The Lake District is full of so many beautiful hills, lakes, forests and mountains it can sometimes be hard to see the wood from the trees (quite literally!) when deciding upon where to go first.
If you’re visiting soon an love the great outdoors our lovely members Grizedale Forest, Whinlatter Forest and Go Ape all offer a fantastic variety of outdoor activities. They all cater for families, individuals, couples and outdoor experts! Some activities are free, do it yourself, and others with total guidance from outdoor professionals.
Grizedale Forest
Situated between Windermere and Coniston Lake, Grizedale is a hot spot for walking and cycling. There are a variety of walking trails that offer fab views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. What’s great about Grizedale is that during your walk you can enjoy the great variety of art and sculpture. Since the late 70s leading artists have displayed their work here, now over 40 artworks can be found the forest.
If you’re someone who prefers two wheels, there are cycling routes to suit every type of biker. The North Face Trail is built for experienced mountain bikers, while the bridleway tracks throughout the forest offer a variety of off-road routes for all abilities.
Whinlatter Forest
Whinlatter is England’s only mountain forest. It is a fantastic place for walking and cycling with views across Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwentwater. The longest purpose built mountain bike trails in the Lake District can be found at Whinlatter. One single track, The Altura Trail rises to 1600ft above Keswick, offering trail blazers a ride to remember!
Go Ape
Go Ape provide adventurous outdoor forest activities in 33 locations in the UK. You can enjoy several of Go Ape’s amazing outdoor adventures are at Grizedale and Whinlatter forest.
Go Ape’s Tree-Top adventure is available at both Grizedale and Whinlatter. In Grizedale the high ropes course is seriously high, the 19 metre platforms are there to challenge your inner daredevil! If you’d prefer to be a little lower, Whinlatter’s course is 14 metres above the forest floor. The activity is two to three hour’s long and includes a variety of obstacles and a free-fall Tarzan swing!
If you’re wanting to take younger children, Grizedale also has a Junior Tree- Top Adventure, this hour long activity is suitable for all ages and includes a variety of obstacles and two awesome zip wires.
If hanging from the trees isn’t your thing, we’d suggest trying the off road, all terrain segway activity, available at both Whinlatter and Grizedale. This is a totally unique way to enjoy the forests, with miles of bridleway track to cover, these self balancing segways are an amazing way to discover the lake district forests. If you’re lucky you might even see some wildlife!