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Directions & GPX etc
Route directions PDF (right click to download)
GPX file (right click to download)
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FIT file (right click to download)
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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I did this ride from LLN last weekend and I found it was too rough and had to turn back.
I completed this today with my brother and enjoyed this tremendously. It was a cracking ride from start to finish. The birds you can get to see as you travel over higher salter close and salter fell is extraordinary. I’ve never seen so many curlews in one place. The gravel track was a lot looser for a lot longer, than I was expecting and I wouldn’t want to do this on a day where there was wind. It’s pretty exposed on top, luckily today was as still as you could hope for. Overall a grand day out on really quite roads and tracks, definitely worth repeating.
Did this in mid July 2023, lot rougher than expected, probably due to heavy rain etc, first half of the Salter Track ok, gravel loose and deep on any uphill sections hard to get traction but ok, second half very lumpy lots of stones large, medium and small and very deep wide puddles, at times like riding through a river bed, un-rideable at times due to the stones, fun but very hard even with 32mm tyres, would be ok on a full mountain bike I would think. Very remote if you do have a mechanical or fall something to have a serious thought about. Would not repeat the ride.
Overall this was a fantastic ride, with genuinely awe-inspiring scenery. It’s amazing how remote it feels so soon after leaving Lancaster. Definitely pick a good day as it’s high enough that the weather could be very much rougher on the tops. Plan for the remoteness; this would not be a good place to have a major mechanical or a significant fall. I suspect that the top part of the Salter Fell Road has washed out somewhat since the guide was written, and there is now a good length with large loose stones where traction is difficult on the climbs, while the descents are very challenging without some mountain biking skills. I rode it on a good quality gravel bike with 43mm tires and I wouldn’t fancy it on anything less, unless you don’t mind a bit of a push.
Don’t be put off, it is a stunning ride, and one I would do again, but go prepared.
I did this again today. Thankfully the rain stopped just in time to head out across salter fell. Surprisingly four vehicles passed me on this gravel track, it’s not one I’d want to drive across. The cafe stop at Slaidburn was a welcome break but I’d forgotten how long the ascent lasted leaving Slaidburn.
Still a great ride even on this moody late summer day.
This is a real adventure – at times high up on Salter Fell you will think you’re in the Highlands of Scotland rather than Lancashire. Cyclocross (or gravel in the modern parlance) bike was ideal – perfect for 90% of the Salter Fell track; walked one short section on the descent. Yesterday (Sept. 1) I started from Galgate which is convenient if approaching by car from the south via the M6 and followed the cycle path from Conder Green along the Lune to Lancaster making for a 65 mile outing. Suffice to say the Bridge Tea Room in Wray was a VERY welcome sight – highly recommended. A great route for a nice summer day after a dry spell of weather.
I rode this route last month from Lancaster to Slaidburn before continuing, via back roads and bridleways, to the Pennine Way near Airton and joining the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Gargrave. I followed this home to Saltaire.
Starting at lunchtime in Lancaster, it made a fantastic two day ride with a bivi outside a shooting hut, just off the track, as Hornby Lane descends towards Slaidburn.
Hornby Lane is a “must do” for Northern England gravel riders. Is it England’s most continuous “piste”?
I’d like to do the rest of the route, from Slaidburn back to Lancaster….
Completed this ride a week ago. As others have said, the quality of the track across much of Salter Fell is very poor, and much worse than the guide indicates. I’m now a fairly experienced gravel rider but parts of this are very tough – some parts you will have to push the bike. There are big sections with large cobbles, washed-out sections, other parts with loose shale, deep ruts and plenty of water.
Probably now more suited to mountain bikes with very wide tyres. So be prepared – the route is spectacular and well worth it, but you might struggle with a gravel bike.