Grizedale Tarn Cycle Trail

4 Stars

I took my wife and two boys (12 &10) along this trail on the forest roads. The pocket size biking map is available from the visitor center for ■1.50 which is worth it. I made a mistake and turned right shortly after the start (near sculpture 30) by turning right rather than left and ended up doing the route counter clockwise rather than clockwise. This was fine for me but the first mile was a steep climb during which there was nearly a mutiny from the kids and and enforced lunch stop to boost their energy. When we had conquered the first section we got to some lovely views south all the way to the coast and then a thrilling downhill section. The ride around the contours at the top was nice with a mixture of uphill and down which were tolerated by the kids. Grizdale tarn itself is a little hidden. A nice seat at the far north of the trail (sculpture 43) was a nice rest before a fantastic decent back to the Bogle Crag car park. Make sure you take change for the car park as I ended up having to drive to the visitor centre to get change! Suggestion - why not make the routes available as a pdf or as a google earth kml file?

4 Stars

Great Family route. Long climbs, but well worth it for the descent. All on forest fire roads which are a bit loose in places. Loved the sculptures on the way