Читать книгу Cycling in the Lake District - Richard Barrett - Страница 12
ОглавлениеINTRODUCTION
A heavily berried holly tree on the climb around Lingmoor Fell with the Langdale Pikes in the distance (Stage 5A and Route 2)
This compact and easily accessible corner of the North West is packed with the best of everything that England has to offer including cycling. It has all of the land over 914m (3000 feet) with England’s highest summits, the largest and deepest lakes and rare wildlife such as red squirrels, nesting osprey and a solitary golden eagle that desperately needs a mate. The scenery was wild and dramatic before man arrived, first settling in the fertile valleys to grow crops and rear cattle, and then venturing into the fells to mine copper, lead and other ores. By medieval times the region was criss-crossed by packhorse tracks that linked the main commercial centres of Ambleside and Keswick with the outside world. Over time these tracks became the roads we know today. Some have very steep gradients and cross the highest passes in England providing cyclists with challenging rides amid stunning scenery.
Over the last 150 years, the growth of tourism and outdoor activities has transformed the region, particularly the eastern and central parts that are more easily accessible to those visiting for a weekend or just a day. Today, Ambleside, which a century ago was still a small market town, has accommodation and eateries to suit all pockets, outdoor shops in every direction and an increasing number of specialist retailers selling excellent locally produced foods. Then to mitigate the risk of tourists staying away during the colder, greyer months, there is an increasingly busy calendar of festivals in the region covering everything from beer and food to film and jazz. This means that the main towns of the district are now tourist destinations in their own right almost regardless of the fells and lakes that surround them, adding another layer of interest and variety to this beautiful part of the country.
There are numerous opportunities for easy, family-orientated cycling on traffic-free trails and quiet lanes around the shores of many lakes. But that’s not what this guide is about. This book caters for those who want to tour through the mountains and valleys of England’s largest national park, perhaps crossing one or more of the six famous passes which are all over 305m above sea level with gradients that occasionally touch 1 in 3 (33 per cent). While none of these climbs is high by European standards, the narrowness of the valleys in the Lake District means that roads have to take a direct route to the top rather than meandering their way up, resulting in sections with gradients that would be classified as hors catégorie in the Tour de France. Thankfully, they are just a fraction of the length of the classic climbs found in the Alps and the Pyrenees, but they are challenging to ride so need a good level of fitness.
Lake District National Park
Until the region was popularised in William Wordsworth’s (1770–1850) 1820 edition of A guide through the District of the Lakes, it would have been a relatively wild and inaccessible area seen as uncivilised and dangerous for travellers. Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth and educated at Hawkshead. In 1799 he settled in Grasmere living at Dove Cottage until his growing family forced him to move to Allan Bank in 1808, then the Old Rectory in 1810 and finally Rydal Mount in 1813. He lived there for the remainder of his life surrounded by a group of similarly Romantic writers and poets now known as the Lake Poets. Wordsworth described the district as ‘a sort of national property, in which every man has a right and an interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy’. But his enthusiasm for others to enjoy the landscape did not stop him protesting against the railway being extended to Windermere in 1847, perhaps with good reason as what had been a peaceful lakeside hamlet originally called Birthwaite became instantly accessible to the wealthy professionals and businessmen of the Northern cities and mill towns who quickly transformed the landscape by building lavish villas as weekend retreats. Hotels and boarding houses rapidly followed to accommodate the 120,000 tourists who visited the now fashionable resort every year during the second half of the 19th century. As tourism grew, the wealthy ventured further afield, building or acquiring grand country retreats, leaving the towns to holiday makers and day trippers.
Daffodils at the gates of Dalemain House, near to where William Wordsworth saw the host of blooms that inspired his famous poem
By the early 20th century, mandatory holidays for workers and a growing appreciation of the outdoors led to demands for greater access to the countryside. This created conflict between landowners and public interest groups such as the Ramblers’ Association, the Youth Hostels Association and the Council for the Preservation of Rural England who pressed the government for greater access. After World War II, the movement towards creating national parks gained momentum resulting in the establishment of the Peak District National Park and Lake District National Park in 1951. Today there are 15 national parks in the UK with the Lake District being the largest, covering an area of 2292sq km (885sq miles) with plans afoot to increase it further.
Despite being called the Lake District, there is only one lake – Bassenthwaite Lake – everything else being ‘waters’, ‘meres’ or, in the case of the smaller expanses of water, ‘tarns’. Some are not even natural. Thirlmere and Haweswater were created by damming natural valleys in the 1890s and 1930s to supply water for the towns and cities of Lancashire.
Similarly the picturesque Tarn Hows may look as though it has been there forever, but it too is man-made. It was created in the mid-19th century for James Garth Marshall, MP and owner of nearby Monk Coniston Hall, as part of a series of landscaping projects he commissioned once he gained full possession of all the surrounding land after an enclosure act of 1862. In 1930 the Marshall family sold much of their land to Beatrix Heelis of Sawrey, – better known by her maiden name, the writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter – who then sold the half of this land containing the tarn to the National Trust and bequeathed the other half to them along with other land and properties in her will following her death in 1943.
