Buy the OS Route Map and instructions for this route

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: you don’t need to go high in the Lakes to sample the best riding. In fact, most of the best riding weaves around and between the highest peaks, following the ancient tracks and trails that would have once carried most of the traffic in these parts. This route’s a great example.
The near vertical slash of stone-laced dirt that slices through the windswept col of Boredale Hause makes quick work of the initial height gain, but don’t be fooled into thinking the climbing’s over just yet; there are plenty more contour lines to be crossed before the downhill action begins. And, on a narrow ribbon of trail that cuts an exposed veranda around a steep hillside, it won’t be the easiest altitude you’ll ever bag either.
But it’s all worth it from the little cairn that marks the top, even if the technical demands of the first few metres come as a bit of a shock after all that climbing. Things get easier once you’re around the first bend; but the respite’s only temporary, and there are plenty of other opportunities to get things wrong before you finally hit the valley floor.
This wonderful opener sets the tone for the whole outing, but this is a route that saves its best ‘til last, and the final run-in, above the shores of Ullswater, is almost legendary, with some of the best technical riding the Lakes has to offer, as well as some sumptuous views to soak up if you dare take your eyes off the road ahead.
Cool thinking and careful line choice will get you over the worst of the obstacles, but one or two sections require elite-level downhilling skills too, and discretion might be the better part of valour here, especially if you’ve an audience, which is so often the case on a trail this busy.