Grizedale Forest – The North Face Trail
Boardwalks and Hurricanes - Everyday Cycling hits Grizedale
Driving along the eastern shore of Windemere’s vast expanse, the wind whipping up proper seaborne waves, I looked across the water to the forested hills beyond, shrouded in cloud. "That’ll be Grizedale," I thought to myself.
The Lakes had laid on one of its 'special' weather days for our first trip to Grizedale’s North Face Trail, which only served to heighten the sense of anticipation. Rolling into the car park, all was quiet. We were greeted by an empty car park, strong winds and the eerie feeling that we were in the wrong place - oh and a large Tolkeinesque Ent (below), who seemed to cast a quizzical eye over our eagerness to ride bicycles on such an inappropriate day.
The Prisoner of Grizedale
I stepped out of the car into the bracing wind and went into the bike shop to enquire where the trail starts. The café was firmly shut, the visitor centre staff outnumbered the visitors by at least 3 to 1 and the whole place had the eerie feeling of a seaside resort out of season, or a sylvan version of Portmerion. I half expected to see a large bouncing ball following me as I tried to sniff out signs of life. To be fair, we’d picked an interesting weather day, midweek. No doubt during the summer months, the trailhead is packed with riders of all shapes and sizes.
Eventually I found a friendly helpful bloke in Grizedale’s well stocked bike shop, who duly gave me directions to the trail head, along with a warning about the dangers of running water on the trails and the small consideration of falling trees – good job I brought my helmet, I thought.
No trunk road
The trail started with the ubiquitous fireroad climb from the visitor centre. But, to the trail builder’s credit, after less than half a mile the trail veered off to the left onto a gentle, bobbing singletrack climb. Brilliant. Rather than copping out with an easy bit of fireroad elevation, the trail (affectionately titled Elephant’s Paradise) wove along the side of a valley; a narrow, armoured trail, with rocks of all sizes and snaky banked North Shore sections that took us to the top of the craggy peak that Grizedale rests upon. Great thing is, with so much line picking and natural trail obstacles to think about, you don’t notice the height gain ticking by until you’re at the top. Trailbuilders elsewhere, take note.
There followed a short section of fireroad before the trail detoured onto another section of singletrack, which ran parallel to the fireroad, aptly titled ‘The Great Escape’. Again full marks to the trail builders for not taking the easy option. Not only did the section avoid another dull, wide drag, it offered multiple options for a family out on the trails. Experienced mountain bikers and younger children could share the ride, with experienced Mum or Dad dipping into the singletrack bits while the significant other shepherds the kids along the less challenging fireroad. A mate of mine also pointed out that this arrangement works really well for coaching, allowing riders to repeat singletrack sections without having to double back and cause trail chaos.
Exit trail left
Following on from The Great Escape, we decided to elongate the ride slightly, not by taking the marked extension to Low Parkamoor featured on the excellent downloadable trail map (1.54MB PDF) but instead taking the breathtaking, wet, rooty and rocky bridleway descent to Coniston Water. This served as a welcome break from manicured trails with the wide, weathered bridleway offering multiple lines and a taste of real Lakeland mountain biking. The bridleway drops through mixed deciduous and coniferous forest with running water and rocks disguised beneath leaf fall. The bridleway veered right and out into the open valley side, with majestic views of Coniston Water and beyond, in patchy afternoon light, the awesome sight of the Old Man of Coniston, a craggy 2635ft massif.
Back on track
We joined the road that runs along the side of the lake for a brief while before turning right through a gate and onto a green lane which led steeply back to the North Face Trail proper. And what a cracking ascent it was – unrideable in parts on the lower section, due to huge, loose stones on a shifting gravel base, made all the trickier by streams running down it. Eventually the surface let up and yielded enough traction to get going, clipped in and with enough momentum to sustain forward motion. A great test of balance, breathing and weight placement, the detour really spiced things up and included an unexpected encounter with a small herd of ginger cows, who were completely blocking the green lane in that typically nonchalant bovine fashion. After my ride buddy did a bit of impromptu ‘Cow Whispering’ (another hidden skill I didn’t realise he possessed) we were on our way again, rejoining the forest fireroad and encountering the best bit of singletrack yet, Under the Boardwalk, which, not surprisingly was a boardwalk feast with two long sections, the second of which had a skinny line and a 360 degree loop. We paused for some shameless playing and photos before following the section back onto the fireroad.
