With The Lake District and The Yorkshire Dales on our doorstep - KDCS offers an exciting selection of cycle rides throughout the local area and beyond. There are social gatherings including slide shows, talks and supper evenings and members are kept up to date with cycling news and issues through this web site, emails and our Facebook pages. KDCS are an affiliated group of Cycling UK.

KDCS Route 32 - High Cross Forestry Commission car park down to Coniston, up to Hodge Close, down to Colwith, on to Elterwater, down to Skelwith Bridge and up to the Drunken Duck and back.

     A short cyclepath and tarmac ride from  High Cross Forestry Commission car park down to Coniston, up to Hodge Close, down to Colwith, on to Elterwater, down to Skelwith Bridge and up to the Drunken Duck and back.

15 miles (24 km) 1,600' climb (485m)         grade – easy cyclepaths down, hard tarmac up
                OS 97 Kendal and 90 Penrith, Keswick & Ambleside

Start -  Forestry Commission car park - GR SD 333 987, on  B5285 Hawkshead – Coniston road, above Hawkshead Hill   

Over the past few years a number of linked shared cycle/ pedestrian paths have been created in parts of the central lakes, providing a useful number of off-road routes. Public roads can be used to link them up. The paths are mostly of hardcore material, good to cycle on and good for most size of bike tyres (28 mm and wider)
There are numerous mix-and-match route possibilities within this network, and these 5 routes 29 – 32 are just a few of them.

Map


To view elevation details please use this link and select "Elevation Graph" from the top left hand side corner of the map.
http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=776177

Description


The route leaves the Forestry Commission High Cross public car park and goes over the crossroads. A new path starts on the left, immediately after the crossroads, a wooden sign indicating Coniston/ Tarn Hows. It soon enters a wood and descends (sometimes steeply), following the Coniston signs. Half way down is the Forestry Commission work site and road entrance, sometimes a bit muddy. Here the route goes right and  then left in ¼ mile (½ km), and thereafter the descent towards Coniston is fine, again with some steep descents on a good surface.

The route crosses over the minor public road down from Tarn Hows, and in a couple of minutes later joins for 30 yds/m the B5285 Hawkshead – Coniston road before returning behind a hedge on the right onto a permissive bridleway to Coniston. If the path is busy with pedestrians, simply take the flat road into Coniston.

At the main A593 Ambleside road T junction in Coniston centre the route goes right (37 sign) and immediately left by the Black Bull (37, Coppermines YHA) for a gradual but finally steep ½ mile rise (1 km) up to a small bridleway gate on the right (Yew Tree Farm/ Elterwater).

This easy bridleway descends to near the A593 Coniston – Ambleside road (access track from it coming in just after a gate) then continues on a nice undulating gravel path running roughly parallel to the highway. The path continues for a mile + (2 km), crosses straight over the Tilberthwaite road, and soon joins and goes left over the bridge and up (unsigned) the Hodge Close tarmac public road.
This tarmac road climbs, occasionally steeply, to and past  Hodge Close quarry, before ending at a gate (37 sign) onto a bridleway. The gated bridleway descends gently to Stang End, and is generally easily rideable.

At Stang End the route goes right, onto a tarmac road (wooden 637 sign Elterwater/ Ambleside), then in ¼ mile (½ km) leaves it by a farm, through 2 gates in the small farmyard (same 637 signs) and then onto a new gravel path  after the farmyard (Cumbria Way footpath sign only at the time of writing).

It passes through a couple of gates, and on entering the woods it bears right (where the Cumbria Way goes left), and drops down, sometimes steeply, to the public road at Colwith. Going left here takes you to Elterwater  in a mile or so, where shop/ refreshments/ wc are available.

In Elterwater the NCN number is now back to 37, and the route takes (right, by the NT car park) the shared 1 + mile (2 km) riverside path towards Skelwith Bridge. On leaving the open and entering a wooded area the route immediately goes right over a handsome metal bridge (slightly obscure 37 Ambleside sign) to cross the river, then briefly run parallel to it and in 300 yds/m turn left to then pass through a wooden gate to join the public road  (blue bike signs Skelwith Bridge/ Ambleside), going left down the main road.

The route drops down the main road for 100 yds/m, turning right onto a minor road (37 sign) where the main road turns left over a bridge – limited visibility of oncoming traffic, take care. It soon becomes uphill, again steeply, and in a few minutes it goes right (effectively straight on - Hawkshead) at a junction, where 37 goes left uphill to Brathay. The climbing continues.

The ride soon bears left at Bull Close and then right at the next junction (both Hawkshead signs), and climbs up to the Drunken Duck in a mile or less. Here the route goes right, and the Coniston sign is followed for the pleasant 2 + miles (3 km) ride,  gradually climbing but with one noticeable hill back to the start.