Ride #2: Beyond Skelwith
Distance 24.5km (15.2 miles) Climbing 895m (2,936ft) Time 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs
Route summary A great ride, suitable for intermediate riders wanting to push themselves, or experienced mountain bikers looking for a physical but not too technical route that’s ridable in poor weather. There are refreshment and bail-out options along the way, and wonderful views of the mountain peaks around you
Start/ inish Rothay Park, Ambleside (postcode LA22 9LJ, grid ref NY 371/045) or Under Loughrigg Road (roadside parking)
1 From Ambleside, ride out on Vicarage Road by the cinema, past the church and through Rothay Park, over the bridge to Under Loughrigg Road. This is also a good starting point, with lots of roadside parking. Head north but quickly turn left on a tarmac bridleway, steeply uphill.
2 Past Brow Head Farm, climb ahead on a rocky bridleway, then descend to a fork at Ivy Crag and bear right on some singletrack, downhill. At a track, keep ahead to a road and go right then left. Head right on tarmac to a crossroads with the A593. Cross it and Skelworth Bridge, then bear o left on a minor road. Go left by a raised house then right at the fork.
3 Keep left at the next junction, then right on Bog Lane for 0.7km until it turns left. Continue ahead here, on a bridleway. Look out for a permissive bridleway bearing o right and join it, climbing steeply. Bear right at the junction and right again at the next one, on a wide, rocky bridleway. Head through a gate, into the open.
4 The trail passes through a wall and drops down the hillside, for a good, long descent on varying terrain, all the way to a gate by the road, opposite a small bus shelter. Turn left on the tarmac, which becomes a descent then a climb. At the top, head right on a minor road (usually with some parked cars).
5 Very soon after, turn right again on a bridleway back down the hill, to a gravel track at the bottom. Go left on this, uphill to a house (High Park Tea Garden). Head left here, ascending and crossing the cattle grid, then turn right on the road. Fork right by a house and keep ahead, bearing right and going straight at the track crossing, over a bridge, to Little Langdale.
6 Turn left on the road, then quickly right on a cycle route, unsuitable for cars, which becomes a track past Dale End farm, and heads downhill. After passing through a gate, go left on a bridleway, uphill, then into a technical descent. Continue over a wide track (right then left) and pass through a quarry, following the signposts and bearing left to cross a bridge to the road.
7 Turn left on the road, past a pub (left) and Brambles cafe (right), then go right on a minor road by the bus stop and right again. Follow this road, keeping left and uphill, past a youth hostel, then left at a T-junction and quickly right on a bridleway through a gate on the Loughrigg Terrace bridleway (popular with walkers!).
8 At the end, by the trees, turn right at the T-junction, or sharply right onto a small permissive bridleway, but beware of a big rocky drop-o on this. The trail descends by the caves and continues through the woods. Go right at a T-junction by a stone bridge, back to the start.