ullswater – top two must do rides?

I’m thinking helvellyn and something featuring ullswater side…

Any suggestions?

If you start from paterdale/hartsop, a gentle spin up to high st via the knott then back down past (or over) loadpot hill to the cockpit & finally back round the side of ullswater via martindale/sandwick.

lakeshore path ride.

Last poster speaketh sense 😀

One would be best riding that section early though huh to avoid the walker traffic when pumping back each dip

thepurist – Member
If you start from paterdale/hartsop, a gentle spin up to high st via the knott then back down past (or over) loadpot hill to the cockpit & finally back round the side of ullswater via martindale/sandwick.

+1, agree that High St via the Knott & the Cockpit is a great day out. First time I rode it was a scorcher of a summers day & my camelbak was dry by halfway, even with a stop at the pub near the lake I was so dehydrated by the end it was unreal.

Boredale Hause singletrack.

Seconds on the shoreside stuff.

Helvellyn – down Dollywagon, or down Sticks pass if starting at Glenridding?

My mates and I did the complete traverse of High St. Started at Kirkstone Inn, down to Troutbeck, up on to Thornthwaite Beacon and then picked up the route along High St as per the other guys. 80F, ran out of water – a trip to remember.

Plannig to do something similar over Hellvelyn this summer

Hellvellyn and High Street. Just make sure it’s been good and dry for a while otherwise High Street sucks (literally) when it’s wet and soggy – the Penrith Merida in 2007 used High Street and it was awful, had rained continually, as it does in the Lakes, for days. Did the complete loop from Patterdale a few years earlier (the long hot summer of 2003) and it was awesome (apart from the climb up the Knott!) – baked dry and incredibly fast, especially the long descent from the ridgeline back down to the Cockpit and Howtown, and then round the lake shore back to Patterdale and a pint or 3 in the Patterdale Hotel.

Yeah last time I did hs it was wet. Just don’t want to miss anything vital!

Dollywagon is supposed to be really hard now?

High Street +1. I also ran out of water last summer.

I used this tracklogs route in my GPS. Awesome ride IMO proper day out jobby

Route Description
High Street is one of the classic “must do” mountain bike routes in the Lake District. The route includes an enourmous ascent which is partly rideable but mostly a carry. Once on the top this route is famous for it’s sustained elevation travelling many miles along High Street itself before dropping back into the valley. The route back along Ullswater is just as good with technical rocky sections one after the other. The High Street summit is an “out and back” along the Straights of Riggindale. Having done all the hard work of the carry it’s a must to tick the summit.

Pook what mileage are we talking on Helv’ and Ullswater two routes?

Hey Pook, we met on the last pootle, I was the berk on the cyclocross.

Helvellyn is great when doing a hike a bike up past the youth hostle, some cool bits to ride on the way up too, but dollywagon is a bit hardcore, its a massive staircase now, had loads of punctures on my front wheel on the way down (I was not on the cx).

But once down from that, there is an ace downhill back to glenridding, super fast and tech in places. Take 5 inch tyres and 10 inch if travel though!!

I would be totally up for doing Helvellyn again if you are planning a northern pootle!

Up dollywagon then beefy?

Hora, about 20 on high street, about 10 on helvellyn

Dollywagon

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DSC02334[/url] by lowey.com[/url], on Flickr
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DSC02336[/url] by lowey.com[/url], on Flickr

Hmm…. what helvellyn route then from patterdale?

Up Kepple cove over Lowerman to summit, really nice down Lowerman over Raise then down Sticks pass.

Looking at lowey’s second pic- that looks ‘rideable’ if it was in sections for me- i.e. not all in one but ‘breather bits to get your concentration back. All in one though theres a high chance you’d go over the bars on that 😯

Another thing- we are used to really grippy rocks in the Peaks. If its wet in the Lakes there is little grip on most rocks compared isnt there???

rode it with 2 stops for the big water bars 3 week ago in the snow/rain an very windy, fast rebound on the steps is the key to not going over the bars plus speed is your friend on most rocky descent.

i ride the peaks alot an find the wet lakes are not much diffrent with the right tryes. ( saying this i learn’t to ride DH in wet rooty conditions)

that looks ‘rideable’ if it was in sections for me

no not enough grass for you to miss the rocks 😉

It is rideable, just really not fun, but then I did do it on a trance and now I have an enduro, so might be a bit different.

Really want to do it again though, such a good feeling when you actually ride your mountain bike, on a mountain.

It is rideable top to bottom in one go. Just not by me.

I’m not that taken by the phots to be honest, it looks too contrived…I assume it’s better ‘in the flesh’?

I’ve been aching to ride up in the lakes, but the route seem to echo the peaks don’t ya think? Not so ‘away’ but just next to it all?

I’m open to advice 😛

I’m not that taken by the phots to be honest, it looks too contrived

I was walking my bike down (ahem, rode some sections”)and stopped to take a couple of pics. Is that classed as “contrived”

I’ve rideen the peaks as well as most other places in england and Wales… yet to have a proper scottish trip… but there is NOWHERE like the lakes. it really is the dogs danglies.

Peaks on steroids

I’d prefer to go on a ride than spend a few hours walking / pretending I’m in junior kick start

Love Tubs come on up and ride with us in the lakes we’ll show the way 😀

Was this the descent where the Ranger said to just ride the grass down?

I’d prefer to go on a ride than spend a few hours walking / pretending I’m in junior kick start

So true!

Nice views though

Lowey,

I was walking my bike down (ahem, rode some sections”)and stopped to take a couple of pics. Is that classed as “contrived”

sorry mi old china, didn’t explain myslef…no the actual photo but the constructed stone path. I’ll have to get up there and try it tho, perhaps I’m getting old 😯

Having said that, the phots of DavidM and team are superb 😉

The steps are not great fun, even if you can ride them (I could ride bits but some of the drainage ditches were too big for me). The section after that is fantastic though.

High Street is very over-rated though imo – too grassy and boggy. The lakeside path round Ullswater is very good though, as is that Boredale Hause singletrack.

edit: nice pics DavidM

Oh and the Peaks better? Hilarious. 😛