New trail opens in English Lake District

The Altura Trail opened at Whinlatter Forest Park in the Lake District on Monday (Forestry Commission)

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A new trail has opened at Whinlatter Forest Park near Keswick. The 19km Altura Trail includes 15km of new singletrack and is the longest purpose-built mountain bike route in the Lake District.

Graded red, it has been built for experienced riders with good off-road skills and a reasonable level of fitness. It has challenging singletrack sections and features including berms, jumps, rock gardens, skinnies and corkscrews.

Lord Clark of Windermere, chairman of the Forestry Commission, launched the trail yesterday. He said, “The Altura Trail provides a fantastic new facility for mountain bikers. Together with all the different walking routes and the Go Ape high wire forest adventure courses, unveiled earlier this year, Whinlatter is now one of the region’s best centres for outdoor activities.”

The Altura Trail took nine months to build and was largely constructed using materials sourced within the forest. It offers great views of Derwentwater, Bassenthwaite and the surrounding fells. 

Ian Young from sponsors Altura said, "We are delighted for our brand to sponsor the first mountain bike trail here at Whinlatter. At Altura we believe in encouraging all types of riding and are especially proud to be associated with technical mountain biking such as this new red route, unrivalled in Lakeland area."

There is a Cyclewise bike shop in the forest which offers a fleet of Cube hire bikes, Altura clothing and a chillout zone. The North West Regional Development Agency helped fund the construction of the trail and the redevelopment of the car park at the forest's visitor centre.

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