On the return journey (and if you don’t mind a little carrying), you could head from the coach road up onto Clough Head (there’s a path via White Pike), Great Dodd, Watson’s and pick up the Sticks east descent.

A short carry onto Green Gable followed and just before the top, I cut north east onto Base Brown. The descent off the top was more technical than I had expected but there were some lovely grass path bypasses on the really awkward stuff. It would be great to follow the track down from the saddle into Gillercomb. Has anyone ridden this?

Yep. It’s a bit of an awkward rock garden but worth doing once. There’s some carrying down Sour Milk Gill, or if you track north a bit (instead of crossing the wall above the waterfall), there used to be a route through the slag heaps around Borrowdale Yews. There’s also a path off the front of Base Brown down to Seathwaite farm but it’s not much to write home about. Windy Gap and down Aaron Slack is arguably the most fun descent in that area.

Reminds me of Red Pike to Gamlin End

Worse – you’d love it 🙂

Glaramara – Has anyone ridden it from south to north down Thornythwaite Fell?

Great Gable – would I be better descending off it down Aaron Slack or the south east ridge to the Stretcher Box? Ridden the former and it was ok but not great. Bit of a rock scree slide.

Also, has anyone ridden the trail down the eastern side of Glaramara to Blackmoss Pot? Classic or crap? Would I be better doing the Rossett Pike and Stake Pass descent.

Great End to Galarama’s summit is very similar to Great End up to the summit of Scafell. We tend to carry up Galarama from Borrowdale, turn around and descend. The descent to Blackmoss isn’t great, but neither is Stake Pass on that side.

Great Gable: summit to the stretcher box/Styhead Tarn is okay, but Windy Gap and down Aaron’s Slack is much more fun. Also Gillercombe and down Sour Milk Gill is okay, but there’s a bit of carrying down near the end. Off Base Brown in the same direction is rubbish.

If you live here, Skiddaw and down Ullock or Carlside is a regular ride.

Skiddaw/Ullock is a local ride for me – I’ve been riding it for twenty-plus years and it’s always changing. The biggest impacts I’ve witnessed come from the weather and walkers.

There’s loads to see and do away from biking:

Madeira Activities

Guided tours of Madeira – Santana and the east

Guided tours of Madeira – Porto Moniz and the north

Routes beginning and ending in Grange: Honister/Dale Head/Rigg Head Quarry, Honister/Dale Head/Hindscarth/Hause Gate, Hause Gate/Maiden Moor/Knitting Hause, Stockley Bridge/Styhead/Grains Gill, Honister/Green Gable/Windy Gap/Styhead/Stockley Bridge.

The signs appeared around five months or so ago, one on each of the four bar gates at either end of Walla. Someone keeps removing them, someone else keeps putting up new ones. Makes zero difference to anyone local who rides it regularly; we know it’s a footpath.

On a practical note: keep a close eye on the COVID requirements. They’ll probably change by the end of March, but you’re currently required to show your NHS COVID pass or a negative rapid antigen test taken within the last seven days (and sometimes both) to enter public indoor spaces, including supermarkets, restaurants, cafebars etc. Mask wearing is also required in busy outdoor spaces.

Most of the lake district suggestions are illegal, lets hope no one official looks at this thread….

As a local, I treat every ride as a protest for equal rights.

@parkedtiger – how about Sail to Crag Hill then on to Causey Pike 🙂

That’s Sunday afternoon’s ride confirmed 🥳

I wonder if there is a nice descent through Dodd? So off top, down carlside, into Dodd.

Anyone know?

Whitestones to Long Doors is a nice techie section (if you also know the Whitestones bypass). There’s not much left in Dodd following the recent round of felling.

The best north Lakes ridge, other than the already mentioned Grisdale Pike? Probably the top section of Causey Pike or Crag Hill to Sale.

Level is easy red, with some optional jumping.

Yep.

Buttermere-side is Sale Beck, Braithwaite-side is Rigg Beck. Stoneycroft up, Rigg Beck down is a popular quick blast for us locals, although the descent is pretty much always wet.

Me too. I’ve always liked it – it’s unnecessarily slow and an hour too long.

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Also toying with doing Sourmilk Gill/Red Pike/High Stile/High Crag/Scarth Gap, which I know is supposed to be a bit of a pig. Is there a preferential direction to do it? In my head its the order as written above.

That’s the best order – it’s not the worst carry ever up Red Pike, but the steppy section is tough as a descent. Scarth Gap can be busy; it’s quieter late in the day.

They’re intended to run parcans via a DMX power bar.

That’s key – the desk controls dimmers, the dimmers power your lanterns, so you’d be looking at more than just a small outlay for the desk.

The path from Dale Head down to the tarn was ‘repaired’ about a year ago – super-tricky to get down the whole thing now without bailing onto the grass. As Lowey says it’s the better option if you don’t like to carry – the path through Rigg Head is a steep slog.

Hause Gate down to Manesty is the best end descent (rather than down to Little Town).

