Route information
Length 10 miles return
Duration 2 hours
Start Haverthwaite
Finish Cartmel
Classification Difficult
Terrain Road/off-road, hilly
Who's it good for? Families with teenage kids; couples and friends; food-lovers; long-distance riders
Map Walney to Wear Cycle Route Map; OS Explorer OL7
Walney to Wear: an ebike hike
Oh, the shame. I am tackling my first hill on an electric bicycle and I seriously think I may have to get off and push. To be fair, the relentless climb known as Bigland Hill is a whopper, one of the most challenging sections of the 152-mile Walney-to-Wear (W2W) cycle route.
Without battery power I'm not sure I'd even want to walk up it, let alone cycle. But the point of electric bikes is to tackle otherwise-daunting terrain, and I've brought one to Cumbria's Cartmel peninsula to see what it can do.
A touch of intuition
Biking friends rolled their eyes when I told them I was going "cycling" on an ebike; I wish they could see me now, pedalling until my thighs scream and lungs gasp.
Modern ebikes have intuitive batteries that give you an extra push when you're going uphill, but they don't do all the work. Given that I'm heading to Cumbria's fine-food hotspot, this may be a good thing – I'd like to feel that I've earned my visit to the Cartmel sticky toffee pudding shop. However, I'm in the lowest of nine gears, my stamina flagging. I pull over to "take a photograph" (collapse by the roadside), relieved to find the road so quiet that no cars have witnessed my struggle, yet.
I used to own an electric bike, about a decade ago when I was a home-counties commuter. It emitted an embarrassing hum as it propelled me uphill, and was so heavy I could barely manoeuvre it. So I was smitten when introduced to this new-generation ebike, with its eye-catching slim white frame. The lean machine was delivered to me at the Lakeside Hotel on Windermere by the Electric Bicycle Network, which has hire points and charge points across the Lake District and other national parks. The minimum legal age for riding one is 14, making them perfect for families with teenagers or out-of-practice parents keeping up with younger kids.
Conversation starter
Researching the area for future family outings, I did the first part of my journey under someone else's steam, on the bike-friendly Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway. Standing on the platform, I discovered that being in possession of an ebike is like having an unusual breed of dog. It provokes stares of curiosity and starts conversations with strangers: where did you get it, how much does it cost, is it hard work?
Hard work, yes, at least where Bigland Hill is concerned. The summit appears after a mile of twisting agony, after which it is all dreamy downhill gliding through woods and lanes lined with damson blossom. In Cartmel I refuel at the Pig and Whistle, a family-friendly pub (with an affordable kids' menu) owned by chef Simon Rogan (who also runs the restaurant L'Enclume). Then it's back uphill the way I came, the longer, gentler ascent proving well within my battery-charged capabilities. Cresting Bigland Hill, plunging downwards at a sharp angle with my wrists bent backwards over the brakes, I am proud of my earlier achievement – until two "real" cyclists overtake me on road bikes. Their Lycra-clad bottoms recede into the distance, and I resolve to save that sticky toffee pudding for the kids.
Useful information
How to get there
Windermere station is a 20-minute train journey from Oxenholme on the West Coast mainline. For rail, bus and boat timetables, as well as where to hire bikes, see golakes.co.uk/travel.
Where to eat
Pig & Whistle, Cartmel (015395 36482). The Wilsons Arms and Torver Deli, Torver (015394 41237). Bluebird Café, Coniston Water.
Where to stay
Sunny Brow Farm has three woodland yurts between Windermere and Coniston, and the owners will pick up guests (and bikes) from the bus stop in Hawkshead (015394 36288, short breaks from £285). Lakes Lodge has family rooms and bike storage and is within walking distance to the boat pier at Ambleside (015394 33240, rooms from £89, £20 supplement per child). Coniston Hall campsite on the shore of Coniston Water welcomes tents and campervans (015394 41223, adults £8, kids £4, open Mar-Oct). Low Wray campsite on Windermere's northern shore has family camping pods from £40, plus tent and caravan pitches (015394 32733).
Where to hire bikes and ebikes
Coniston Boating Centre (015394 41366). Electric Mountain, Bowness-on-Windermere (07407 422798). Country Lanes Cycle Hire, Windermere station. Low Wray campsite, near Ambleside (015394 32039). The Lake District visitor centre at Brockhole, near Windermere, rents out bikes in school holidays and on weekends (015394 46601).
For more information on holidays in England, go to VisitEngland.com
