as a lower level option when the winds are higher or there’s snow on the tops.

I guess it depends what you’re looking for. If your love is for fast, swoopy, flowing singletrack then no, that one’s probably not for you.

I’m a pretty lousy rider and I’ve done the Ullswater bridleway half a dozen times and loved it, will definitely do it again. I also had to walk several sections and can’t get near clearing some of the harder stuff, but that’s fine. In fact, it keeps my interest alive – if every time I go I can ride a little bit more than last time then that’s a win, and there’s still plenty more I’m nowhere close to riding, so there’s an incentive to come back and have another go.

If you’ve already shouldered the bike up past Hayeswater onto High Street, ridden out to the big cairn then back almost as far as Pooley Bridge the BW is quite tiring, coming at the end of a long day. It’s challenging riding especially on a full-rigid but gets steadily more enjoyable as you approach the Patterdale end.

Yes, I’d done it as part of the high st loop and hit this at the end.

Probably being knackered and then getting a pinch flat made the Ullswater bridleway feel a lot worse  than it is.

But that doesn’t change what I said about those uphill sections.

Not many people have high level trails skills and they’re what you need to ride Ullswater. So maybe the MBR top 20 is for the top 1% skill level rather than the majority.

I wasn’t expecting fast and flowly, I enjoy slow techy sections as well, but not when you have to shoulder the bike up at least 4 or 5 climbs. Maybe it would have been 1 less if it wasn’t for those fallen over trees, so maybe again it just seemed worse than usual due to the circumstances on the day.

Not many people have high level trails skills and they’re what you need to ride Ullswater.

Nonsense. I am a thoroughly average rider, and have enjoyed it every time I’ve rode it, in either direction (can’t be far off double figures all in).

Definitely old skool. Kind of the antithesis of trail centre swoopy ridable features where every ascent is rewarded with a meaningful descent. I guess its considered a classic because it was just there to be used when MTBing was invented, its a bit of a handful and the views are nice. Also ridable when the higher altitude stuff is knocked out by weather. Kind of ride that was popular in the era when not dabbing for a whole ride was the pinnacle of achievement and ‘sessioning’ was not invented.

Sessioning has always been a thing, folks have always built wee bits n bobs and rode them ad nauseum. UBW is pretty perfect for technical sessions tbh, lots of nice wee techy features, up and down.

*misty-eyed nostalgia mode*

In the days before trail centres, supension and GPS people used to spend hours studying maps for legal routes then go and try them. There were even guide books published with routes to follow, including the High Street – Ullswater circuit. One cloudy day I rode out from Lowther, beside the M6, intending to get up onto High Street but in the end the weather and tiredness made me turn back. Got back to the house of my pal who was a caver and walker and he was absolutely amazed at how far I had gone, saying he would have to get one of these new-fangled Muddy Foxes immediately. (MF was the generic name for an MTB for a few years). He embraced mountain biking as another outdoor discipline but tragically was killed on Lonscale Fell in 2014 when he went OTB and down the mountain.

As the Fortnite players say, get good.

I thought the downhill sections weren’t that bad at all, it was just the uphills. I thought I was good at techy climbs, as I can ride uphill on everything at Gisburn and every section on the red and black ‘the eight’ I have done with no dabs at some point, but the climbs on Ullswater are on another level.

I remember summer holidays on the campsite at the southern end of the BW. I think I probably rode it twice a day and sessioned anything I couldn’t ride until I could clean the whole thing in SPD’s! Took the best part of two weeks or trying!

I wouldn’t say you need to be a trials god to ride it, but you do need to be able to trackstand but to be honest if you’re fit enough you could probably plough through most of it with momentum.

as I can ride uphill on everything at Gisburn

The difference between a trail center and the real world is a trail center is designed to be rideable first time for anyone that might describe themselves as beginner/green intermediate/blue advanced/red (and let’s be honest most people over estimate their own ability so end up rolling or otherwise fudging their way through trails), the real world was often only designed to be just about passable on foot (and not always enjoyably!). If a natural trail has ‘flow’ its usually by accident than design!

Apart from the short section in the quarry there’s no climb on the Gisburn red route that’s techy (could be wrong – rarely go there) – even that only takes one or two goes to figure out the best line. The trickiest section is the bit through the woods on the return to get to the foot of the Hope Line, lots of holes and roots but it’s hardly a climb.

@thisisnotaspoon – “real world” trails weren’t designed, they just developed over time. The easier ones eventually became lanes then roads, the harder ones are what we are left with today. There’s also change of use over time – not many farmers drive their cattle/sheep to market these days so the old drove roads fell into disuse. Wade’s military roads in Scotland, etc.

We rode it for the first time this winter, very sub zero and thought it was brilliant. The better trails in the lake’s often have some climbs i can’t ride up. Push or portgage gives more opportunities to look at your surroundings.

Have you tried Cannock Chase? Most of the climbs there are rideable.

Try it on a tandem after doing High Street…did take a bit of the shine off an otherwise lovely day out. One of these Lake District trails that is much better on a single.

Don’t remember having to shoulder the bike, but I did think it was overrated. One of my least favourite rides I’ve done in the lakes.

In the days before trail centres, supension and GPS people used to spend hours studying maps for legal routes then go and try them

Indeed!

Carry up a super steep rocky bit, ride along a boggy bit, eat sandwiches with a bloody fantastic view, carry down a super steep rocky bit, then home for tea and medals and a hot bath.

That’s always been the basis of Lake District riding hasn’t it?

recently I’ve seen complaints over bridleways with brambles, nettles & horse poo on them… I was left wondering if some people shouldn’t just stick to trail centres.

As it’s a Lakes bridleway I enjoy it for what it is, rather than what I want it to be. If it’s a flowy trail then Whinlatter would be more suitable, but as a technical natural hikeabike Lakes special it’s fine with me.

One thing for sure, shouldering up High Street & along Ullswater in one day just put me in the mood to get a couple of days at Antur Stiniog in ASAP