Cumbria TRF Day - 17 October - North Lakes

After chatting with Steve Pighills and Roger Harris at the last run out with the Cumbria TRF, I offered to do another day out leading a ride but this time in the North lakes.

So I popped a route together, set up a meeting place and time and sent out the invites via the email list...

Steve & Roger were the first to put their names down along with Mike, Phil & Ernesto, a new guy to the Cumbria TRF who hails from Valencia originally and now lives in Kendal. Mike didn't turn up, so we were 6, perfect!

Lucy & I were early trying to get pictures of the cloud inversion here today, but as we missed it, so we went to the Filling Station Cafe instead for Hot Chocolate!

We met up with the guys on the edge of Keswick, sorted out the mix of bikes and the kit, chatted a bit about the trailer wheel that had fell off on Steve's trailer and then headed out.

A selection of old favourites followed along with some forgotten and less used lanes. We followed an anti clockwise route heading first to Latrigg, the Coach Road, Little Mell Fell and then onto the western Penrith lanes.

The Coach Road

Here is where we had a good long chat with a farmer about one particular lane that goes right through his farm yard. The lane is marked as a Public Way at one end, it has just had one of the other end exits marked as a Bridleway and the farmer was under the impression that he could refuse access to what turns out to be a Public Road, which Steve very nicely pointed out that it was illegal. His neighbour had actually gated the bridleway next to the public road to stop vehicles coming through. So even though we rode through after having a very nice and friendly chat with both the farmer and his dad, we found a couple of the gates wired shut and so had to resort to going into a field to get past them. The lane is lovely and well marked at one part but its fallen into disuse at the other part as it was easier to go up the bridleway which was less than 100m long. It'll be interesting to see what happens next about this.

A stop in Greystoke saw us at the little post office cafe, good butties and a brew before heading over towards Mungrisdale and Longlands.

With all the stops to chat about the history of the lanes and their usage, Steve and Roger had to leave us to get back home in the daylight with the damaged trailer, so Lucy & I took Ernesto & Phil on some of our very local lanes finishing up at Bothel, where we said goodbye and left them to ride back to Keswick on the road.

Autumn colours in the Lakes

Longlands Fell

I've learnt more about the Coach Road history from Steve who has photos of a Six Days Trial held on it in 1913 which I'll update the page about that when I can.

We've met another group of nice people today, had plenty of chats with Ernesto and the rest of the guys and no doubt we'll all be out to play again soon...

Bikes, they are ace and they do take you to nice places both in life and geographically!