Nothing beats cycling in Northern England. You have the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the Forest of Bowland on your doorstep, providing ample cycling opportunities. And, if you want to get your heart rate up, there are plenty of steep hills – which rewardingly give way to amazing sweeping views – to master.
Toby Cummings is a komoot Pioneer in Northern England. Check out some of his favourite cycling highlights:
Great Dun Fell is a savagely steep climb that’s often dubbed ‘England’s Mont Ventoux’. Located just outside of Knock in Cumbria, at 848 metres it’s the second-highest hill in the Pennines. It’s said to be the hardest climb in England!
This is a remote yet picturesque trail that leads you past Wast Water, one of the deepest lakes in England (it’s 79 metres at its deepest point). Try taking the northern road from Nether Wasdale and cycle around the lake before heading to Eskdale.
Birker Fell, also known as Birker Moor, is an upland wilderness area in the Lake District and is fantastic for exploring by bike. There are great climbs to tackle and it’s not usually very busy with cars.
The highest point on the road between Tatham Fells and Slaidburn is known as Cross of Greet – there’s no cross there, just a large boulder with a shallow square in its top, marking the old county boundary. If you start from Slaidburn, the route isn’t too steep, but it’s always testing and offers a brilliant descent down to Tatham Fells.
“Bring enough gears to get you up the hills, there are lots of them. Steep, stabby hills. Occasionally reaching gradients of more than 30% and regularly around the 15 to 20% mark. The komoot highlight feature is great for making sure you can see where might be best to explore but the road surface feature is brilliant for making sure you don't accidentally end up on a singletrack. There's plenty of that to be had too, by the way, if that's your thing?”