All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

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thenorthwind
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All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by thenorthwind »

With apologies to those who saw my last minute post inviting company, but couldn't make it...

My overnighter in the Lakes last week turned into one of those trips where everything aligns. Despite only being out for 24 hours or so, there was enough living in there to last me a good while. Fortunately I took the proper camera with me, so I'll be able to look back on it in the depths of winter... and I can taunt you lot with them as well :wink:

Brief context: I've been running/walking the Wainwrights, but had a painful tendon in my foot, so decided to do some on the bike to make the most of the weather without too much walking. The route was pretty simple: up Helvellyn from the north, down Grisedale into Patterdale, up the other side and back down High Street.

I persuaded my friend and sometime 'boner Morne to come over with me, since he'd booked the day off work as contingency for recovering from Englanduro over the weekend. He'd also had enough of gravel and roads in the post-indutrial north, so was keen for some proper riding. And the weather forecast... :shock:

Actually, I saved the weather forecast, so rare is to see such a categorical prediction of perfect weather in all senses from the people at MWIS:
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With this in mind, possibly for the first time ever, I've left home without a waterproof :o

Morne drove us over and we started from High Row on the Old Coach Road, near Matterdale. There's a bit of pushing, but most of the climb up to the first summit, Great Dodd, is pretty rideable when it's dry enough. The heat was our biggest concern, but so obliging was the weather that it largely clouded over for the climb up to Helvellyn, and then came out again for the descent. While I've enjoyed doing a lot of runningn and walking in the hills recently, it felt great to be back on the bike.
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Since this was Morne's idea of a "recovery ride" he obligingly waited on Great Dodd while I went out to bag Clough Head. He's the dot on the right.
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Looking along the ridge towards Helvellyn:
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After an out and back to bag Hart Side, we contoured back round the side of Stybarrow Dodd to Sticks Pass:
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The push up Raise:
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Classic Lakeland views from the top:
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Helvellyn summit:
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Can almost see the pub from here:
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It's been a while since I dragged a bike up such a popular hill. You always get the "rather than you than me pushing a bike up here" type comments, though it always strikes me as odd that seemingly no-one considers how much less energy it takes to get down. Walking up and down is the hard way! But a new one on me was two separate people commenting, with surprise, that we weren't on e-bikes :shock: :roll:

The descent from Dollywaggon Pike to Grisedale Tarn wasn't actually as bad as I remember, and I rode most of it - maybe I'm a beter bike handler than the last time I rode it (2014?), or maybe lightweight 29ers are all they're cracked up to be. Morne had a couple of offs, and if I did it again, I'd probably just walk it - it's not really my idea of fun, and the risk of breaking body or bike, and therefore wasting all the effort before you get to the good bit isn't worth it. If the reputation puts anyone off, I'd recommend not letting it put you off the full route, and just walking down that bit, because...

Grisedale: what a fantastic descent. Up there with the best in the Lakes in my book. Technical enough to be completely engaging, but (almost, for me) entirely rideable if you're on good form. And long enough that you can really get in that flow state. Hence no pictures, because we were having too much fun :grin:

And so down into Glenridding where we devoured a late lunch and a pint in the sun, followed by an ice cream and more sitting in the sun. While we were at the pub, Morne asked how many Wainwrights I'd done now, and I did some totting up in my head, and realised I'd previously mis-calculated what half of 214 is :roll: and that I was exactly half way at that point. It seemed like an appropriate celebration, made all the neater by the fact we were sat looking at Place Fell, which I have in mind for my final Wainwright. Morne regretfully left to spin back up the road to his car, and I bought some snacks, wrapped a cold beer in my down jacket, and pushed up to Boredale Hause and on to Angle Tarn.

This was a convenient way up and over to High Street for me, since I'd stupidly missed out Brock Crags on a Wainwright run from Martindale earlier in the year. My only worry about bivvying was the potential for insects (the midges have been conspicuous by their absence this year, but the flies have been irritating) so unusually, I was looking for the most exposed spot to catch any breeze. There were a few tents around Angle Tarn (which seemed like a risky strategy anyway) so having made it up to Brock Crags and found a nice flat grassy spot, I rolled out my bivvy bag right on the top where I had a nice breeze and views across Angle Tarn, down into Patterdale to Ullswater one way, and Brothers Water the other, and into the steep little valley containing Hayeswater, and across it to the long ridge of High Street.

There I was treated to: a sunset, alpenglow on High Street, a moonrise, two F-15s doing low-level laps over Kirkstone pass and Ullswater, more alpenglow on Helvellyn, and sunrise. Although the breeze dropped as it got dark, the midges stayed at home - maybe too hot and dry for them. I'll just leave the photos here to do the talking, a I took about a billion of them...

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After a decent night's sleep, I brewed some coffee while the sun rose, burnt some porridge to the bottom of my mug, scraped the rest out with a spoon made from an orange juice carton, having failed to bring any sort of eating implement, and not fancying the tyre lever solution, then ate some chocolate to try and get rid of the taste of charred oats. For the first time in my life, I dangled a mug from my bag, until I got to a stream where I could scrub it out and make another coffee. Don't worry, I don't think anyone saw.

It was a comfortable temperature for riding in short sleeves at 7, and after a sweaty push up to Rampsgill Head, I took my time merrily spinning along the 2,000ft+ ridge in the morning sun, stopping to tick off the occasional Wainwright.

