Ride #3: Staveley
Distance 38.3km (23.8 miles) Climbing 1,498m (4,914ft) Time 6hrs to 8hrs
Route summary A seriously long, tough day in the saddle, which shouldn’t be underestimated. You’ll not only tackle the infamous Garburn Pass, but climb the Gatescarth Pass before a hike-a-bike up Nan Bield. That’s a helluva lot of ascending, but the long and technical descents are worth it! If in doubt, just do one loop.
Start/ inish Staveley Mill Yard car park, SD 471/983 postcode LA8 9LR
1 Go back to the main street and turn right. Keep ahead on Windermere Road, out of town, and just before the A591 follow the blue cycle route signs to the right. At Ings, pass a side road, then go right on the next road (after the Cosy Logs sign). Keep straight ahead on this road, climb for nearly 3km to a wide fork and a dead-end sign, and turn right.
2 This track heads o -road and uphill, past Dubbs Reservoir. Keep right on the Garburn track, for a tough, rocky ascent, which becomes a very technical descent to Kentmere. Pass a church, cross the bridge then go left. Climb and fork left on High Lane, through the open gate. Turn right on the byway (Stile End).
3 Brave the steep climb, then descend and follow the trail left, down to a farm. Head right at this junction, over a bridge on tarmac to another junction and parking area. Go left on the rough track. Follow this north and uphill. After passing through a gate, keep left, staying on the good track, uphill (Gatescarth Pass) and then along a loose decent to the head of Haweswater Reservoir.
4 Keep left on the bridleway, a grassy, rutted, rocky track with a few hike-a-bike sections as you progress. Follow the stream up to a small lake and go around the right-hand side on some short-but-sweet singletrack, which becomes a long, hard hike-a-bike scramble up Nan Bield Pass.
5 Enjoy the great views from the top, especially the one of the long sliver of singletrack snaking o into the distance. Now you get to ride it, starting with a steep zig-zag descent with loose rocks, which becomes shallower and faster. It’s easy to navigate the valley, then keep left at the fork by the farmhouse.
6 Join the tarmac, ride past a farm and keep right and then ahead, ignoring the steep minor road on the right that you climbed up earlier. Ascend past the houses and follow the road right, then cruise downhill to join another road, left, at the bottom.
7 Follow this all the way back to Staveley, keeping ahead/left at the memorial, back to the main road, where you go left, past the chippy and back to the start.