Looking back it is fortuitous that the National Trust became such an important landowner and the Lake District National Park was established just at the right time. As the declining mining and quarrying were at risk of being replaced by other detrimental industries and as mass tourism was about to boom, these bodies came into being and were able to protect the landscape from unrestricted planning; some would say somewhat over-zealously. But the attraction of the Lake District is its beauty and its easy accessibility and if it was not for its considered conservation by these two bodies it is doubtful whether so many of us would find it such a magnet.
FRANK PATTERSON – THE WAINWRIGHT OF THE ROADS
Many walkers hold the name of Alfred Wainwright (1907–1991) close to their hearts in that they will have used his Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells to find their way to summits. However, few cyclists will have heard of the illustrator Frank Patterson (1871–1952), who provided over 26,000 drawings for Cycling magazine and then the Cyclists’ Touring Club Gazette over a period of 59 years.
As a young man Patterson was an enthusiastic cyclist; this was curtailed by a leg injury when he was 38, and he then took up long distance walking. For the last 54 years of his life, he and his wife lived in a rented Elizabethan farmhouse near Billinghurst in Kent where he spent most of his time shooting on the land that he sub-let rather than farm. Leading a simple and contented life at home, he had little desire to travel and produced many of his later drawings from photographs and postcards sent by friends, dropping in a bike or some cyclists to satisfy his publisher. While his style is not to everyone’s taste, his illustrations have a lasting appeal, both for their simple celebration of the British countryside – and for those traffic-free roads.
Rydal Water by Frank Patterson, reproduced with the kind permission of the CTC, the national cycling charity, www.ctc.org.uk
Geology and landscape
The height of the Lake District fells has not much to do with the hardness of their rock, which is little different to that of the surrounding countryside, but to a raft of hard granite below, which occasionally breaks through at Eskdale, Ennerdale, Skiddaw and Shap. The top tier above this granite layer is made up of three broad bands of rock running from the southwest to the northeast.
In the north is the Skiddaw Group made up of the oldest rocks in the region formed through sedimentary action about 500 million years ago. Although they look like slate, they are friable and easily eroded, forming the rounded hills of the Northern Fells. South of this is the Borrowdale Volcanic Group made up of lavas and ash flows that erupted during a period of volcanic activity 450 million years ago. The highest and craggiest parts of the Lake District that are the most popular with walkers and climbers, such as Scafell (964m), Scafell Pike (978m), Helvellyn (950m), Coniston Old Man (803m) and the Langdale Pikes (736m), are all formed from the harder rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group. Further south again is another zone of sedimentary slates, siltstones and sandstones known as the Windermere Group, which were formed during the Silurian period about 420 million years ago. Again being far less resistant to erosion, they form the rounded hills that stretch all the way from the Duddon estuary across to Kendal giving the southern part of the Lake District a more pastoral feel.
A monument in slate at the summit of Honister Pass (Stages 3A and 3B, and Route 8)
Some 400 million years ago the fells would have been of Himalayan proportions as violent volcanic activity pushed up from below to form a very high mountain range. But millions of years of erosion have reduced them to their present size, exposing igneous intrusions, which originally cooled and crystallised hundreds of metres below the surface. About 350 million years ago, most of the land sank beneath a warm tropical sea that teemed with life. The remains of these life forms created a thick layer of sediment made up of shells, fossils and coral all over the seabed, which eventually formed the pale grey Carboniferous limestone that runs around the perimeter of the national park. In other areas to the west, this sea was filled in with fertile mud and sand that resulted in the growth of forests, which decayed to form the belt of coal that was the lifeblood of heavy industry in West Cumbria.
During the last two million years, the Earth has gone through repeated periods of glaciations separated by warmer periods that supported the growth of broadleaved forests. It is the action of glaciers and the continual freezing and thawing of melt water during this period that has shaped the fells we know so well today. After the last period of glaciation, the sea levels changed and soils formed below the oak forests in the valleys. However, clearing the forests for cultivation in the 11th century led to some soil erosion and the formation of alluvial fans and lake deltas characteristic of the central and southern parts of the region.
Since then, the only observable changes to the landscape have been due to the activity of man, either creating fields for livestock or mining and quarrying for minerals and building materials. Over the centuries, rock has been quarried for constructing buildings and the many miles of dry stone walls and slate for roofing. At the same time, lead, copper and other ores have been mined from veins in the rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group at various sites in the centre of the area particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today there is still some limited quarrying within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park, but by the 20th century mining had largely ended as financially viable veins of ore became exhausted.
