Ard Craggs and Knott Rigg are also good in the other direction (carrying up from Newlands Road rather than up Rigg Beck). Once you hit the tarmac again, you can carry up onto Robinson and have the choice of descending Robinson itself, Hindscarth or Dale Head. There’s also a nice descent from Buttermere Moss down to Buttermere.

Barrow Door is best ridden flat out

Agreed 🙂

Buttermere moss down to the top of Newlands Hause…

Not ridable at the very end as you come to the pass, but it’s a fairly easy carry down.

Newlands Hause – Knott Rigg – Ard Craggs – Rigg Beck (top of). Rideable?…

It’s a carry up from the top of Newlands pass but the rest is rideable. You have to go off-piste from Ard Craggs to drop into Rigg Beck.

Are the zigzags NE off Sail (below cragg hill)anything to write home about?…

They’re ok. The previous descent from Cragg Hill towards Sail is excellent if you like steep and techie.

drop NE over High Moss into Stonycroft Gill…

I prefer Stoneycroft to Rigg Beck – fast, long with techie sections.

Drops off Barrow (or Barrow Door) NE to Braithwaite…

All pretty dull – Barrow is mostly grass and very popular with walkers.

Where to eat in Lisbon – our top ten recommendations

Hotel Porto Mare is closest to Freeride’s HQ – https://www.portobay.com/en/hotels/madeira-hotels/porto-mare/

Madeira Hotels and Accommodation

The quickest way up Dalehead is to carry from the road summit at Honister (following the wall). The descent to the tarn is mostly a man-made fix the fells special; then rocky and technical through the quarry. If the weather turns, you can cut out Dalehead’s summit by cutting right on the ascent (although it’s tricky to pick up the small track when the cloud falls). Warnscale is easier to navigate but a difficult descent in the rain.

Hindscarth (and Robinson next door) both have a few unavoidable carries on the descents. Hause gate descent isn’t busy after 3pm, and coming over High spy and Maiden Moor is easy (although the carry up Rigg Head Quarries is steep).

Bleaberry is a nice add-on, and High Tove down to Ashness is fun (but tricky to navigate in parts).

It’s a fairly quick, steep carry up to Dock Tarn but it’ll be sopping on the top at this time of year; trudging through the heather. I’d be more inclined to carry on the regular bash route – after the terraces, come around the back of Catbells and up the bw above Little Town to Hause Gate. The descent down to Manastey is techie fun; one of the best we have around here.

Some of ours vids to help get you in the mood. All nine islands are amazing:

There are off-road routes from Whinlatter to Thornthwaite, Braithwaite, Lorton, Buttermere, Beck Wythop and Newlands, but no off-road route to Keswick.

Contact my friend Daniel.

See you then 🙂

Yep, we meet outside Fultons on Bell Close car park. Only a small group these days; 6:30 start and usually back into town about 9:30.

There’s way too much to see and do in two days ! Such a great city; here’s a few ideas:

Central Lisbon is spread across seven hills and the city is dotted with miradouros/viewpoints. In the Principe district, there’s the miradouro de Sao Pedro de Alcantara: looking east to the Castelo de Sao Jorge and south to the vast River Tagus. From there, you could head into Bairro Alto and/or Chiado. Bairro Alto is the best district for ‘locals’ restaurants, small, late-night bars and music – whilst Chiado has been the trendy neighbourhood since the late 1980s – old bookshops, coffee houses and big department stores.

Dropping down to the river, there’s the downtown Baixa Pompalina district and the Praca do Comercio – some nice restaurants down there but a bit more touristy than in Bairro Alto. Heading east there’s Alfama – Lisbon’s oldest district which has a nice medieval layout (which is easier to appreciate from above if you visit the Miradouro Portas do Sol first). Alfama also has the highest concentration of Fado restaurants.

If you’re into history, you could take a tram out to Belem – the Number 15 (which is one of the modern trams rather than the small wooden variety). In theory you can buy a ticket from the on-board machine whilst in transit. In practise, it’s a pain in the bum when the tram’s quite crowded. It’s easier to purchase an all-day unlimited ticket for just under 7€ from the Metro Station on Rossio Square. Once you have your ticket, cross over to the Praca da Figueira (the square just next door to Rossio) – the Number 15 tram begins its journey from Figueira so it’s normally quite easy to get a seat. In Belem, there’s the 16th Century Jerónimos Monastery (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Museu de Marinha (Lisbon’s naval museum), the Museu do Combatente (the military museum) the Torre de Belém and the Padrao dos Descobrimentos (or ‘Monument to the Discoveries’).

Food-wise, the Time Out Food Court is a good option http://www.timeoutmarket.com/lisboa/en – it’s in the old Mercado da Ribeira just across from Cais do Sodres train station. If you want somewhere more expensive, try Bairro do Avillez.

EDIT: sorry, just noted you’re staying downtown (Baixa). Most bars/restaurants close down around midnight (or earlier this time of year) – Bairro Alto is the place to go if you want late-night food/drinks.

Same as Whiteless pretty much, but without the mid- plateau, so you reach the grass line much quicker. All ridable – drops you out at the bottom of Rannerdale, which is a tourist hotspot best avoided during the day.

C’è un pollo morto sul tuo pene Daniel.

Tira su i pantaloni Max, la polizia è qui.

Gatesgarth up to the summit of Scarth Gap has some carrying but nothing too difficult. Most other good stuff in the area involves hikes and techie descents.

Lad Hows is fine Lowey – it’s very similar to Whiteless; a bit easier.

