UKC

I'll be completing a daily commute between the two in the not so distant future on a bike.

Is the best way to just follow the main road between the two or is there a bridleway or alternative road route.

With either of the other options I don't mind them taking a little longer in time but nothing outrageous as it will be a commute to and from work.

Thanks in advance.

AT

In reply to An Triubhas:

Ever thought of buying the 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey map? You'll be amazed at what it will reveal.

In reply to An Triubhas:

Not the nicest road to be commuting by bike on. You don't say what sort of bike(s) you have, if only a road bike then your only alternatives would be to take the lane leading behind Dove Cottage to White Moss quarry, then the main road to Rydal and then follow the road along the side of Loughrigg. If you've a mountain bike then you could try Loughrigg Terrace and the aforementioned minor road though there's a slightly "damp" patch where it goes through the lake.

There's another bridleway to the north of the road between Dove Cottage and Rydal but I've not been on it so can't recommend it one way or another.

I'd go via the main road as the least worst option.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber:

The bridleway to the north of the road is the old coffin road and looks quite rideable for commuting purposes from photos on geograph.org.

ALC

In reply to Rigid Raider:

What's so wrong with asking for some local knowledge off people who may ride in the area?

Lakeland Climber thanks for your info I'll take a look. Oh and I have a hardtail mtb but with slick tyres.

Thanks again.

AT

In reply to An Triubhas:
If you want a nice route with a big hill then try the road out to Skelwith Bridge and then over the top past the Youth Hostel and drop down into Grasmere via Red Bank.
the route home would be a 20% hill to start.

Have fun

In reply to An Triubhas: The main road has a cycle lane on quite a bit of it from memory, but as ALC says it's not a nice road, specially the bit past Rydal where it's narrow(ish) and bendy, so you get cars trying to cut the corner. The coffin road's a bit rough in places - could make it a bit long getting to work. I think I'd go for the "Blackpool Illuminations" approach to lighting and go the main road way - the Dove Cottage road avoids the main road for a bit, but it's not the narrowest bit, and coming from Ambleside would mean a right turn off the main road to get on to it.

In reply to An Triubhas:

I believe you can avoid the 'damp patch' on Loughrigg Terrace by traversing higher on a decent track by the caves.

That's the way I'd go - although I'd put some slightly knobblier tyres on.

In reply to An Triubhas:
Quite a few options, both on and off road. If you go into one of the bike shops in Amble they sell very useful maps at about 2 quid a go.

Loughrigg terrace is a classic, not too difficult, and the damp bit is always fun (did it in November one year - interesting).

On the other side of the lake there is a BW that runs from Rydal Mount to join the road that leads to Dove Cottage, but it's much tougher

In reply to a lakeland climber: can think of much worse commutes to be honest its not that busy a road compared to your city routes

In reply to Ricardo:

I'm not saying it's bad, more that it's not the sylvan country road you might expect, it is after all the primary road through the centre of the Lakes. I think there's a 40mph limit on it these days but even so there's a lot of blind bends where much faster traffic can come up on you. In most urban areas the traffic is probably only doing 20mph for the majority of the time so although there's more of it, it's not as unnerving.

I'd be happy commuting on it but I didn't want the OP to get the impression it was entirely pleasant.

ALC

In reply to a lakeland climber: go along the back road as far as rydal, the other side of the river to avoid the a591 as much as possible. Good lights will be needed.

In reply to An Triubhas: You could go over Loughrigg Tarn and then Red Bank, bit of a detour but still a lot better than the main road.....

Again, good lights required.....

In reply to Dark-Cloud: thing is, there's lots of nicer ways to get from Ambleside to Grasmere - but this is a daily commute. Most people want to get to and from work fairly quickly, particularly if the weather's not great - so whilst back roads/off-road is nicer than the a591, i suspect that a lot of the time i'd go the shortest/quickest way - and that's the main road.

In reply to andy: Only a suggestion, riding the main road at peak time is asking for trouble.... i know which route i would be taking.

In reply to andy:

Ambleside - Grasmere via Redbank 5.2 Miles 793ft climbing

Ambleside - Grasmere via A591 4.0 Miles 398ft climbing

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

One thing about Red Bank is that it's very sheltered under the trees and can stay pretty damp and greasy, especially at this time of year. It's also 25%. That bit of the A593 between Clappersgate and Skelwith Bridge isn't exactly bike friendly either.

Whatever problems the A591 has, cycling wise, I think it's the least worst option for a daily commute. Of course given the right conditions then the various side roads do provide a bit of variety.

Depending on just where in Ambleside the OP is living might also make a difference - if he's living down near Waterhead then the back road along the side of Loughrigg is the better route.

ALC

In reply to Dark-Cloud:

Which i reckon would be 10-15 minutes longer, so it wouldn't be my choice of commute every day - but depending on what the OP does for a living, it might not matter.

In reply to An Triubhas:

Get some nobblies and do Loughrigg. I wish my cycle commute was interesting.

In reply to brokenbanjo: Still got to come down Red Bank though, which isn't an option....apparently....