The coastal region of West Cumbria has a particularly fascinating industrial history, revealed in local museums and heritage centres. Shipbuilding, coal and iron ore mining, steel making and chemical manufacturing have all been major employers, but today little of these industries remain.
STONE WALLS
Rebuilding an old dry stone wall on the fell road above Staveley (Stage 1B)
Riding through the Lake District gives ample time to really get to know dry stone walls. Cumbria has an estimated 15,000km (9300 miles) of them, so there is a lot to study. Although some date from earlier times, most were constructed following the Enclosure Act of 1801 to divide up the farming landscape. The fields around farms in the valleys are known as in-bye fields, but the fields up the fellside have been ‘taken’ from the fell and are known as in-take fields. The land above the highest wall is the open fell.
Earlier walls tend to be built from well-rounded stones that retreating ice had left scattered across the landscape, whereas more recent walls were constructed from stone that was quarried in the immediate vicinity and dragged to where they were needed by a horse-drawn ‘slipe’ or sledge. This was not an easy task as each metre of wall requires a ton of stone.
Walls in the Lake District are built with a variety of different types of stone depending on the geology of the location with slate, shale, sandstone, limestone and granites all in common use. Traditionally craftsmen would build a ‘rood’ of wall a day; a measure that varied from seven yards (6.4 metres) down to six yards (5.48 metres) depending on how hard the local stone was to work with.
Lakeland walls generally have one or more layers of ‘through-stones’ laid across the wall to increase stability. Some have small rectangular ‘smoots’ at their base so hares and rabbits can pass from one field to the next. Others have larger holes in them variously known as sheep runs, cripple holes or sheep smoots to allow sheep to pass from one pasture to another.
Plants and wildlife
Cumbrian fell ponies still live wild in the Eastern Fells, ospreys nest in the woods above Bassenthwaite and a solitary golden eagle inhabits the hills around the head of Haweswater. However, you are unlikely to see them from your bike. Nevertheless, there is plenty of wildlife to see if you stay alert. The cavities in stone walls provide both shelter and hunting ground for the insect eating wren. Their constant movement makes them difficult to spot, but if you hear their trilling call, stop and you will catch sight of them bobbing about ahead of you. After the wood pigeon and the chaffinch, it is one of the commonest birds in the UK with an estimated population of seven to eight million; its success due to its ability to thrive in a varied range of habitats.
When riding along quieter lanes, you may occasionally find your presence has disturbed a large bird of prey from its perch and catch sight of it silently moving through the tree canopy above. Most likely, it is a common buzzard. Despite being much smaller than the golden eagle, it is still a formidable predator, dropping down on rabbits and small mammals, which they nearly always kill on the ground. You may also see them hovering high in the sky and hear their plaintive mewing call, especially in spring when they are displaying to potential mates. In recent years, their numbers have exploded and they now thrive in areas where they were once a rarity.
When it comes to mammals, there is one very special species you should look out for – the red squirrel. Ever since Victorians released the North American grey squirrel into the wild in 1876, the red squirrel has been on the retreat. However, they still have a foothold in the woodlands in the northern parts of the Lake District and you may see one if you look for the road signs warning drivers of their presence. Contrary to popular belief, squirrels do not hibernate, as they need to eat all year round to survive, so look out for them right through the year. You may also see signs asking people to report sightings of any grey squirrels, which are increasing in numbers around the periphery of the national park. Conservation bodies are taking a number of steps to protect and promote the population of red squirrels. These include providing special feeders that only the reds can access and putting squirrel ladders across busy roads so they can safely move from one area of woodland to another. Beatrix Potter, creator of Squirrel Nutkin, would surely approve.
Primroses – one of the many wild flowers found along the verges in the Lake District
As well as protecting animals, the National Park Authority and other conservation organisations are also involved in protecting threatened habitats and plant species. This includes different types of grassland, upland heaths and mires, which are important habitats for the rare natterjack toad. Protected plant species include juniper, which exists in patches alongside the road between Little Langdale and Blea Tarn, and various lichens and mosses. In total, the Lake District is home to eight National Nature Reserves and over a thousand Sites of Special Scientific Interest as well as a number of other conservation areas.
History and culture
The history of any region is always determined by its natural resources and the Lake District is no different. At least 5000 years ago, communities settled in the valleys, erecting stone circles such as Castlerigg and venturing into the fells for material to shape into stone axes, which have since been found at archaeological sites all over Britain. The Celts, Romans, Angles and Vikings all settled across the district leaving evidence of their presence in Roman forts, Viking crosses and in place names with Nordic elements such as ‘thwaite’ meaning clearing and ‘beck’ meaning stream.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, many fortified tower houses and pele towers, such as Dacre Castle, were built as protection against the ‘Border Reivers’ who repeatedly made raids into what was known as the ‘Debateable Lands’ to rustle cattle, pillage and extort money. Once the borderline between England and Scotland was finally agreed in 1552 raiding diminished. Then when the thrones of Scotland and England were united in 1603, King James embarked on the ‘Pacification of the Borders’, rounding up the main reiver families and deporting many of them to Ireland. Religious communities also settled in the Lake District during the Middle Ages. Cartmel Priory survives intact as the village church, the abbey at Shap was largely dismantled after the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the middle of the 16th century and an earlier abbey at Dacre was destroyed by Vikings in the 10th century.
Today we value the Lake District for recreation and enjoyment and tourism is the mainstay of the local economy. But its natural resources meant it was once a hive of industry. There is evidence of mining and quarrying from the 12th century, but the Romans clearly quarried materials for roads and buildings locally. Over the centuries, lead, copper, zinc, baryte, haematite, tungsten, graphite, fluorite, and coal have all been mined and quarried on a small scale within the boundaries of the national park; today slate mining continues at the top of the Honister and Kirkstone passes. Coal, iron ore and haematite were mined on a large scale at sites in West Cumbria in the 19th and early 20th centuries. To the east, granite and limestone are still quarried at Shap.
Good transportation was essential to move materials out of the area and canals and then railways encroached into the region on all sides. Today trains still run on some of the branch lines, which have been lovingly preserved as tourist attractions, while other lines have been transformed into traffic-free cycle paths that form part of the National Cycle Network.
A patchwork of stone walls and barns in the Duddon Valley (Stage 5B and Routes 11 and 12)
Since the mid-Victorian era, tourism has grown until it dominates the local economy. In 2013, nearly 16 million visitors spent over £1 billion creating the equivalent of 15,500 full time jobs, which is approximately 40 per cent of the total population of the national park, a proportion which would be substantially higher if only those of working age were considered. In addition, tourists have provided a ready market for the myriad of artists, craft workers, artisan food producers and micro-brewers found in the district.
BOBBIN MILLS
When the Lancashire textile industry was at its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries it had an insatiable need for bobbins for spinning and weaving and the vast majority were turned at one of the 65 mills scattered across the Lake District. The woods and copses in the valleys were coppiced to supply birch, ash and oak of the right diameter and the fast flowing streams provided power to drive the lathes until superseded by steam.
Today, the most famous is Stott Park Bobbin Mill near the southern tip of Windermere, which was set up by John Harrison, a local farmer, in 1835 and ran until it was abandoned in 1971 when the arrival of plastic bobbins finally put it out of business. Attracted by its remarkable state of preservation, English Heritage acquired the mill in 1991 and turned it into a working museum. But even at its peak, Stott Park was a minor producer employing only 25 men and boys and producing a mere 12 million bobbins a year. Low Briery Mill on the banks of the River Greta east of Keswick produced 40 million bobbins each year, while Howk Mill in Caldbeck, which employed nearly 60 people at its peak, is thought to have made even more.
The American Civil War interrupted the supply of cotton during the 1860s and the bobbin industry suffered as a result. It never fully recovered, having to compete against textile manufacturers turning their own bobbins on steam-powered lathes at their factories and an influx of cheaper imports from abroad. Many mills diversified into other wooden products from rungs for ladders to tool handles and even toggles for fastening duffle coats. Today little remains other than a few notable ruins, many of the old mills having been converted into pleasant beck-side cottages.
CRAFT BREWERIES WITHIN THE LAKE DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK
Even the smallest amount of alcohol during the day can go straight to the legs and make for a hellish afternoon in the saddle. But beer lovers cannot visit the Lake District without quaffing a few of the fine ales and lagers made by the wonderful little craft breweries scattered across the region. So collect a bottle or two to enjoy at the end of the day.
Barngates Brewery in Ambleside uses water from the local beck.
Bowness Bay Brewery names most of its beers after the boats on Windermere.
The Coniston Brewing Company started up in 1995 in the 400 years old Black Bull Inn.
Cumbrian Legendary Ales, now based at Hawskshead, started up at the Kirkstile Inn in Loweswater, which is now the brewery tap.
Ennerdale Brewery is run from a farm and brews real ale using spring water from nearby Croasdale Fell.
Hawkshead Brewery started in an old barn at Hawkshead in 2002 but rapidly outgrew it and moved to a new brewery based in Chadwick’s Mill, the old wood turning mill in Staveley where they have since added a beer hall.
Established by the then landlord of the local pub, the Hesket Newmarket Brewery is now a cooperative and so too is the pub, each having a cross shareholding in the other.
The Keswick Brewing Company set up in 2006 occupies a site in Brewery Lane, thought to have been used by the oldest recorded brewer in the town.
Strands Brewery based at the Strands Inn in Nether Wasdale has brewed an eye-wateringly strong 9.5 per cent barley wine.
The Watermill Inn and Brewery at Ings, a couple of miles east of Windermere, is the smallest of the Lakeland breweries but still manages to offer up to 16 different beers.
The Wild Boar Brewery is based at the eponymous Wild Boar Inn at Gilpin, just east of Windermere.
Beers from the Winster Valley Brewery can be found at the brewery tap, The Brown Horse Inn in Winster and many other Lakeland pubs and restaurants.
A selection of books offering more interesting facts and figures about the Lake District can be found in Appendix D.
Getting there
Hardened touring cyclists from Northern England and Southern Scotland will probably be happy to add an extra day or two either end of their visit to the Lake District and make use of one or more of the National Cycle Networks – see www.sustrans.org.uk – that will take them from near their home right into the heart of the district. Others from further afield and those pressed for time will need to consider other options.
By road
If you are averse to sitting in slow moving traffic, it is probably best to plan your journey to avoid the main arteries into the district on Friday evenings and Saturdays during peak holiday months and national holiday weekends. If you are planning to tour, the next challenge might be to find long stay parking. You could park considerately at a location on the periphery of the region and start your ride there rather than parking in one of the busy centres where you will pay for the privilege. However, the current weekly charge for the Lake District’s official car parks at Brockhole, Buttermere, Coniston, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Langdale, Ravenglass, Thirlmere, Ullswater and Windermere works out at less than £5 per day. That’s not bad value and you can pay by mobile phone – see www.lakedistrict.gov.uk for details.
By air
The nearest airports are Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Prestwick, Glasgow and Edinburgh. But arriving at any one of these airports still leaves you a journey of 100 miles or more to the Lake District, necessitating hiring a car or using public transport. If you are planning to fly with your bike, you should contact your airline and make a reservation when you book your seat. They will charge you for carrying your bike and will ask that you follow their packing instructions. These typically include turning and locking the handlebars parallel with the frame, removing the pedals and front wheel and attaching them to the frame and deflating the tyres before placing the bike in a carrying bag or transit box. If you are planning to tour, you will also need to organise somewhere to store the transit material ready for collection on your return.
By rail
A train crossing the 50 spans of the Kent Viaduct
The West Coast mainline operated by Virgin Trains runs to the east of the Lake District, connecting Oxenholme, Penrith and Carlisle with London and Glasgow. They provide special bike storage areas with space for up to four bikes or two tandems, but you will need to book a reservation for your bike before you travel. The service is free and can be made at any booking office or by calling Tel 0344 556 5650. On the day of travel, you will need to collect your bike reservation coupons at a FastTicket machine at the station, by keying in your FastTicket reference number and the number of the bank card you used to make the booking. Then give yourself a minimum of 10 minutes to contact a member of the Virgin platform staff who will help you load your bicycle. Once aboard, inform the Train Manager that you have a bicycle and he or she will help you disembark at your destination station. Sounds complicated, but it seems to work even though local staff may not be entirely familiar with the process.
A direct service operated by TransPennine Express runs from Manchester to Windermere stopping at Kendal and Staveley along the way. Most of their trains have a dedicated area for carrying two bicycles and space can be booked in advance by calling Tel 0345 600 1674. Otherwise space is allocated on a first come first serve basis. See www.tpexpress.co.uk. There is also a route operated by Northern Rail that follows the Cumbrian coastline around the south and west of the region. These trains also carry a maximum of two bikes per train at the discretion of the conductor if the train is busy. See www.northernrail.org.
RAVENGLASS AND ESKDALE STEAM RAILWAY
One of the 15in gauge locomotives on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway (Routes 10 and 11)
If you are an enthusiast of steam trains, you might enjoy breaking your ride for an excursion out to the coast on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway. There is space for four to six bikes on each train but boarding is only possible at Ravenglass and Dalegarth stations and wheelchair users receive priority. Tickets can be purchased online but must be presented at Ravenglass or Dalegarth ticket offices on arrival where they are exchanged for travel tickets. You also need to call Tel 01229 717171 to book cycles on to the train before boarding. See http://ravenglass-railway.co.uk.
By bus
National Express, Britain’s only scheduled coach network, say they may carry dismantled and folding bicycles if space is available provided they are suitably packed. They also state that carrying a bike on a service does not mean that they will carry it on any subsequent service. As this gives cyclists no reassurance that their bike will actually be carried yet alone any advice what to do with the transit box when they want to start cycling, they may as well say, ‘No’.
Things do get better once you are in the Lake District. Stagecoach operates a number of summer services that are specifically equipped to carry bikes. The Lakeland Experience (Bowness–Ambleside–Grasmere) and Cross Lakes Experience (Bowness–Hawkshead–Coniston–Grizedale) services in the central region can both carry two bikes, while the Bike Bus, which runs along the eastern shore of Windermere, can carry 12 bikes. See www.golakes.co.uk for details. Other bus services operated by Stagecoach only carry packed folding bicycles, but their long distance coaches carry non-folding bicycles in the luggage boot. See www.stagecoachbus.com for details.
WOODROW WILSON ON WHEELS
US President Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) who made five visits to the Lake District in the ‘golden age’ of cycling before World War I
There are a few connections between US presidents and Cumbria. The first, George Washington, was a direct descendant of the Strickland family that took its name from Great Strickland; the 12-year-old John Kennedy holidayed with his seven-year-old brother Robert at Killington in the late 1930s when their father was US ambassador to Great Britain; and Hillary Rodham rejected the first proposal of marriage from future husband Bill Clinton in Ennerdale in 1973.
But none was more enduring than that of keen cyclist Thomas Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) who was the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921. His mother, Janet, had been born in Carlisle, where her Scots born father, Dr Rev Thomas Woodrow, was a congregational minister from 1819 to 1835, when the family left for North America. Wilson is reputed to have been the first person to own and ride a bicycle in North Carolina.
He first visited Carlisle and the Lake District in 1896 but returned five times over the next 22 years. On his first trip, he disembarked at Glasgow and cycled to Carlisle, then took the train to Keswick and cycled to Grasmere. On his second tour in 1899, he cycled down from Glasgow to Dumfries, took the train to Penrith and then cycled down Ullswater, across to Keswick and on to Grasmere.
He visited the Lake District again in 1903 with his wife and again in 1906 with his daughters. Then in July 1909, he returned alone. After cycling from Lockerbie to Carlisle, he cycled through Penrith to Keswick and Grasmere, and then over to Coniston. He made his way by rail to Drigg, via Broughton in Furness, where he set off on a two-day ride around the Western Lakes, visiting Wasdale and Ennerdale. He stayed at Grasmere throughout the summer before going back to Glasgow on 2 September for the return journey.
By the time he made a last brief visit to Carlisle in 1918, he was the feted President of the United States and arrived on the royal train rather than a bicycle. The city celebrated its illustrious American cousin, but it is doubtful if Wilson enjoyed the experience. He made plans to return to the Lake District in 1921, travelling incognito with his second wife and her brother. However, his deteriorating health meant it never happened.
Weather and when to ride
The majority of tourists visiting the Lake District come by car so the roads can become very busy. Take the following into consideration to achieve an easier journey and a more enjoyable ride:
Avoid national holidays and school holidays particularly those in July and August.
Ride on weekdays rather than weekends when visitor numbers are swelled by day trippers.
Ride early in the day before everyone else has risen or later when they are retiring indoors to eat.
Heading off down Newlands Hause (Stage 3A)
Unless you have an entry to ride, you should also avoid the second Sunday in May when 2000 people test themselves riding 179km (112 miles) over the six big passes in the annual Fred Whitton Challenge.
The best time to go touring in the Lake District is between April and October, when the days are longer and the weather is at its best. But even then, you will undoubtedly get wet and experience blustery days. So be prepared for them. As a general rule always plan your route so that you are riding south to north with the prevailing south westerly winds. However, a circular tour or day ride will inevitably mean riding into the wind at some point and this is taken into account in this guide where the majority of the higher passes are ridden south to north and west to east wherever possible. However, check the weather forecast before you set out each day and be prepared to amend your plans to take account of the weather.
Where to stay
While many hardened cycle tourists prefer to camp, days of repeatedly ascending 1000m or more are unlikely to be pleasurable with a heavy load. This guide makes maximum use of the plethora of hostels and bunkhouses scattered across the region, but if you prefer additional comforts you will find a variety of accommodation to suit most pockets on www.GoLakes.co.uk, Visit England’s official website for the Lake District.
Spiced apple pie with cream – and why not after all that effort?
You may not be able to get the type of accommodation you prefer close to the start or finish of each of the touring routes in this guidebook. Consequently, you may have to curtail your day before the end of a route, ride further into the next route or ride off the route and return the next day. For instance, the touring routes through the northeastern fells end at Troutbeck, where there are some B&Bs and a campsite. But if your preference is for hostels you would need to end your day earlier at Patterdale or Glenridding hostels, ride into the next stage and stay at the hostels at Scales, Keswick or Heskett Newmarket, or perhaps even make a detour to Penrith if everywhere else is full.
There may be lots of hostels, but there are also lots of hostellers, so it pays to book early. Hostels are always busy during the summer months and those in the more popular locations and along the route of the Coast to Coast (C2C) cycleway can be full at weekends, even in the depths of winter. The Youth Hostel Association – www.yha.org.uk – has a number of hostels in the Lake District and there is an increasing number of independent hostels – see www.independenthostelguide.co.uk or similar for lists. There is also a growing number of camping barns, but you would need to carry a three-season sleeping bag as they typically only provide a mattress. Some barns lack cooking facilities and others have no electricity, so it is imperative to check the facilities of every barn before you book.
Many of Visit England’s star-graded B&Bs, guest houses and hotels have enrolled with ‘Cyclists Welcome’ scheme and these are worth seeking out. Properties with the accreditation have drying facilities and bike storage and offer other services. Whatever you choose, if you want to arrive early to drop off your bike and go sightseeing or anticipate arriving later due to an unforeseen delay, it is only courteous to ring ahead and let them know. You should also remember that accommodation is in short supply and in the peak season even campsites can get full, so it is advisable to make a reservation as far ahead as possible. See Appendix B for a list of accommodation options.
What type of bike?
Both touring routes and day rides can be ridden on any type of bicycle as there are no off-road sections that require a mountain bike. Routes follow quieter, secondary roads wherever possible. But as the region has a limited road network, main roads are used occasionally and you do need to be confident cycling alongside moving traffic.
Without wanting to offend the fans of tandems, tricycles, and folding and recumbent cycles, there are broadly three types of bike and all are suitable for the routes in this book. However, there are some things that you can do to make your rides more comfortable.
Road bikes
Touring bikes are usually made out of steel and have a longer frame than a normal road bike. This makes them springy and allows you to stretch out more. But there is nothing wrong with using a road bike for touring and all you really need to do is add a rack and fit the widest tyres that your wheel rims and frame clearance will allow. Most ‘roadies’ ride on 23mm tyres but moving up 25mm or 28mm tyres will give that extra bit of comfort and leave you less prone to punctures.
If your bike does not have threaded braze-ons, you will need to use a rack that clamps on to an alloy seat post. This is entirely adequate for lightweight ‘credit card’ touring. But if you are riding a bike with a carbon frame, you are probably best to try to go ultra-lightweight and limit yourself to frame bags or a single rack bag. And don’t even think about clamping a rack to a carbon seat post. Buy a cheap alloy one instead.
Hybrid or city bikes
The only difference between road bikes and city bikes is normally the quality of the fittings and that most city bikes have flat handlebars. So in addition to fitting wider tyres, many people fit bar ends or even butterfly bars to give more choice in resting tired hands.
Mountain bikes
It is also worth considering fitting bar ends or butterfly bars to a mountain bike – and if your bike has full suspension you may need to fit the type of rack that clamps on to the seat tube. You might want to consider changing the knobbly tyres for lower profile urban tyres, which have less rolling resistance giving a far quieter ride. Locking off the suspension will also waste less energy when riding on good tarmac roads.
An obligatory cake stop in Great Langdale (Stage 5A and Route 2)
Preparing your bike
It is not a good idea to buy a new bike immediately before setting out on a touring holiday as new brake and gear cables will undoubtedly stretch and require fine tuning and you need time to become accustomed to the bike. You will be riding for extended periods of time, so it is very important that you adjust the bike to your size. The saddle is at the right height when there is still a slight bend in your knee when the pedal is at the bottom of the stroke. The way to check this is to place your heel flat on the pedal when it is at the bottom of the stroke and set the saddle height to this. Then when you put your foot on the pedal in a normal riding position with the ball of the foot centred on the pedal you should find your leg is still slightly bent. The handlebars should be level with, or just below, the height of your saddle but try a couple of positions until you feel comfortable. Riding for long periods can result in cramps in the hand, so consider adding bar-ends to flat handlebars and changing hand positions frequently. Having padded bars and cycling gloves with gel inserts in the palms all add to comfort, but remember to take each hand off the bars from time to time to flex and stretch the fingers too. One of the commonest aches suffered by riding for long periods of time is across the shoulders and occasionally in the lower back. The best way to prevent these is to pay attention to your posture, try to keep your upper body relaxed and to ride with your arms slightly flexed rather than locked on to the handlebars.
Laden for an autumn tour complete with a heavy DSLR, lenses and a tripod – since replaced by a light mirror-less camera
Unless the gears on your bike are suitable for the terrain you will be riding, you will find yourself struggling up any hills. It is always better to have a low gear in reserve than a high gear you never use and typically this means having a cassette with the largest sprocket having virtually the same number of teeth as the smallest chain ring – say a 28 or 30 tooth sprocket with a 34 or 36 tooth chain ring. However, if you explain where you are going to the folk at your local bike shop and tell them about the biggest climb you are likely to encounter, they will be able to fit the gears you need.
It is always advisable to have your bike serviced a couple of weeks before your trip, allowing sufficient time for any worn parts to be replaced and run-in before your departure. Some people will have the knowledge and tools to do this themselves; otherwise your local bike shop will be happy to do this for you.
Wheels should run smoothly and show no signs of dishing or buckling. Check to see if there is any side-to-side play in the hubs or any missing or slack spokes.
Tyres should be in good condition with plenty of tread left on them and no signs of weathering or weaknesses in the walls. They should also be inflated to the pressure recommended by the manufacturer as the less rubber there is in contact with the road, the easier it will be to pedal. You should also remember that the Lake District is not just stone walls. Hawthorn is common in roadside hedges in the farmlands on the periphery of the national park and from midsummer onwards roads can be littered with thorny trimmings that easily cause punctures. For this reason tyres with a protective lining of Kevlar are essential – but, alas, still not infallible.
Brakes should be effective with plenty of wear left on the brake blocks and room remaining for adjustment in the tension of the cables which should move smoothly and not show any signs of kinking or undue wear.
Pedals and crankshaft should turn smoothly without any play in the axle.
Gears should change smoothly and silently without the chain overriding the chain rings or sprockets when selecting high or low gears.
All fixing nuts and bolts on mudguards and carriers should all be tight.
Even if there is nothing obviously wrong with your bike, apply oil to the chain and gears, check for loose spokes and excess play in brake and gear cables and have a short ride to make a final check that it’s in tip-top condition before you leave home. If you do require the services of a bike shop on the road, see Appendix A for listings.
Preparing yourself
Unless you know how to use them, all the tools or spares you pack will be useless. So it pays to have at least one person in your party who can carry out the most common roadside repairs and do makeshift remedies for more major problems that will get you to the nearest cycle shop. Pack a small cycle maintenance manual as a backstop, but consider attending a cycle maintenance course as this will give you the hands-on skills you will be eternally grateful for when you find yourself fiddling with faulty gears in dwindling daylight.
To enjoy your tour and prevent each day from becoming a personal challenge, you should ensure that you attain a level of fitness that enables you to complete each day without becoming exhausted. As getting over the higher passes is physically demanding this may mean starting a personal fitness programme three or four months before your departure to give you sufficient time to build up stamina so you can complete the required distances and ascents comfortably. Start off with a ride that is just within your current fitness level and ride it a few times until you can ride it comfortably on two consecutive days. Then double the distance until you can ride the average daily distance needed for your planned tour without feeling unduly tired at the end of each day.
If you are going to encounter steep hills, practise ‘feathering’ the brakes – gently applying and releasing pressure on alternate levers – to control your speed on descents. It will prove invaluable when descending some of the steep Lakeland passes surrounded by moving traffic.
Carrying luggage, particularly a full set of panniers laden with camping gear, will slow you down dramatically. The accepted rule of thumb is that riding with a full load halves your average speed and comfortable daily range. So, regardless of what type of load you decide to carry, you should either do some laden training runs until you can achieve the distances needed for the tour or you should aim for training runs that are twice as long as you will cover on the tour. The first of these is perhaps the best choice as your bike will handle very differently when weighed down with a full set of luggage and it is better to get accustomed to this on quiet back roads before riding in traffic.
What to pack
Climbing over the high passes is unlikely to be an enjoyable experience if you are weighed down by luggage. Fortunately the plethora of accommodation and high number of cycle shops for spares and repairs means you can keep the bike as light as possible. So here are some tips for lightweight touring in hilly terrain such as the Lake District:
Think layers and add-ons rather than carrying a number of alternatives and only take one of each item of cycling clothing.
Take two T-shirts and two sets of underwear and socks, but only one of each item of leisurewear.
Consider cross-dressing. Meaning choose leisurewear, such as long-sleeved merino T- shirts, that can double as an extra layer for riding and a cycling waterproof that will suffice for chilly evenings.
Make use of drying facilities to rinse through cycling gear and small items of leisurewear every evening – that’s why you need two sets of some items of leisurewear; one on and one in the wash.
Carry no more tools and accessories than you would on a day ride and share them between the group.
Buy travel-sized essentials such as shampoo and toothpaste and give shaving a miss for a week.
Make do with a smartphone for all your communication and entertainment and leave all other electronics at home.
Only carry one feed bottle – and replace the other with a storage bottle for tools and small accessories.
A rear light is a year-round necessity as low cloud can result in poor visibility over the passes, but a front light is unnecessary during summer months.
Virtually all hostels have secure bike storage so consider leaving heavy bike locks at home.
Always wear a helmet. Riding without one alongside fast moving traffic on narrow roads bound by high stone walls that are just a few feet away is irresponsible.
Adopting such guidelines produces the kit list shown in Appendix C, which totals 5.4kg for short tours during the summer months and 6.8kg during winter when heavy leisurewear is needed for cooler evenings. Browsing through this list will also give some ideas for saving weight, such as leaving the Kindle at home and relying on the magazines and books typically found in hostels.
Investing in cycling shorts with a synthetic chamois insert will provide unparalleled comfort and prevent chaffing and sores. If you do not fancy shorts, you can buy full length cycling tights and if you don’t fancy squeezing into body-hugging lycra, you can buy under-shorts that come with a chamois insert and simply wear comfortable clothing over the top. However, if you do start to get problems, apply talcum powder or an anti-fungal preparation at the first opportunity. Likewise, a good quality cycling jersey that wicks away perspiration and has a zipper at the neck to aid ventilation is another good investment.
How to pack
