Lakes Extravaganza
Borrowdale Circuit, Cumbria
By Kevin Hodgson

Physical	Technical	Fun	Scenery	Singletrack	Rideability
***	**	****	*****	****	****

This route is a superb little half-day ride. Perhaps a Friday evening ride after a drive up to the lakes, or an afternoon jaunt to work off a Jennings ale hangover. Contained within that 2˝ hours of riding is a fine selection of surfaces, from super smooth singletrack, to a hideous rocky slab descent.

This route is very special, in that it contains some of the superb 'real mountain' singletrack the Lakes is famous for, without the 1 hour carry that is usually required to reach it! The singletrack along the side of Catbells is now less attractive to MTbers since it was resurfaced, but the Seatoller to Grange section, behind Johnny's Wood and Castle Crag is magnificent, and the highlight of the circuit. Another unique feature of this ride is that you get to follow FP arrows for sections of it - legally. The National Trust has recently opened 4 stretches of Footpath for bikers in this valley, and 3 of these are used on this circuit. These FPs are not-resurfaced, nor extensively signposted - they are just existing FPs where you don't have to worry about being nagged by walkers or rangers - which is perfect. Perhaps the NT in this area is beginning to realise that MTBs are now a permanent part of the scenery? However, above all this, the best features of this ride are the views. From beginning to end your senses are assaulted by some of the Lakes finest panoramas. Beware however, that this also leads to sections of the route, most notably on the Catbells terrace, around Grange, and the Bowder Stone being a tad overpopulated by Mr. Tourist. Troutdale and the BW above Johnny's wood are the precise opposite, and despite being so close to visitor honey-pots, remain unnervingly quiet.

There is a fine selection of eating houses en route, with two cafes at Grange and a village shop and two pubs at Rosthwaite. My chosen venue was the Yew Tree Inn at Seatoller, which serves as a café, outdoor shop and ice cream stall.

You are never far from civilisation on this route, so no special precautions are necessary. Except perhaps to say that this route is absolutely no place for non-helmet wearers, the BW behind castle crag drops precariously down on a surface of huge stone slabs. Not only is it one of the easiest places to get launched over the bars, you'll have nightmares thinking about the painful landing. Also if your map reading isn't up to scratch then bypass Troutdale, as it forms a mountain bikers' Bermuda triangle. The navigation is so tricky that this mere 1.8km can easily turn into half an hour of head scratching (but I like Troutdale lots, so there!)

Have Fun, and don't annoy the Ramblers.

Route Directions

1. 0.0km car parking area (free!) where road crosses river, quarter mile before Little Town. Ride up steep road hill toward little town.
2. 0.35km R through gate onto BW marked 'Hause Gate'. Negotiate hairpin.
3. 0.8km ignore BW climbing to Hause Gate. Stay L by wall, head towards old mines. Then follow track alongside wall, mainly downhill.
4. 3.2km road junction at Catbells hairpin. Go R (uphill).
5. 3.4km BW leaves road on R and climbs onto Catbells flank.
6. 5.0km BW descends to road at quarry car park, but climbs away again immediately. When you reach the forest, stay on track next to wall.
7. 6.0km 'Whoooah'. Tiny gate in wall on L leads into forest.
8. 6.4km reach road, turn R.
9. 8.0km Grange. 2 cafés. Go over bridge and turn L.
10. 8.5km BW on R into Troutdale. Once in Troutdale, never cross the main stream, always take the RH fork. Correct route climbs over rock steps then passes through 2 gates.
11. 10.3km Reach road (hopefully), turn L.
12. 10.7km BW on L to Bowder stone.
13. 11.3km Reach road, turn L.
14. 15.3km after passing through Rosthwaite (shop), you'll reach Seatoller and Yew Tree Inn. Ride first few yards up Honister pass.
15. 15.4km Gate on R. FP with permissive cycle access.
16. 16.0km Follow FP marker straight up grass slope, then R after gate onto superb singletrack.
17. 17.7km BW joins larger track from L. Turn R past Castle Crag and rocky descent.
18. 19.0km Reach River Derwent. L on vehicle track to Grange.
19. 20.0km Grange again. Turn L.
20. 21.6km Gate on L, at bottom of wood. FP with permissive cycle track.
21. Retrace outward route all around base of Catbells.
22. 28.0km End

Total Distance - 28.0km (17.4 miles)
Duration - 2.5 hours
Difficulty - Moderate
Map - Harvey Maps 1:25 000 Walker's map "central lakes"

Variations on a Theme

Possible modifications to this route:

• For the more navigationally challenged among us, by all means miss out the circuit through Troutdale.
• If you really hate tarmac, a section of BW follows the river bank from Rosthwaite to Stonethwaite, but adds about as much road as it cuts out.
• If you want to make this route into a full day ride, then you can replace the Troutdale and Bowder Stone jaunts with a circuit via Watendlath. The outward journey is via a very narrow tourist-laden tarmac climb, but you return to Borrowdale along the excellent BW to Rosthwaite, with a loose, rocky 300-metre descent.
• By riding up Honister Pass road, instead of the permissive cycle way, you get to ride quite a bit more singletrack en route to Castle Crag. But it hurts!
• If you fancy having a go at Hawse Gate, then it's best on the return leg (carry out of Borrowdale and descend into Newlands). Otherwise it can become a slither and skid experience, which won't do much for rambler - biker relations.

Getting there

From the M6, and the A66, drive slightly past Keswick, take the next L after Keswick, to Portinscale. Take back roads through Stair, and Little Town to the car park near Newlands church. For easier navigation, turn off the A66 at Braithwaite and take the Newlands Pass road. Turn L for Little Town immediately by the 'Purple House'.

Staying there

There are many hotels, hostels, B&B and self-catering accommodation in the area. Take pot luck, and you shouldn't go too far wrong except in high season, or phone Keswick tourist information on (017687 72645)

Food & Drink

Fine food is served in a myriad of locations in Keswick. Or nearer to hand, the Stair Inn serves superb pub grub (about 2km from Little Town), or there are cafés in Grange and Shepherd's Crag. Well-heeled individuals could try the Borrowdale or Lodore Swiss Hotels (very posh!) Wherever you go, try some magnificent Cumberland sausage and compare it to the rubbish your local supermarket sells!!

Bike Shops

Keswick mountain bikes (017687 75202) have just about every spare you could wish for, plus bike hire, an extensive workshop, and a café. Say hello to Andy, Amos and Des while you're there.

Last Updated 13-12-2000
You can contact me at James@OffroadAdventures-Online.co.uk
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