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Glorious Bike Rides
Glorious Bike Rides
Route directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
TCX file (right click to download)
FIT file (right click to download)
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Hey Jack – very excited to try my first ride from Lost Lanes North! Five of us did this one last Friday and loved it – one of our group said it was the best day’s cycling he’d ever done! Are you sure about the “easy” classification though?! With 771m of ascent over 53km, I’d definitely have said “moderate”. One thing for other riders to note – the beginning of the Keswick railway line path is now closed for extensive renovation too, and it seems like it might be closed for quite a while. We just retraced our route and carried on along the Penrith Road for a little bit before rejoining the route at 1.3km on the PDF directions, just before the punishing hill up to Castlerigg (worth it though). We also totally loved the optional detour to the lakeside St Bega church towards the end – we had a little dip in the lake in the late afternoon sun. Was perfect. Thanks!
This is a stunning route, especially the Mungrisdale and Caldbeck Common sections. Although we did this on a tandem which carries a weight penalty, I agree with Adrian on the relative climbing over a short distance with this ride so the ‘easy’ classification should not be taken lightly. It is a fantastic route but with very little flat sections and numerous gates on the Threlked to Mungrisdale section. The upshot of this is that we had the opportunity to perfect the “rear-rider-rolling-remounts” on the tandem! The anticlockwise route as in the guide is also the best way round to complete this tour. Would recommend the route indefinitely; nice tearoom at the Old Mill in Caldbeck as well!
Hi Jack,
It’s so tricky with these difficulty ratings. They are relative to other rides in the book and based on the facts in terms of distance and elevation. Perhaps this is a Moderate, especially with the climb up to Castlerigg.
Jack
Did this ride yesterday in sun, rain and hail. It is a lovely route and I look forward to doing it again when the weather is better!
The cycle path from Keswick to Threlkeld is now open so we cycled along it. It is worth using as it shows how good a decent cycle and walking path can be, although we ended up going back on ourselves to see the stone circle at Castlerigg so maybe the road route out of Keswick would be better. I suspect the cycle path could also get pretty busy with walkers, dogs and family groups at weekends during peak times.
What a fun ride. We used the Keswick to Threlkeld cycle way which I’d heartly recommend as very attractive and with interesting information boards. Particularly liked the “safety holes” within the tunnel.
Worth recommending you don’t absolutely let fly on downhill segments within the Scales to Southerfell section as the road is punctuated by 4 gates that span the route!
What a ride! One of my favourite routes in the UK! The cycle path is excellent and the lack of cars is a joy. As for the views, just stunning. The ascents were fine and the descents were fantastic. Will be doing this route again! Many thanks for a fantastic book.
I did ride just before storm Gerrit hit last week (19th Dec). It’s a ride you can break into three parts. Beautiful – Bleak – Quaint. Each section coming with its own aesthetic which makes it truly special. This is another great ride for birders. As you move out the beautiful to bleaker open grasslands, I have never seen so many kestrels flying and and hunting together. It was a delight. Sadly it was too windy and cold to stop for long. I will do this again on a day when it’s a little warmer. Another cracker.
Great route, we actually did this in reverse as we planned it then looked at the book to see it was very similar! Cycle path Keswick-Threlkeld fully open but watch out for families, dogs etc, this section is so pretty as it criss-crosses the river. Loads of gates but made for really quiet roads, even on a bank holiday weekend. Fab ‘tea gardens’ in Mongrisedale. And even in this direction there are some steep sections, so moderate seems a better grading, it’s also quite gravelly on the gated section so take care.