Route Guide

Difficulty: 

Difficult (Requires Advanced Skills & Fitness)

Distance: 

11 - 15 Miles

Maps: 

OS Landranger 90

Region: 

Cumbria and Lancashire

Navigation Resources: 

GPS Log - MMO Format

GPS Log - GPX Format

This is a very technical 12.5 mile route over the summit of Helvellyn, in the Lake District, that climbs Sticks Pass and descends Dolywagon Pike and Grisedale. On a good day it will be a very big test of your stamina and riding skills, in bad weather you might want to give it a miss.

1.  Start from Glenridding campsite (GR381168). Head out of the campsite with the river on your right then turn right on the lane by the farmhouse to go over the bridge. At the junction after the bridge turn left to ride past a row of houses on the right.  Go past Helvellyn YHA and continue climbing straight on up the wide gravel track. The track soon comes to a gate.  Take the steep track on the right directly before the gate. Climb the wide, loose switchbacks through the disused mines.  At the top of the bends take the steep grassy track signposted right, to Sticks Pass (GR362174).

2.  At the top of the short grassy climb turn right onto a steep and rocky track. A short distance later, go sharp left and continue climbing with a combination of riding, pushing and carrying through a few more corners. After going through the second right hand bend the trail climbs to a large scree slope where the trail flattens out. At the junction at the far edge of the scree turn left and climbing through the rocks. The trail then goes through a right hand bend and soon becomes rideable. Go past a track on the left then follow the main trail as it bears left towards the bottom of the mine workings.

3.  At the mine workings go across the bridge on the right, below the spoil heaps. The trail then climbs left on the sand. At the top of a short climb bear right and follow the track across the bottom of the valley. At the far side of the valley turn left and follow the trail up the right hand side of the valley. This is a great bit of singletrack dotted with tricky rock sections to try and clean. The trail steepens towards the end for a final carry that comes out at a crossroad on the ridge, a good spot to refuel (GR342182).

4. Turn left and head south along the ridge path. With a mixture of riding, pushing and carrying on the uphills and some loose, rocky descents, follow the track along the ridge over the summits of Raise and Keppel Cove. The track is quite easy to follow as it is marked by a number of cairns. Descend to a junction after Keppel Cove and go straight on to climb Lower Man.  Lower Man is the final carry and also one of the toughest. Remount at the top and follow the track left for the final climb to the summit of Helvellyn. At the top bear right to the trig point and the obligatory photo stop (GR342152). A little further on from the trig point is a stone shelter, which is another good place to refuel.

5.  Head south from the trig point and the stone shelter to descend a wide track along the ridge. At the next junction, after about 1/3 mile, turn left for a short climb up a wide track (GR342145).  This leads to a rocky plateau where the trail continues straight ahead. After a while the trail descends left into a dip in the ridge. Bear right at the bottom of the dip then go up a short but tricky climb. At the junction just after take the right hand track. This track follows the contour of the ridge and soon bears left to the start of the Dollywagon Pike.

6.  Lower your saddle if you need to as the descent of Dollywagon Pike is very steep and technical. It starts out quite innocuously but soon comes to a long and steep section of trail paved with huge uneven boulders broken by a number of big water bars. I’ve ridden 85-90% of it in the dry but it gets very sketchy in the wet. About 2/3rds of the way down to Grisedale Tarn the boulder paving gives way to a natural, but still technical, track. Follow this as it winds down the mountain to a junction on a flatter part of the trail at the far end of Grisedale Tarn (GR351123).

7.  Go straight on from the junction, through a big section of bed rock, and descend into Grisedale on the technical and rocky track that clings to the left hand side of the valley. Follow the trail to Ruthwaite Lodge, about 1/2 way down, then bear right as the trail crosses to the right hand side of the valley. The track continues the rocky fun for quite some time before it gives way to a wide gravel then tarmac track in the bottom of the valley. Continue straight on along the track to the junction with the A592 at the end of Grisedale (GR391162).

7.  Turn left on the main road and follow it through Patterdale, all the way back to Glenridding. In the centre of the village turn left just after the shops onto the tarmac BW, before the main road crosses the stream (GR387169).  Follow the lane out of the houses to where it changes to a dirt track through the trees. At the following junction go right to stay by the river all the way  back to the campsite.

This ride has taken me between 3hrs 30min and 6hrs depending on the weather, who I was with, how much I went back to repeat technical sections and how long I sat looking at the fantastic views.  While only 2 miles of this 12.5 mile route requires pushing & carrying it feels more, but it is worth it.