Reviews for Whinlatter Forest Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Summary:
Stunning views

Review:
I don't understand some of the comments in the above reviews. The Altura trail is advertised as putting the mountian back into mountain biking. Theres going to be lots of climbing if your riding in the Lakes.

I rode the trail a few months ago before the full trail was opened. There seemed a lot of climbing on fire tracks rather than single track, but this isn;t the final trail. The singletrack was nice and sweet especially some of the climbing sections which give some good technical riding and climbing that will test your skills. The final downhill has some interesting features and is fast in places.
I thought it a challenging trail and can't wait to try it now the full 19k's is open.

Summary:
this trail is great

Review:
i went there last weekend, and sessiond the new south section, the mountains were slippy, because of the ice and snow, but that made it more thrilling. the long uphill climb is worth it, the down hill is soo flowing. the track is in a figure of 8, so we all skiped the top section the second time round. the down hill is seperated/cut in half with a forest track, which sorta spoils it alittle bit, because you loose the flow, but it makes it easy to get to the best part, the final down hill. it has sets of table tops then burms then yet more tabletops. finishes off with a calmer wooded section and a twoway wooded track.
north route:- there is an easy push up path for the not so patient, which leads to the down hill. its scary, on a near verticle hillside, it is calved into the hill side, but it does have some quality terrain features such as steep berms, and jumps, just one tip for that part, use your brakes, i came off one of the berms going too fast and plumeted down the hill. scary stuff.
overall, this is a great ride, id recomend it. keep it pencils.

Summary:
Quality trail

Review:
The downside for me has been the weather only,frozen snow/icey fire roads and certain ares of the climbs being scetchy. The north loop slightly longer with the first downhill section being more technical the second downhill section has the berms and whoops etc but the table tops are far too small you either slow down to land on the downside or go for it and land in the flats. The south loop is the best for me, really fast downhill with bigger jumps and not alot of painfull climbing although my mate thought the north section was better who hates the climbs. just go and give it a try it cant dissapoint.. plus free coffee at the shop if you donate to the keswick rescue service OK nearly free!!!

Summary:
Put a smile on your face

Review:
I have to agree with the last review. I have ridden it half a dozen times now and there is serious good time to be had. The initial climb is a bit of a slog but not that long and then the fun starts. Yes, there are some wet roots but so what!It is part of the challenge as are some tricky switchbacks. There might be mud and loose rocks at the bottom of the berms but the idea is not to ride at the bottom! In my opinion, this trail is more exciting than Grizedale and it is impossible to ride it without finishing with a big smile on your face.

Summary:
What are these people on about?

Review:
I have to disagree with some of the comments here about this trail. I went there yesterday after some serious rain had fallen in the Lakes.

The trail is well surfaced and drains well offering good grip even in the wet. The initial climb is steep in a few places and some of the switch backs are too tight if you have a bike with a slack head angle but if you are reasonably fit then it is not too nasty. It offers great views on the way up and once all the singletrack ascent is finished then it will be even better.

The sections in the woods once you have gained some altitude are fairly undulating with plenty of tree roots and wet rocks to catch out unsuspecting riders. That said, it all flows quite well. Once you reach the start of the first short descent then things really get good with a particulary nice sequence of steepish switchbacks in the woods.

The final descent is not particularly technically demanding but the flat out speed that you reach puts a big grin on your face.

If I had to criticise this trail at all I would say that the final descent features a crappy tabletop that is way too short considering the speed you are going at and that perhaps it loses its height a touch too quickly at the end.

I would put sections of this trail on a par with other trail centres such as Glentress and Llandgela.

Rant over.