WHERE ARE WE?
THE LAKE DISTRICT
The Lake District National Park, established in 1951, covers 2,362km² and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2017. This stunning and iconic area of northern England offers amazing scenery and challenging riding.
www.lakedistrict.gov.uk
YOUR GUIDE
MAX DARKINS
Max loves travelling up and down the country, searching for the best routes for you to ride. He's the man behind www.roughrideguide.co.uk
My mission for this issue was to find some routes that include bothies. But, with a trip to Scotland not happening for a couple of months, my sights were set on destinations closer to home. England has very few bothies, but the beautiful Lake District comes to the rescue with some awesome riding and free shelter from the elements.
There's been a bit of a bike-packing boom recently, but it doesn't mix all that well with riding technical trails. A bunch of bags hanging off the bike not only makes the ascents a laborious pain in the arse, but it can ruin the descents, too. What's more, wild camping isn't actually permitted anywhere in England other than on some areas of Dartmoor (check out Chris's adventure on p53) or with prior permission from the landowner.
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Mountain Biking UK.
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This story is from the September 2022 edition of Mountain Biking UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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We see whether carbon fibre or steel, big-name value or boutique attention to detail comes out on top on the trails
NUKEPROOF MEGAWATT CARBON 297 RS
The original Megawatt proved itself almost instantly, winning our inaugural E-Bike of the Year award in 2022.
CALIBRE LINE T3 29
£1,100 (with £5 GO Outdoors card) Cost-effective proper' mountain bike
FIRST RIDES
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX & ONTO THE TRAILS
ROUTES QUICK BLASTS
Facing shorter days and inclement weather, Max finds three satisfying routes that show it doesn't have to be an all-day ride or nothing
GRIME TIME
EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE
TRAILCREW HAVOK BIKEPARK
A hand-cut, rider-built bike park, Havok reopened earlier this year at a new site in West Yorkshire and is still expanding
From dust it did rise
Steve Thomas traces the birth of British mountain biking, from 'tracker bikes' to Muddy Fox
THROW DOWN THE CAUNTLET
In our final challenge of the series, we see if e-bikes really are as good at climbing as they're cracked up to be, as we tackle Antur Stiniog back to front
THE RIDER OFF YEAR' 23
THE BIG REVEAL! You voted in your thousands - now meet our winners...
