Road cyclists and mountain bikers are spoilt for choice in the Lake District National Park. There are a range of country lanes, permitted cycleways and bridleways to suit all experience levels, and you can be sure of fantastic views along the way!
Hire electric and mountain bikes across the Lake District
The Lake District National Park have opened a range of new bike hire locations, with mountain bikes and on-and-off road electric bikes in different sizes. You can hire a bike for half a day or a full day, with some great route suggestions along quieter tracks and off-road routes, to really enjoy the spectacular views!
From Hawkshead you can cycle to Ambleside or into the stunning Langdale valley.
Pedal and Paddle at Coniston Boating Centre
You can cycle the fairly short route to Coniston and combine your bike hire with paddleboard hire to get out on the water! Choose from a half day bike hire with 1 hour paddleboarding, or a full day bike hire with 2 hours paddleboarding. The Bluebird cafe has plenty of lunches and ice creams to re-fuel you before your cycle back! Book online and choose a combined bike hire and paddleboard option and your paddleboard will be waiting for you - whenever you arrive at Coniston.
Bikes to hire at Hawkshead
Mountain bikes - 1 extra small, 4 small, 4 medium and 3 large Bergamont.
Electric bikes - 1 small, 2 medium and 2 large Cube Nuride Hybrid.
Guided mountain bike tours every Tuesday this summer
Let us take you on a bike ride, along quiet mostly off-road tracks in the heart of the Lake District. Our guided bike rides will be peddling off from Hawkshead every Tuesday.
Start: 10.30am at Hawkshead Bike Hire Centre.
Finish: around 13:30pm.
Price: £10 per rider.
Bikes: Bring your own mountain, electric or gravel/hybrid bike, or hire one of our mountain bikes.
Experience: A little mountain biking experience would be helpful, but our guide can adjust the route a bit to match your ability level.
Route: A mostly off-road route, 17 km (10 miles) of undulating terrain. You'll pass by Blelham Tarn and the outskirts of Wray Castle before travelling down the Western shore of Lake Windermere. As you leave the shore you'll peddle through the tiny villages of Far Sawry and Near Sawry and then along the side of Esthwaite Water before arriving back into Hawkshead.
What to bring: Suitable clothing and footwear, some drinks and snacks - we'll make sure there are breaks to enjoy the views and re-fuel!
From Waterhead at the north end of Windermere lake, you can cycle down the Western shore of the lake, over to Grasmere or take a longer ride into the stunning Langdale valley.
Bikes to hire at Waterhead
Electric mountain bikes - 5 medium
Cycle routes from Waterhead Ambleside on OS Maps
Waterhead to Windermere Western shore - 13km each way, 26km total, about 2-3 hour ride.
Waterhead to Grasmere - 9.5km each way, 19km total, about 2 hour ride.
Waterhead to Langdale - 13.2km each way, 26.5km total, about a 2-3 hour ride.
We've got suggested routes from each of our bike hire locations and we recommend downloading OS Maps app on your phone so you can track your progress on the route as you go along.
Our routes take you on quiet roads and traffic-free tracks and suit our electric and mountain bikes.
It's free to download and free to register an account which will work on the web and in the app.
Our suggested times are for average cycling speeds, but give yourself a bit longer so you can enjoy the views and refuel with a picnic or cafe visit!
Great off-road routes for all ages
The Eskdale Trail is an off-road signed route from Ravenglass through the Eskdale valley.
The Windermere Western Shore is a gently undulating track along the lake shore for walkers and cyclists.
The Keswick to Threlkeld Railway path is a flat multi-user route that's perfect for families with bikes, as well as pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Bus 599 which runs up to 3 times an hour between Bowness, Windermere, Brockhole, Ambleside and Grasmere carries two bikes.
Rail services to and within the Lake District carry bikes, see rail operating company websites for details of capacity and booking arrangements.
Forest
For the more adventurous bike riders:
If you fancy biking through Lake District forest and woodland. Forestry England has bike centres in Grizedale and Whinlatter. They offer amazing daily bike hire at affordable prices.
Guided bike ride Facebook competition 20 July 2022.
Closing date is midnight, Sunday 24 July 2022, no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
The promoter is Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), whose offices are at Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 7RL.
This competition is open to residents of the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and Republic of Ireland aged 18 years or over, except for employees of the Lake District National Park, their families or anyone else associated with this competition.
There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice if something should happen outside of the promoter's control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
No cash alternative to the prize will be offered. The prize is not transferable. The prize is subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
The winner will be chosen at random from all valid competition entries.
The winner will be informed directly within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
Should the winner be unable to take the prize, the prize will be passed to the second drawn entrant.
The promoter's decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.
The prize winner agrees (as a condition of accepting the prize) to the use of his / her name, county of residence (if such prize winner is resident within the UK) or country of residence (if such prize winner is resident outside the UK) and one or more photograph of themselves in any publicity material and to co-operate with or participate in any other reasonable post-competition publicity.
Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant's prior consent.
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social network. You are providing your information to LDNPA and not to any other party.
Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of the competition terms and conditions.
We've got suggested routes from each of our bike hire locations and we recommend downloading OS Maps app on your phone so you can track your progress on the route as you go along.
