Lakes and Dales Horseback Rambler

With news that the Windermere Car Ferry was back up and running a plan was formed to ride a route that involved the ferry, this turned into why not put in an overnight stay too! Some of us (not me) have stayed at Holmeshead Farm before and quickly a date was booked here for our horses and humans B & B. The next question was could we get a horse uber in (AKA husband drop off) or do we know anyone we could ask to park our vehicles overnight. Luckily, we were able to park at a friends at High Borrans, which became the start and finish for our ride. All ready Day 1 – Starting from High Borrans we followed the Bridleway down to Moorhowe Road and then picked up the lanes down to The Common Farm. Unfortunately, there are no bridleways or quiet lanes into Windermere, which meant we had to cross the A591 and picked up the wide cycleway/footway that runs adjacent to the A591. For info horses have a legal right to use the verge next to a road and therefore now this has been tarmacked over,...

After as massive campaign lead by fellow cyclists, the West road of Thirlmere Reservoir is open again meaning we can all once more enjoy the 10 mile circler ride around the shore! It is quite astonishing to think now that the road was closed for over two years after a rock fall at Rough Crag. It got a little bit ridiculous as legally horses could not be excluded from the road closure (Traffic Regulation Order) and cyclists started to still ride the route, but openly said they were riding the route as their bike identified as a horse! Myself and my friend Bridget were invited to ride the road when it was still closed to test it out and to show how silly the situation had become. Of course we were more than happy to help and were featured in the local press!    The Cumberland New 2 February 2024 There are lots of car parks around Thirlmere, but for this ride I will start it from the Swirls Car Park off the A591 and would recommend doing the ride anti-clockwise. This route takes ...