Lakes Biking Trip

Go Ape’s Naturally Powered Adventures are designed and subsidised so that they’re accessible to all tribe members. In September 2022, Go Ape tribe members from all across the UK headed up to the Lake District for three days of mountain biking and a trip to the Go Ape Zip Trekking Adventure.

Two Go Ape tribe members, Clair and Beki, share more: 

By Beki:

I was quite new to mountain biking when I saw the email about the trip and thought it would be a great opportunity to learn some new skills and gain some confidence.

I had tried a few trails here at Cannock Chase and thought it would be a nice step up to try new trails in the Lakes.

We started the trip by doing Zip Trek at Grizedale (with amazing weather) which gave us chance to get to know the rest of the group as, for most of us, it was our first-time meeting. We then collected our bikes and headed out for the afternoon. It was my first time using a dual suspension mountain bike as well as it being electric, so I was really quite nervous!

Clair was a brilliant guide and straight away we were on some fairly challenging trail. I had lots of self-doubt and there may have been a few tears, but I took great confidence in Clair’s support and advice and had a brilliant couple of days. We completed trails I would never have dreamed of trying (with the best views to reward us) and had brilliant fun getting to know the others in the group. I was so impressed with how supportive and encouraging everyone was for everybody in the group and felt proud to be a part of it.

Since coming home, I couldn’t believe how much this trip has done for my confidence on the trails and am looking forward to going again next year if the trip were to run again!

By Clair:

We arrived on Sunday evening, to a nice quiet camp site and stayed in pods for the evening.

Monday morning, we started the trip with a Zip Trekking adventure at Go Ape Grizedale. It was a fantastic time with 8 long zip wires as well as games and competitions on the way down.

We had a nice lunch in the Go Ape cabin staff room before getting our bikes from Biketrecks mountain bike hire and setting off on our first ride. We were lucky enough to get the top of the range e-bikes, which definitely made the hills easier. Then, once we were all kitted up, it was time to head out into the forest.

Our first trail hill was narrow and winding so was quite tricky but the downhill afterwards was ace. There was a fast flowing but rocky top, which led to a single track through the trees that took us all the way down to Coniston Lake.

From there we rode back up the hill to the very top of the forest and were treated to some stunning views of Lake Coniston and the surrounding mountains. Whilst at the viewpoint we even spotted an Adder snake curled up enjoying the sunshine as well.

From there everyone was feeling a bit more confident and we took another nice undulating trail over the moor and then down some great single tracks to the picturesque village of Satterthwaite. At this point we split in a different directions, with a few people heading back to the centre via the road and a couple of diehards getting in one more very rocky last down hill trail.

Once we gave the bikes back we went back to the camp site for a classic Go Ape BBQ dinner followed by Marshmallows by the camp fire.

Day 2 was wetter which made the starting the day a little trickier. We collected our bikes again and set out from the centre and up the hill in the rain. We chose a particularly difficult trail and unfortunately one of the group ended up with a puncture at the bottom, meaning a drizzly wait while the wheel was repaired. The team were still in good spirits though and took the time to chat with some other bikers who had just finished another trail.

With the puncture fixed we were on our merry way again down the Devils Gallop, a lovely, rocky trail but which spelled another puncture down the line! After stopping again, we set out to the furthest point of the day and our luck began to turn as the sun came out for us just as we reached the top.

We rode along the top in sunshine taking in the views before heading back on our downhill on a mixture of wider trail and single-track paths towards our destination, the lovely village of Hawkshead for lunch.

After re-fuelling, we headed back into the forest to try out some final trails before going back to the visitor centre. Everyone was in great spirits at the end of the day, and we all agreed that we had gotten a lot out of the proper natural trails – and experienced a full range of famous lake district weather!

Everyone who took part in this trip gave the activities their 100% effort and it paid off for them as their skills improved a lot over the two days and they got to ride some excellent trails.

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