The pleasing thing about the trail is that offers something for a wide variety of riders. There’s nothing really scary on the trail – no massive drop offs to contend with, but instead rewards riders who concentrate and can pick the best lines through sweeping turns, avoid ing rocks and roots. Though ultra experienced riders won’t be challenged, the technical challenge can be upped merely by upping the speed.
Over in a flash
The singletrack sections throughout the trail all had a very similar flavour, with the technical challenge slowly ramping up the trail progresses. Later sections included bermed turns, encouraging more speed and bigger kicks. Any lack of variety between sections can always be countered by adding in the optional bridleway sections, for a little light and shade. My only criticism of the trail is that it seemed to pass too quickly, which is surely a testament to its good design. We added in a 1 hour detour and still got around in 3 hours. Add in the first detour to Low Parkamoor and you’re probably looking at a 3 ½ to 4 hour ride – a real testing ride for most people. It was easy to keep one’s bearings out on the trail, thanks to the excellent trail map and clear signage.
Bored with the Board? The Verdict
So what’s the verdict? A hearty thumbs up for a well thought out trail that makes the most of the natural terrain, using boardwalk in the traditional sense to negotiate swampy areas and not copping out with boring fireroad climbs. The highlight for me was the opening singletrack climb and the last, long rolling bit of singletrack running back to the visitor centre, which had a little of everything that characterises the North Face Trail, all on the one section. The lack of café on the day was a bit of a let down, (we detoured to Ambleside for a post ride refuel), but the place was deserted, and the weather was miserable, so this was understandable.
 Iron Age Man hits The North Face
Grizedale’s been on the mountain bike radar for a few years now and Iron Age Man paid a brief visit a couple of years ago. A return to sample the still relatively new North Face Trail appealed, so he loaded his prejudices and misery and made the long haul North West through a January morning of hurricane winds and rain. Here are his thoughts.
First impressions are good with a big car-park and well-stocked bike shop. A rather boring visitor centre and closed café were less welcome, but a bird feeding station meant some visitors were getting fed, though they were no more than a few tits and a couple of jackdaws (I used to be a bird-watcher...we all have skeletons in the cupboard!).
Once on the trail, the main climb of the ride is a lengthy piece of winding, new single-track. The gradient is never severe. The challenge is never remotely technical. But, a hard, fast surface and numerous changes of direction, including switchbacks reminiscent of a mountain railway, made up for this. Riders of all abilities will enjoy it: the better ones will be entertained by maintaining a brisk pace and precise line-picking, the lesser ones by working against the constant gradient and direction changes.
Once on top of the hill, if you ignore the recently harvested sections of ex-forest (which will presumably be re-planted shortly) the views are splendid and the sense of bleakness comforting as the trail works its way along the crest of the giant ridge which Grizedale forest covers and which lies between the great lakes of Coniston and Windermere.
Two stretches of north-shore punctuate this section: both banked and winding, both low to the ground and genuinely functional in the context of the trail as they cross bogs – and not a single gratuitous 10 foot high flyover in sight! There’s even a narrow plank-width option across one bog: a tempting trail toy threatening a smelly dunking, but no more.
More fire-road sets you up for a final lengthy stretch of single-track which returns you in a flowing series of arcs through the trees and back to the visitor centre.
Mid-ride, an excursion down and back up the Western flank of the ridge took in an couple of old stretches of bridleway and reminded me that the area has other pleasures to offer: in this case a great descent on a wide rocky path and a fiendishly difficult climb up a rock-strewn cattle track.
The still-closed café was the only downer at the end of the ride. On the face of it, the North Face trail has little to recommend it. It’s not difficult, long or taxing in any way. However, it is designed with wit and with a good feel for what makes riding a mountain bike fun. It won’t satisfy the adventure seeker, but it will provide even the best riders with a couple of hours of fun without contrivance. And for less experienced riders, eager to taste the delights of a Lake District ride, it’s a safe and at times intriguing trip within the bounds of their comfort zone.
Iron Age Man left suitably impressed!
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Been to the North Face? Let us know what you thought.