‘parkedtiger’ please 🙂

I moved from Google Music to Ibroadcast; very similar to Google, particularly if you want to upload your own stuff.

I’ve had five years of excellent support from YT. Can’t fault them really, and the capra’s been great. Bird’s frames don’t look as pretty but I’m anticipating it’ll be easier to do a bearing change.

Thank you both. I have five year old capra but I’m leaning towards the Bird.

I’m just hanging on and not really enjoying the descents

Isn’t that also your normal riding style when you’re not tired 😁

Was debating a run up to High Tove from Watendlath, just for the view, would turn round and come back down though. Any good anyone?

I wouldn’t bother, it’s not great descent. A better option if you’re looking for detours would be Walla/Bleaberry/High Seat/Ashness Fell to the Bridge. Bleaberry to High Seat can be very boggy though.

Rigg Head quarry is messier than it used to be but still has some good sections (particularly the scary steps). As Justin Beiber says: keep right of the beck through the mines (but not so right that you end up climbing to the scout hut). You can take either path after the stile but right is best.

If you’re comfortable navigating on the fells if the weather turns, good combinations of techie and duration in the North Lakes are:

– Seathwaite, Langstrath, Stake Pass, Angle Tarn, Esk Hause, Styhead, Stockley Bridge. (Shorter initial carry if you swap Langstrath for Grains Gill).
– Honister, Brandreth, Green Gable, Great Gable (or Windy Gap and down Aaron Slack), Styhead, Stockley Bridge.
– Honister, Dale Head, Dale Head Tarn, Rigg Head Quarry, Castle Crag, Grange.
– Stoneycroft, Sale, Crag Hill, Coledale Hause, Force Crag Mine (good in reverse too). Or a full horseshoe, ending with Grizedale Pike, or reversed to end with either Stoneycroft or Causey Pike.
– Helvellyn, Birkside, Wythop.

There are plenty of short techie descents dotted around (like Fleetwith to Warnscale mentioned above) but they’re trickier to join up. As also mentioned: most of this stuff is best tackled later in the day to avoid the crowds (it’s extra busy on the fells at the moment). With the days getting shorter, some routes are difficult to navigate in the dark if they’re new to you.

There are plenty of technical descents if you don’t mind carrying for an hour or so. Where will you be staying?

We’ve lost a lot of mechs on Hindscarth over the years, mainly in the middle section – boulders and bedrock hidden by the heather. As Tomb mentions, there are four/five short carry-downs towards the end of the ridge. If you’ve got the legs, you can carry up from Little Town to end the day with the descent from Hause Gate to Manesty.

A few other alternatives:

-Honister/Moses Trod/Green Gable, and you can either summit Great Gable or head down from Windy Gap to Styhead Tarn.
-From Styhead, you could head down to Stockley bridge and back up Honister, end the day with the descent down to Warnscale.
-Or Honister/Dale Head and descend Hindscarth, carry up Robinson and descend down into Buttermere.
-Or Honister/Dalehead, and descend via the tarn and Rigg Head Quarry. End with Honister/Warnscale again.

Expect lots of walkers. It’s gotten stupidly busy on the fells over the past couple of weeks, only getting quiet after about 5pm.

With my Capra AL from that same year, the original headset had bearings which were machine-pressed into the race, so couldn’t be removed. I replaced them with Hope which can be.

Day 1 – will probably up grizledale pike and over to lad hows down to buttermere then back up gasgale craggs then head back to keswick along causey pike (or maybe back down grizledale pike).

Force Cragg, Lad Hows, Rannerdale Knotts, Sail Beck, Causey would be nicer.

Hoping to walk Grizedale Pike on Friday, weather/snow depending

We carried up the front of Grisdale Pike last night – ice under fresh snow near the summit. Tread carefully.

Sorry, just reread your original post! Drop me an email and I can send you some google map links for some car-based days out.

@keppoch I like the look of Estalagem Da Ponta Do Sol. Minimum 5 night stay, so have booked that for the last 5 nights but will keep looking and cancel if needed.

Morning Peekay – we know the guys at the Estalagem well, it’s a great hotel. I wouldn’t shy away from the north coast as the scenery is more impressive than the south, and it’s less populated. (Mods-I hope this doesn’t break the rules) I work for a small company in the Lakes that specialises in tailor made holidays to the Azores and Madeira. There’s lots of info on our website that might help, or drop me an email if you want some contacts for things like whale watching or canyoning (paul@archipelagochoice.com).

Is it natural bedrocky tech or fix the fells steppy hell?

It has sections of both. It’s okay as a descent but I find it’s better as a quick route up to Great End.

You might struggle with a half day – if you’re staying in Funchal, the best trails are bit of a drive away. Freeride usually only offer full-day tours.

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Yep, from the back of the house up to the final gate before the summit.

There are maybe eight or nine routes up – up from Dash Falls (by Dead Craggs) would tie in with the tour of Skiddaw.