Mountain Biking - Claife Round

Distance: 17 Kilometres / 10.5 miles - Approx Time 1.5 - 3 hours

Terrain:  A good mix of bridleway, green lane, forest road and tarmac road with plenty of technical descents and climbs.

1. Start at Hawkshead, from here head west uphill along Vicarage Lane and the bridleway into Grizedale Forest. Turn left along the forest road towards Moor Top car park.
2. Bike through Moor Top car park and turn right onto the main road. After   approx 100 metres turn left back into the forest through double gates.
3. Head south along the forest road, then bear left and southeast along the forest road where it forks. Keep along this forest road until a bridleway/track on your right (may still appear as a footpath on the map, but is officially a bridleway). Take this bridleway south until you reach the green lane on your left.
4. Take the green lane and head east downhill along a superb technical descent to the main road. Turn right onto the main road and follow south, uphill, then down hill past Slack Wood until you reach a bridleway on your left. Take this and follow northeast towards the main Hawkshead - Newby Bridge road.
5. Turn left onto the road and follow north towards Esthwaite Water, where you turn right towards Near Sawrey.
6. Once in the village of Near Sawrey, turn right along the main road and then left onto the bridleway, which takes you north and uphill past Moss Eccles and Wise Een Tarn, into Claife Forest.
7. Carry on along the forest road until you come to the bridleway on your left (at Hollin Bank Plantation) this will provide a short descent to the next forest road.
8. Turn left along this forest road towards the Guide Post, and then left onto the bridleway that descends west to Colthouse.
9. When you reach Colthouse turn left onto the road and follow back to Hawkshead.