Cycle the Lake District

Welcome to Keswick, the charming heart of the Lake District. Today is arrival day and there are no activities planned until your welcome meeting at 6 pm, so take your time checking into the guesthouse. Unpack your bags and make yourself comfortable, knowing that you’ll spend the next three nights here, with no need to repack until departure day. If you have time, why not head out exploring. Keswick has a wide range of things to see and do. Saturdays and Thursdays are market day when the town really comes to life, but also consider a visit to the Derwent Pencil Museum (home of the first ever pencil), the Keswick Museum & Art Gallery or the Victorian church of St John. After the welcome meeting you may choose to head out for dinner with the group, a chance to get to know your new travel buddies.

After powering up with breakfast this morning, get a bike fitting with the group followed by a short test ride to make sure everything is working properly. Today’s ride is an excellent introduction to cycling in the Lake District, a short but at times hilly ride that takes you south of Keswick following small roads before encountering your first cycling challenge - the epic Honister Pass. You’ll definitely need to use your easiest gears, but the views are spectacular, and the freewheeling descent make it all worthwhile. Rest up a while at Buttermere then ride along quiet roads to the last climb of the day, Newlands Pass. This stunning pass will also test your legs and gears but the effort is worth it as you cruise downhill to Keswick in time to enjoy a well-earned brew at the Keswick Brewery, a locally owned and operated eco-friendly business that takes pride in returning part of its profits to community causes. (B)

Today features a longer and more challenging ride of approximately 55 kilometres (34 miles). You’ll set off uphill to the nearby plateau to soak up glorious views over Bassenthwaite Lake to the west and the brooding Skiddaw, the ninth highest summit in England, to the east. Today you will ride a loop around this icon of the Lake District through the ‘Back o’ Skiddaw’ and the Northern Fells as it undulates along the mostly quiet roads through sleepy villages of old stone houses and the rolling farmland and dramatic scenery that has made the Lake District a favourite of anyone who visits. For those interested in wildlife keep a keen eye out for nesting osprey and – if you are especially lucky - the reclusive golden eagle. Enjoy a mostly downhill last 6 miles/10 kilometres back into Keswick to rest up those weary legs, perhaps at Kat’s Kitchen or the famed Mrs F’s Fine Food Emporium – don’t miss out on the cheese scones! (B)

Your last day of riding begins early as you start the short but steep climb up to the haunting neolithic Castlerigg Stone Circle. The 5000-year-old stones give a dramatic atmosphere but the panoramic vista towards Skiddaw and the imposing Blencathra hill from this elevated position is equally as impressive. From here continue down the fells to Legburthwaite and glimpses of the Thirlmere Aqueduct, a 95 mile/154 kilometre-long watercourse on the quiet shores of Thirlmere. Avoid the traffic and ride in the shadow of Helvellyn hill along the quiet wooded road on the western shores of lake, where the old mossy pines and occasionally mist rising off the water give an almost magical impression of an England long since forgotten. From here it is a simple return ride all the way back into Keswick where your Lake District adventure comes to an end. (B)