Whinlatter Forest, The Altura Trail (06-05-09)

Drove up to Keswick area to tackle the Altura Trail at Whinlatter Forest Park. This is a much more technical challenge than the North Face Trail at Grizedale, especially in poor conditions. The rain eased for the second half but were replaced by galeforce winds, so we were tested to our limits at points. Still at least the tyres worked - not sure you could find wetter roots and rocks in the UK right now!

From MTB Brighton 2009

The trail consists of 2 sections of a waymarked red route, the north section being much more challenging than the south, with a steeper longer singletrack climb at the start and harder downhill sections. Lots of switchbacks, dropoffs, etc. (hmmm, yes, it doesnt look like much from the shots, but the camera was stowed for the hard stuff)



The south section is faster and more fun (IMO), although still plenty of twisting uphill singletrack that was a bitch in the galeforce wind, but once you reach the top you are rewarded with some stunning views (of clouds) before embarking on a final downhill run that we were flying along.

From MTB Brighton 2009

Finally at the top! Nice view, but no time to celebrate. There's a cracking downhill coming up...

From MTB Brighton 2009

Full info and a map of the trails can be found on the Forestry Commission site.
There's a new blue section that is actually newly open this week, so we couldn't get on that. If the red route is anything to go by this will be a lot of fun. Well worth the trip!
There's also a good bike shop at the trail start, which is always handy if you need to make any final rash purchases :) They hire bikes and do training courses too...