Then there was some “dirt bike” cycling on uneven cobbled tracks and scree slopes, past some amused sheep.

The views were amazing and it was so lush and green.

There were a lot of breaks for map reading and working out where we were going but we didn’t get lost, and despite turning round on some tracks (a bit too narrow for bikes) we plotted a pretty awesome route through the countryside 🙂

I’m pretty sure I’m leaning on the bike to hold me up by this point! My legs were so achey afterwards!

We arrived back around 6pm, so really got our money’s worth! There were times when I thought I was going to be sick trying to cycle up some of the steep slopes, and it was equally scary flying down the insane downhill inclines hoping my brakes didn’t fail! But I really enjoyed it – it was a great way to see the countryside and I would definitely recommend it for exploring the Lake District in a different way. Just pack your strong legs!

Walking
Aira Force
This was a short trek through the forest to see the Aira Force waterfall on the north side of Ullswater, which drops an impressive 65ft into the gorge.

Thirlmere waterfall walk
The weather got progressively wetter on Friday so we got rather soaked on our second walk, an approximate 3mile loop to see another waterfall, on the edge of Thirlmere Lake.

We followed the yellow track

The rain at least meant the waterfall looked pretty spectacular though – we thought it was better than Aira Force, but maybe that’s because we were the only people there! Private waterfall 🙂

And we should have expected to get wet really with the Lake District being the rainest place in England! The rain mist across the lake and the valley looked rather impressive, even if it was dripping off my nose in a most unflattering way….