Cycling around Hawkshead

YHA Hawkshead is a fantastic location for road and mountain bikers, be they novice, families or experienced.

Grizedale Forest
The forest is a mecca for mountain bikers in the north west and YHA Hawkshead is located a mere three miles from its visitor centre and main car park. There are options to cycle from the hostel both on and off road and other car parks are also available.

The forest offers several easy to follow colour coded way-marked routes through the forest on wide tracks, many ideal for families. They are graded easy, moderate or difficult. For the more adventurous, there are also the single track options of the North Face Trail and the Black MTB trail.

Although in the forest, there are plenty of opportunities for wonderful views over the southern fells and Coniston and Esthwaite Waters.

The visitor centre has bike hire and a bike shop, a gift shop, children’s play area and a café serving drinks, sweet and savoury snacks and hot meals. There is a charge for parking but hostel staff can happily provide you with directions on how to get there on two wheels.

Go Lakes
This is a fantastic website full of information about road, family, mountain and trail cycling. There’s a section on route guides with five routes in the Hawkshead area with route guidance and maps:

• Route 1 – Hawkshead to Claife Heights (medium, moderate – challenge, 15 miles)
• Route 2 – Hawkshead to Cunsey (medium, moderate – challenge, 14 miles)
• Route 3 – Hawkshead to Brathay (short, moderate – challenge, 10 miles)
• Route 4 – Hawkshead to Rusland Valley (medium, moderate – challenge, 19 miles)
• Route 5 – Hawkshead to Wray Castle (medium, easy – challenge, 12.5 miles)

Off-road to Ambleside
This route starts at Wray Castle where the Go Lakes Route 5 finishes. Turning right out of the castle entrance, follow the road for 500m downhill. Turn left at the blue cycle path sign and follow the well-surfaced tracks through open farmland and the wooded grounds of the Pullwood Estate. The path then takes the rider alongside the Ambleside-Hawkshead road into the centre of Ambleside. The full route from the hostel makes for a great day out when combined with a visit to Wray Castle, lunch in Ambleside or a continuation along the east side of Windermere and back to Hawkshead via the ferry.

British Cycling
British Cycling’s website offers a wealth of routes across the Lakes. Two routes in particular have been created from YHA Hawkshead’s front door. It’s free to register on their website and then search Hawkshead from the list.

Grizedale Good Bits is a tough 34km off-road route, taking in some of the best parts of Grizedale Forest and the east shore of Coniston Water with a total climb of 817m.

Bouth and Grizedale is a steady on road route of 32km heading south from Hawkshead on quiet lanes to the beautiful Rusland Valley with great views of the Lakeland fells on the return leg.