I bike in the Azores for work once a year – we use worldwideinsure.com.

Thanks for all the replies!

It would be a family holiday, so no bikes involved.

And parkedtiger – your stuff looks flippin great, but I feel it may be out of my price range (I’m looking at Jet2 holidays!). 2k ish for 3 of us in Aug Bank holiday week (2 adults, 1x 15yr old).

No worries – if you do end up booking a trip and just want a chat about things to do, places to see etc, feel free to get in touch; (my email’s in my profile or call the office number on the website).

If you want some beach time, split your stay between Madeira and Porto Santo. I organise tailor-made holidays to Madeira and the Azores – just call if you’d like a chat, the number’s on the website: http://www.madeirachoice.com

Split your stay…spend half in Funchal (where Freeride will pick-up) then half on the north coast. Aqua Natura[/url] is great for chilling out and swimming, or Quinta do Furao[/url] which is close to some great levada walks.

Yep – cheeky and loose but it’s a great descent. Whenever you have a choice, keep right for the ridable line. There’s one very short section that’s a carry.

There’s a beach at Calheta (about 15 mins west by car from your hotel) but it’s man-made and not great. If you have a car, it’s better to head up to Porto Moniz for a swim in the rock pools, or to Ponta do Sol which a nice village with a rocky beach just west of you. There’s also a huge lido not far from Freeride’s office (near the Porto Mare Hotel).

The Zona Velha at the east end of the Avenida do Mar in Funchal has some nice restaurants with Portuguese menus – the hotel zone is more aimed towards sunbathing oldies and the restaurant menus tend to be a bit more european. Some of the best fresh fish is in the village of Paul do Mar (if you have a car).

If you ride guided with Freeride, Marcos is great at putting together like-minded riders.

The levadas can be busy all year around – I’d avoid Rabacal and the 25 Fontes as it tends to be very busy – the north coast trails (like Caldeira Verde and Levada do Rei) are often quieter.

Yep, looks like the top of Stake Pass.

Pretty steep and loose with a few steps thrown in.

Scree at the top, into a fix the fells graded path. It’s a good loop from town TomB – if you begin with a climb up behind Castle Crag, up to Honister and across from there. You can end with the descent down to Stockley Bridge then tarmac it home. It’s doable in an evening in the Summer.

Crag Hill 🙂

TomB gave good advice on riding at 900m, 90 minutes ‘from the car’ in winter conditions. That’s a very different scenario. I’ve been living and riding in the North Lakes for 20 years, and even the most familiar routes can radically change in the winter. The extreme conditions can be part of the appeal, but if you’re not used to being on the tops in a white out, with 60mph winds it’s easy to get into trouble.

Yep, apologies I see where you mean now justinbieber. The ‘old’ Hobcarton descent from after bog onwards is now gone; I see where you guys went instead. I like the shot down High Moss (where the picture has been flipped) – it’s a great little section and the vid does it justice.

Excuse the cut and paste from the other thread: the first half is the Hobcarton descent off Grisedale Pike – the second section through the trees is no longer there, due to tree felling. The second half is the descent to Stoneycroft but they’ve detoured left to come down Barrow. That’s all cheeky; Barrow is really popular with walkers so best ridden after 4pm.

The first half is the Hobcarton descent off Grisedale Pike – the second section through the trees is no longer there, due to tree felling. The second half is the descent to Stoneycroft but they’ve detoured left to come down Barrow. That’s all cheeky; Barrow is really popular with walkers so best ridden after 4pm.

but i recall someone saying a descent from scafel was the longest gateless in the Lakes

It’s the other Scafell out towards Hesket Newmarket.

Call Needle Sports for a chat; run and staffed by local climbers: http://www.needlesports.com

Forgot this (not my video, thanks for the inspiration, had been planning this for a while) part of a loop including Sail, with the bizzare manmade switchbacks.
The Causey pike Ridgeline.

That’s just the short descent prior to the actual summit of Causey. If you’ve not ridden off the summit itself before, I’d recommend a dry, clear day and some extra care. There’s a tricky carry down off the top (although there are a couple of ‘not obvious’ detours around that obstacle), followed by a couple of steep, rocky chutes that are difficult if it’s wet. It’s also better to take the left fork down to Stoneycroft rather than Rowling End.

The Swinside beer garden has one of the best views – Causey Pike and down Newlands.

It’s mostly ridable; there’s a bit of a carry across a beck where the bank no longer meets a footbridge (winter storm damage), and there’s a push/carry for a couple of minutes near the end; up to the Blencathra Centre.

Rosthwaite up honister. Then wharnscale bottom and then up through Rigg beck

There a nice descent from the back of Fleetwith Pike down to the farm a Warnscale (it’s a bridleway on the map). Then follow the road into Buttermere, past the turn off for Newlands. Just after the village there’s footpath on the right; takes you up Sail Beck which becomes Rigg Beck. Rigg Beck suffered a fair amount damage in the storms so it’s a bit trashed at the moment.

Follow Brundholme Road, from just behind the swimming pool all the way to Threlkeld. Nice and quiet and no massive climbs. (There’s also a cut through up to the Blencathra Centre but it’s tricky to describe – you’re probably better sticking to the road).

Sal’s flat as a pancake and is geared more towards sunbathing and water sports. You need to fly to some of the other islands to find any gradients. Santo Antao and Sao Nicolau have spectacular mountain ranges, and Fogo has the volcano. I’ve walked on Santo Antao and Fogo and wished I had a bike with me the whole time 🙂

New album out Sunday: