Kielder Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Kielder Mountain Bike Trail Centre sits within Kielder Water and Forest Park in Northumberland, England's largest forest. Over 100 miles of waymarked trails fan out from the hub at Kielder Castle, ranging from a flat green former railway line to a black adaptive trail and, since May 2026, England's longest formal mountain bike descent on Deadwater Fell. There are family-friendly greens, beginner blues, reds, a black, and an orange-graded Trials Park for experts.

Borderline Trail (Green)

• The green Borderline trail is 11km (7 miles) long and starts from Kielder Castle, adjacent to Kielder village, following the former Border Counties Railway line. It is flat and mainly grassy with occasional tarmac, ideal for families and for building confidence off-road.

Castle Wood Skills Loop (Blue, Red and Black)

• The blue grade section of Castle Wood Skills Loop is 0.5km long, single-track around 1 metre wide with a solid surface. There are slight gradients as well as low-level north shore style decking, bridges and some berms.
• The red grade trail is shorter but more technically advanced than the blue trail, less than 1m wide with a looser surface. The obstacles and gradients are also more challenging.
• The short black grade section can be accessed from the red grade section, including the 'Corkscrew' North Shore structure that runs along a natural ditch, leading to a chunky rock garden for expert riders.

The Lakeside Way (Multi-User Route)

• The Lakeside Way multi-user path is 42km (26 miles) long and circles Kielder Water, with some hills along the way. It has a good surface for cyclists, walkers, horse riders, mobility scooters and wheelchair users. Allow at least 3 to 4 hours, more if not very fit.
• Shorter route options exist, for example the south shore stretch of approximately 14 miles from Kielder Dam to Kielder Castle Visitor Centre, taking in Tower Knowe Visitor Centre and Leaplish Waterside Park.

Osprey Trail (Blue)

• The blue Osprey trail is 19km (12 miles) long and starts from Kielder Castle, heading up the Forest Drive to several sections of single-track along Kielder Burn before climbing into the forest. It links back onto the Lakeside Way on a forest road or via a bridge over Plashetts Burn at Wainhope.
• A 1km shortcut route joins the existing trail for visiting riders short of time, and adds a section of flowing single-track for those wanting more.

Lonesome Pine Trail (Red)

• The red Lonesome Pine trail is 18km (11 miles) long and offers fun descents plus the UK's longest, one-metre-wide, wooden boardwalk of its kind. It starts from Kielder Castle: the first 3 miles follow the Lakeside Way multi-user trail, before singletrack from Lewisburn climbs out of the valley to the top of Purdom Pike at over 1,000 feet, crossing boggy terrain via timber boardwalk. The descent continues back towards Kielder village, passing Skyspace and close to Kielder Observatory, finishing with a flowing descent through the forest from Bewshaugh.
• Trails at Kielder are subject to periodic closures and diversions due to forestry operations and storm damage. Always check the Forestry England Kielder page for current alerts before travelling.

Lone Star Trail (Black, Adaptive Mountain Bike Friendly)

• Lone Star is a black graded, adaptive mountain bike friendly trail of around 9.5km, starting at the Kielder Skyspace car park and finishing at Kielder village. It includes the Purdom Plunge boardwalk, one of the longest timber boardwalks of its kind in England, crossing the boggy terrain of Purdom Pike. The name ties into the nearby Kielder Skyspace and Kielder Observatory, celebrating Kielder and Northumberland's Dark Skies status.

Bloody Bush Trail (Red)

• The red Bloody Bush trail is 32km (20 miles) long and starts via the Lonesome Pine trail. It links Kielder Water and Forest Park to the Scottish border and the 7stanes bike centre at Newcastleton, with singletrack running to the border to connect with existing routes in Scotland. A return route via the Cross Border Trail makes for a ride of over 60km.
• Trails at Kielder are subject to periodic closures and diversions due to forestry operations and storm damage. Always check the Forestry England Kielder page for current alerts before travelling.

Deadwater Trails

• The Deadwater red trail is 6.5 miles (10.5km) long and starts from Kielder Castle. It takes in the summit of Deadwater Fell at just under 1,900 feet, straddling the English and Scottish border, descending back to Kielder Castle on specially constructed singletrack packed with technical climbs, rock drop offs, berms and north shore.
• The Deadwater black grade trail spurs off from the red. It includes a technical climb, some skinny woodwork on an incline, and a fast descent ending with a gap jump in the Rattlesnake section.

Deadwater Mile Down Area

• The Mile Down area on Deadwater Fell offers a full top to bottom descent of 1.69 miles from the Masts, with red, black and double black diamond options. The Deadwater Downhill Trail (Double Black), completing the full descent from the Masts to the lower sections, opened on 1 May 2026 and is now the longest official mountain bike descent in England.
• The area includes the Mile Down red descent, a progressive jump line, and the Northern Downhill Descent. Mile Down adds 650 metres of fast, flowing singletrack with momentum carrying berms and rollable features suited to confident intermediate riders. The Northern Downhill Descent contributes 565 metres of technical black grade terrain, including rock gardens, drops and steeper lines for advanced riders.
• Mile Down: grade difficult (red), 0.6km, with optional technical trail features.
• Northern Downhill Descent: middle trail grade black, 0.25km; lower trail grade black, 0.3km.

Trials Park (Orange)

• The orange graded Trials Park sits next to the Kielder Castle car park and is packed with technical features including a rock garden, big jumps and a two metre high elevated timber trail. Riders will need body armour and specialist bikes. It has progressive orange sections for a variety of technical abilities.

Trail Building and Maintenance

• For two decades, Kielder's trails were built and maintained by volunteer group and charity the Kielder Trail Reavers, who are now winding down as an organisation. Forestry England has taken on trail building and maintenance directly.

Getting Here

• Address: Kielder Castle Forest Park Centre, Kielder, Hexham, Northumberland, NE48 1ER
• Main trailhead and car park at Kielder Castle Visitor Centre
• Additional car parks at Kielder Skyspace (for the Lone Star trail) and around Kielder Water for the Lakeside Way
• Kielder is remote: allow over an hour's drive from Newcastle or Hexham. There is no direct public transport to Kielder Castle.

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