A new selection of bike hire points throughout the Lake District have been installed.

The new bike collection points are at:

  • Waterhead car park, Ambleside
  • Coniston Boating Centre
  • Hawkshead 
  • And Bowness Information Centre coming this summer 

Each collection point has a car park or bus stop handy and the park’s experts have collated a range of flat and circular routes to follow from the pickup points. 

Emma Moody, the Lake District National Park Authority’s lead strategy adviser for recreation and sustainable transport said: “One of the best ways to get around the Lake District is by bike. We understand that many people do drive to the park so we’ve installed our bike hire stations at key points so that people can park and ride. 

“Our experts are on hand to offer help and advice on what bike to go for, can give a range of routes from your collection point and hope that being able to bike with ease, it will encourage more people to try it for the first time this summer. Importantly safety helmets and spare inner tubes are provided with every hire, meaning you really can just turn up and go. 

“We've got suggested routes from each of our bike hire locations and our staff will point you in the right direction. All routes are available on Ordnance Survey app and you can track your progress on the route as you go along.

“Our routes take you on quiet roads and traffic-free tracks and suit our electric and mountain bikes. It’s an ideal way to try before you buy if you’ve been thinking about getting a bike for your Lake District adventures.”

If travelling further afield people can carry the bikes on:

  • Windermere Ferry between Ferry Nab and Ferry House
  • Bus 599, which runs up to three times an hour between Bowness, Windermere, Brockhole, Ambleside and Grasmere, carries two bikes.

Some traffic free routes for all the family are:

  • The Eskdale Trail is an off-road signed route from Ravenglass through the Eskdale valley.
  • The Windermere Western Shore is a gently undulating track along the lake shore for walkers and cyclists.
  • The Keswick to Threlkeld Railway path is a flat multi-user route.
  • And also new for this spring is a canoe and kayak hire at Millness, just off junction 36 of the M6.