Lancaster – Burton – Holme – Ackenthwaite – Sedgewick – Natland – The Helme – Laverock Bridge – Meal Bank – Staveley – Crook – Underbarrow – Levens – Storth – Silverdale

This popular route gets us into the southern fringe of the Lake District and makes use of “balcony” lanes, giving views of the Lakeland peaks, as we circle around Kendal in the valley below.We also visit the ever-popular Wilf’s Café and Wheelbase cycle store.

From Lancaster, we usually take the lanes through the Kellets (villages) to Burton in Kendal, then seeking quieter lanes to Holme, Ackenthwaite, Hincaster, Sedgewick and Natland, just south of Kendal.Here, the route goes right up a steep ascent and eventually climbs via an unfenced and largely traffic-free road over the western slopes of The Helm, affording a panoramic view of Kendal with the Lakeland peaks in the distance.Continuing to skirt around and above Kendal to the east and north keeping the balcony views over the town, we cross the A684 Sedbergh Road and the A685 Tebay Road before taking care as we descend the very steep and pot-holed lane past Meal Bank, then over the A6 Shap Road towards Burneside.Skirting the village on quiet, undulating lanes we complete another 4 miles via Hagg Foot to enter Staveley, over the bridge by an impressive weir.Staveley has several eating options, but cyclists tend to congregate at Wilf’s for an extended lunch and wander around Wheelbase, daydreaming about their next purchase.

Turning our wheels towards home, we cycle over the bridge over the A591 Windermere Road and climb over the hill to Crook , where we cross the B5284 and head south through typical south Lakeland countryside to Underbarrow and Brigsteer. The ride now enjoys views over the Lyth Valley and climbs through Brigsteer Park woodland to Levens Village.After a brief section on the A6 we turn onto Heversham Moss coastal flats, with views over the Kent Estuary to Whitbarrow. With afternoon tea on our minds the speed usually increases to get to the RSPB Leighton Moss café before closing time, to round off a great day “a-wheel” before returning home via our separate ways.

CTC Lancaster and South Lakes covers all the LA postcodes and the majority of our members live in the Lancaster area.  Most rides start from Lancaster and are 40-70 miles, so we can only access a large part of the southern Lake District using car-assist. As well as the Lake District, we are lucky to have the 3 Peaks area of the Yorkshire Dales and the Howgills within striking distance.  Many of our rides head south, into the Forest of Bowland AONB or onto the Fylde, but these are not LA postcodes. A very popular area for shorter rides is the Arnside/Silverdale AONB.