Venue: Kielder Forest

Photos for Lonesome Pine&Bloody Bush

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Usually find myself at Kielder when I fancy a break from the 7 Stanes. And having been four times now, there's almost always no-one else around. It's not the most technical red route, but all the b... read whole comment... turnertower gave this trail 4 stars about 1 year ago

brianelliott65 gave this trail 3 stars about 2 years ago

I did this trail yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. There is quite abit of fire road but it is broken up by some nice singletrack. The singletrack is quite course and requires care but it is a well ... read whole comment... robborroo gave this trail 4 stars about 4 years ago

Good combination long ride with some nice single track and some technical climbing. Watch the boardwalks up on top in the cold and wet! willsy gave this trail 4 stars about 4 years ago

legolam gave this trail 3 stars about 4 years ago

Lonesome Pine&Bloody Bush

This is a figure of 8 loops incorporating two of the red trails at Kielder. The surface is mainly stony and sandy (and, in the wet, has been referred to as a "grinding paste"!), with a fairly high percentage of fireroad. The Lonesome Pine trail fares better in this respect, and the 12 mile loop (cutting out the Bloody Bush trail from markers 1 to 2) probably has the best of the riding in it.

The trails starts easily enough, with a flat and smooth cycle along the south shore of the Lakeside Way. You are then climbing, and get some lovely views across Kielder Water. One particularly brutal climb brings you out on to some Northshore over the peaty moorland, with spectacular views across the lake and forest. At mile 8 (marker 1), you have the choice to continue on to the Bloody Bush route, or head back downhill and follow the Lonesome Pine route.

The former takes you over some more northshore followed by some forest singletrack. A rocky descent takes you to the intersection with the Cross Border Trail (described elsewhere on this site). Unfortunately, most of the descent from here back to joining the Lonesome Pine route is on fireroad, which feels like a waste of good height.

The other downside of doing this as a figure of 8 is that you have to do that brutal climb all over again! But the Lonesome Pine descent is mainly fast singletrack and, all too soon, deposits you back at Kielder Castle.

Photos for Deadwater Trail

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Comments and ratings for Deadwater Trail

Deadwater trail has been extended and a new section called '3 dog climb'. Deadwater is an average red standard trail with a few obstacles, seamartin9 gave this trail 4 stars about 1 year ago

I rode the red section of Deadwater Trail on 23Aug12, as I'd been advised that the black section descent was "sketchy at best". The red trail has everything you'd expect from a challenging man-made c... read whole comment... mrkipling22 gave this trail 4 stars about 3 years ago

legolam gave this trail 4 stars about 4 years ago

Deadwater Trail

Probably the pick of Kielder's red trails. A lot of it feels very natural, but there are some fun and fast man-made downhills too. Unless you want to appreciate a fantastic view from Scotland to the Cheviots from the top of Deadwater Fell, miss out the lung busting climb as the downhill isn't worth the climb on its own.

Taken from the Forestry Commission Description. Whether you choose the Deadwater red grade trail or the extremely challenging “Up and Over” black grade trail, you will be taking in the 1,900 foot summit of Deadwater Fell which straddles the English/Scottish border and gives sensational 360° views from coast to coast (on a clear day). The trail plummets from the peak back down to Kielder Castle on specially constructed single track, packed full of features. The first ever full on singletrack within Kielder Water & Forest Park, this trail is difficult and packed with many trail features like technical climbs, rock drop off’s, barmy berms, sweet singletrack and sweeping north shore.

Look out for the trail markers. They are there but can be missed. Its easy to spend a couple of hours re riding bits and enjoying the technical downhill bits again.

Photos for Cross Border Route

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Comments and ratings for Cross Border Route

legolam gave this trail 3 stars about 4 years ago

Cross Border Route

An epic day out!

This route can be extended by doing the 7 Stanes trails at Newcastleton. The Cross Border Route, however, is a long and hard enough route, especially if you incorporate Kielder's red trails (as shown here). It can be done from either Newcastleton or Kielder, although there are more facilities at Kielder.

A high proportion of fireroad means that this isn't as technical as it could be. Lots of rocky ascents and descents, with some sandy mud on the Newcastleton side.

Photos for The best of Kielder

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Comments and ratings for The best of Kielder

The best of Kielder

This route combines some of the best trails in Kielder and is very varied. It starts on the Deadwater Trail then goes onto the original Black, then a short cut to the Blue which includes a bit of a push up but misses out a lot of forest road. Then finishes by joining the Lonesome Pine for the final descent of Skydive.
There's quite a lot of forest roads but they link up a lot of the more accessible single-track. If its a good day go up to the top of Deadwater to admire the views otherwise miss it out.

Photos for Osprey Trail

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Fantastic twisty singletrack with great views. Some tough uphill gradients for a blue. danandmiriam gave this trail 5 stars about 3 years ago

Osprey Trail

The blue route at Kielder is a mix of forest road and smooth singletrack without too many technical obstacles. It does allow the more experienced rider a chance to blast down some swoopy, flowy singletrack, and requires a decent amount of fitness to get up the climbs. Great views across the lake.

Photos for Kielder 50 2012

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Kielder 50 2012

The route of this year's Kielder 50 race. I attempted this in mid-October - it's a killer! I bailed out at 42 miles as I was running out of daylight and energy, and kudos to the winner who did it in 5.5 hours! Don't be put off by the high majority of fireroad - this is a real test of fitness with some pretty technical singletrack thrown in for good measure.

Photos for Osprey & Skyspace

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Osprey & Skyspace

As the Osprey trail with a trip up to Skyspace to finish on the Skydive part of the Lonesome Pine Trail