Days Out · The Lakes

A day on the mountain: our family trip to Whinlatter

We'd been promising our son Albie a "proper mountain bike day" for weeks, and Whinlatter is where you go to keep that promise. It's a good drive from Shropshire, so we made an early start, flask of coffee in the door, bike on the back, and that long, hopeful drive north with the trails waiting at the far end of it.

You feel the forest before you see it. The road climbs and climbs out of Braithwaite, the trees close in, and then you're up at a thousand feet in what Forestry England fairly calls England's only true mountain forest. It was that classic Lakes morning where the top of the hill has decided to keep its own weather, all drifting cloud and wet pine smell, and Albie went quiet in the good way, face at the window.

Start on the green

Whinlatter grades its trails like a ski resort, green through to red, which makes it easy to pitch the day exactly right. We started on the green Gorse Trail: gentle gradients, a forgiving surface and no nasty surprises, which is exactly what you want for a first proper go at off-road riding. We rolled in steady, no rushing. It took about one loop for tentative to turn into "again".

When it clicks

There's a moment on days like this where something clicks, and you can see it happen. For Albie it was a little bermed corner about halfway round the green loop. He came into it braking and tentative, came out of it grinning and leaning the bike, and immediately wanted to do it again. And again. We must have ridden that one bend a dozen times.

That's the beauty of a graded trail centre: you can stay exactly where you're comfortable and enjoy it. When he's ready, the blue Quercus Trail is the obvious next step, a longer loop with a bit more climbing and some flowing singletrack through the oak woodland. We kept to the green this time, and it was plenty.

The red Altura is the famous one, long and technical and the reason a lot of adults make the pilgrimage. We didn't go near it. One day, maybe, when he's bigger and braver than us. For now, the green was all the mountain we needed.

The bike did its job

A quick word on the blue bike in the photos, because it earned its keep. That's a Shyre Hopton, our lightweight hybrid, and on the green Gorse Trail it was more than enough bike. The thing that made the difference was the weight. Because it's light, he could actually chuck it around and pick his line, rather than being dragged around by it. Halfway up a climb that would have finished a heavy supermarket bike he was still pedalling and still chatting. That's the whole reason we build them light.

If you're planning to push on to the blue and red trails, that's where a full mountain bike comes into its own, with a suspension fork for the bigger hits and disc brakes for the steeper descents. That's what the Eastie is built for, and it's the one we'd point you at for a serious day on the mountain.

Chips, cloud and a very good day

When legs and patience ran out, the café at the centre was exactly where we needed it. Hot chocolate, a mountain of chips, muddy knees under the table and every corner of the ride replayed to us as if we hadn't been standing right there watching. There's more to Whinlatter than the bikes, too, forest walks and play areas and Go Ape up in the trees, so there's always something else to do.

We rolled down off the mountain in the afternoon and dropped into Keswick for a wander by Derwentwater, that lovely tired quiet in the back of the car that means it worked. Wet socks, a bike rack full of mud, and Albie already asking when we can go back. Days like this are the entire point. More rolling, less scrolling, and a day nobody will forget in a hurry.

Planning your own day: which trail for which kid

If you're heading up, the trick is starting on the right trail and only moving up when they're grinning rather than gritting their teeth.

• Gorse Trail (green). The family one, and where we started. Gentle gradients and a forgiving surface, perfect for a first taste of real off-road riding.
• Quercus Trail (blue). The step up. A longer loop with more climbing and some flowing singletrack through the oak woodland, for kids who've found their confidence.
• Altura Trail (red). Long, technical and demanding, and best left to older, confident riders or the grown-ups. Ride it while the little ones do the green with the other parent.

Where: Whinlatter Forest, near Keswick, Cumbria, up above Braithwaite. What it is: A graded mountain bike trail centre in a working forest, with a visitor centre, car park and café at the trailhead.

The bike to do it on

For the graded trails you want a proper mountain bike: suspension for the roots and rocks, disc brakes for the descents, grippy tyres for the loose stuff, and light enough that a child can throw it around. That's the Eastie.

A few things we learned

• Helmets and pads. Real descents mean a good helmet is non-negotiable, and knee and elbow pads saved a few tears on the blue.
• The mountain makes its own weather. Pack layers and waterproofs even if it's bright in Keswick. It's colder and wetter up top, as we found out.
• Bring a change of clothes. They will get muddy. Gloriously, head-to-toe muddy. Towels and dry socks for the drive home are worth their weight.
• Check before you drive. Trails occasionally close for forestry work or weather, so a quick look at the Forestry England Whinlatter page saves a long trip for nothing.

A few common questions