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I followed High Street to its bitter(sweet) end and spun the last few road miles into Penrith, where despite the internet insisting all the trains were cancelled, the man in the ticket office booked my bike on to the next train without hassle - a miraculous trip from start to finish. I sat on the train and watched the traffic on the A69, a road I've spent far too much time on recently.
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Bearlegged
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Bearlegged »

Oh my.
That's lovely.
I need some Lake District time in my life now.
Teaman
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Teaman »

Looks fab 👍
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

Smashing is that Dave. Proper mountains an' everything. :-bd
May the bridges you burn light your way
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fatbikephil
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by fatbikephil »

Fabulous Dave, definitely a winner all round there :-bd
Lazarus
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Lazarus »

Before i ask some questions what a stunning area, great pictures, it is and the weather gods truly blessed you
If you are doing any more give me a shout as i assume you are going to the places less travelled and it would be good to see them.
Grisedale: what a fantastic descent.
Agreed its lovely only done it twice though once after Dollywaggon and once after climbing up from Thirlmere side [ up Willie wife following the [foot] path by the stream [ brutal hike a bike dont try it loaded

Have you ever taken any of the descents to the east of the high street [ ideally looking to climb/push up on a loaded gravel bike so the pen, bampton Common, Kidsty Pike to Haweswater [ probably too steep up i assume ]
boxelder
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by boxelder »

Lovely pics Dave - looking at the early ones, I was impressed by Morne's lightweight packing.......
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ledburner
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by ledburner »

Mug burnt offerings - is that carbon cuisine?:roll:
Was it better than the paneer? :lol:
Errm and...
Fantastic pictures :-bd
I hope you think you know, what I might of exactly meant.
Warning - may contain value odded typos & ither mythspellings..
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thenorthwind
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by thenorthwind »

Thanks all :cool:
Lazarus wrote: Wed Aug 17, 2022 9:10 pm Before i ask some questions what a stunning area, great pictures, it is and the weather gods truly blessed you
If you are doing any more give me a shout as i assume you are going to the places less travelled and it would be good to see them.
Grisedale: what a fantastic descent.
Agreed its lovely only done it twice though once after Dollywaggon and once after climbing up from Thirlmere side [ up Willie wife following the [foot] path by the stream [ brutal hike a bike dont try it loaded

Have you ever taken any of the descents to the east of the high street [ ideally looking to climb/push up on a loaded gravel bike so the pen, bampton Common, Kidsty Pike to Haweswater [ probably too steep up i assume ]
I'll post up if I'm doing something similar again, hopefully with more notice.

I've been up and down Helvellyn numerous times on foot and bike, on different routes, but never yet from the Thirlmere side. Definitely one I'd like to try, but maybe not up the way you went! There's a bridleway way a bit further south that goes up to the tarn - anyone know what that's like?

I've pushed up Kidsty from Mardale - long time ago so don't really remember what it was like, other than steep, probably a carry, but it's possible.
I've not been over the Pen - judging by what it's like on top, I would expect it to boggy most of the year, but might be dry enough now, and the gradient's certainly kinder.
Bampton common probably combines bits of the above.
Lazarus
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Lazarus »

I'll post up if I'm doing something similar again, hopefully with more notice.
Cheers appreciate that ##yes the way up we went is not advised - its a climb in laces and dont think it would be possible [ and certainly not wise] to try it solo loaded
There's a bridleway way a bit further south that goes up to the tarn - anyone know what that's like?
Great tongue as part of the Fairfield horseshoe?
pushable but steep - not boggy but it was summer when i did it
Like the push up to the knott to get to high street but longer iirc - cannot recall it massively tbh so it cannot be that bad.
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Escape Goat
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by Escape Goat »

Absolutely beautiful pictures. I really like your composition. Looks like a great time was had.
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psling
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by psling »

Bit late to the party here but wow!, some articles and pictures just make you want to stop everything you're doing and go there. Yours does just that :-bd
We go out into the hills to lose ourselves, not to get lost. You are only lost if you need to be somewhere else and if you really need to be somewhere else then you're probably in the wrong place to begin with.
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thenorthwind
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by thenorthwind »

Cheers guys. I shouldn't take too much credit for the photos, they pretty much took themselves. Right place, right time, you could have pointed the camera pretty much anywhere and captured some gorgeous light hitting a shapely bit of landscape.
boxelder
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by boxelder »

I've been up and down Helvellyn numerous times on foot and bike, on different routes, but never yet from the Thirlmere side.
Sticks Pass is the least painful. Descend by Birk Side at the other end of Thirlmere.
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PaulB2
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by PaulB2 »

I've only every done the lakes once on a bike and those pictures make me want to to do it again. The legs however still remember the last time.
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faustus
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by faustus »

Fabulous photos, and looks and sounds like a fantastic ride :-bd
rudedog
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Re: All the Lakes bikepacking goodness in one neat little package

Post by rudedog »

thenorthwind wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 2:13 pm Cheers guys. I shouldn't take too much credit for the photos, they pretty much took themselves. Right place, right time, you could have pointed the camera pretty much anywhere and captured some gorgeous light hitting a shapely bit of landscape.
Take lots of credit, it’s clear you have have a great eye for composition and understanding for what makes a photo stand out.
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