Grizedale Mountain Biking

F:

FC, send your trail builders just over the border to visit the 7 Stanes trails and see what can be achieved.

Black section very good but also short (1KM). (Tip use the adjacent footpath as a push up path rather than go right round the very long climb on the North face trail)

Bigmick:

Went here on the way back from a daytrip to Winlatter trails and was impressed with the cafe etc at the trailhead but not with the carpark charges. Set off on the waymarked red trail but found it fairly average as far as trails go and I was back at the car before I knew it. AS I was tagging it onto a mornings ridding somewhere else I wasn't too disappointed but I certainly wouldn't recommend travelling a great distance just to ride this trail. I have since found out that the best plan is to use the trail as a starting point and then head out on the natural trails in the area so I may well give it another go and see how I feel about it then.

Great facilities

mtb_heroine:

Rode Grizedale for my second time last week and I thought I would show the place some love! I rode the Red Route and whilst one of the sections was closed it still made for an enjoyable leg stretch after the long drive down from Scotland. The red route can be completed in under a couple of hours which makes for a more relaxed Lake District ride if you are there for a few days and tackling some all day natural epics. Grizedale really comes alive though if you link it in with some of the local natural trails. You complete the first two ascents (which I really enjoy, nice and rocky and you feel like you're achieving something rather than pounding up fire roads) and then head over onto Parkmoor overlooking Consiton. From here you enjoy some awesome wild riding across the moorland and a couple of techy rocky descents into Satterthwaite village (good pub here too for lunch). You then get a good climb out of the village onto Breasty Haw which links you back onto the Grizedale Descents. So you get all the fun of a swoopy trail centre descent, with some awesome natural riding in between rather than the fire road monotony which Grizedale alone can be! This loop takes a good 5 hours I reckon.

The staff in the bike shop are great and very knowledgeable (they fixed me up with a very nice new full suss in May and checked it all over again for me this visit). Natural feel trail centre (I like the mud, puddles and slippy rock, it is the Lakes after all) Can be easily linked with natural trails for a full days riding

RJ2DJ:

Having paid our dues in the car park we got hold of a map which we thought would mean we couldn't get lost, but how wrong we were. Half way round we completely misunderstood what was walking trail and what was MTB trail. We thought we had found a great section of quite technically demanding singletrack, which seemed to almost be heading down a riverbed. When we reached the bottom we realised we'd come down a footpath, although since that was one of the best bits, we didn't mind too much. It's really rocky here, so be careful to run slightly higher pressure to avoid pinch punctures. Overall we enjoyed the red, with its technical climbs and fun sections of boardwalks, but left feeling we might have missed the best bits, so be careful over your route selection. We appreciated the natural feel to a lot of the place, which some modern trail centres lack as they've become very safe. That isn't to say Grizedale is unsafe, but it has sections which are more open to the elements.

Natural feel Decent views Nice parking and visitor centre

Ralph:

The red trail needs some serious maintenance and some extensions to the singletrack to bring it up to date and to make sure people leave with a smile on their face, not feeling cheated (especially with the parking at nearly £7).

I have read that there is a lot of other singletrack in the woods here, and there is also the new 1km black section, which I didn't get to try as I was with one of my friends who is a beginner and wasn't keen! So there is more riding than just the red trail which I am about to tell you is not great (in my opinion). There were a few short sections on the red trail tat were fun but they were overshadowed by the wealth of negative points (listed below).