Reviews for Altura Trail - Whinlatter Forest

Summary:
Quality trail

Review:
The downside for me has been the weather only,frozen snow/icey fire roads and certain ares of the climbs being scetchy. The north loop slightly longer with the first downhill section being more technical the second downhill section has the berms and whoops etc but the table tops are far too small you either slow down to land on the downside or go for it and land in the flats. The south loop is the best for me, really fast downhill with bigger jumps and not alot of painfull climbing although my mate thought the north section was better who hates the climbs. just go and give it a try it cant dissapoint.. plus free coffee at the shop if you donate to the keswick rescue service OK nearly free!!!

Summary:
Put a smile on your face

Review:
I have to agree with the last review. I have ridden it half a dozen times now and there is serious good time to be had. The initial climb is a bit of a slog but not that long and then the fun starts. Yes, there are some wet roots but so what!It is part of the challenge as are some tricky switchbacks. There might be mud and loose rocks at the bottom of the berms but the idea is not to ride at the bottom! In my opinion, this trail is more exciting than Grizedale and it is impossible to ride it without finishing with a big smile on your face.

Summary:
What are these people on about?

Review:
I have to disagree with some of the comments here about this trail. I went there yesterday after some serious rain had fallen in the Lakes.

The trail is well surfaced and drains well offering good grip even in the wet. The initial climb is steep in a few places and some of the switch backs are too tight if you have a bike with a slack head angle but if you are reasonably fit then it is not too nasty. It offers great views on the way up and once all the singletrack ascent is finished then it will be even better.

The sections in the woods once you have gained some altitude are fairly undulating with plenty of tree roots and wet rocks to catch out unsuspecting riders. That said, it all flows quite well. Once you reach the start of the first short descent then things really get good with a particulary nice sequence of steepish switchbacks in the woods.

The final descent is not particularly technically demanding but the flat out speed that you reach puts a big grin on your face.

If I had to criticise this trail at all I would say that the final descent features a crappy tabletop that is way too short considering the speed you are going at and that perhaps it loses its height a touch too quickly at the end.

I would put sections of this trail on a par with other trail centres such as Glentress and Llandgela.

Rant over.

Summary:
Totally killed my joy

Review:
Didn't enjoy this trail at all. it seemed like you were just climbing all the time without enough reward. Granted the final descent is good but with little margin for error i felt over cautious, i thought that was down to me stacking it on JJ's jumps the other week but my mate (who didn't) agreed with me. The weather wasn't the best and that just made it far too slippy all the way round as the trail is mostly mud and slate. Maybe its better in the dry but most of the riders i spoke with on the way round agreed with me. Also i found the people to be a little snobby unlike at Llandegla where everyone seems to be really friendly but maybe thats just the difference between the lakes and wales? All in all not a good day and doubt if i'll be heading back to check out the next bit when its finished!

Summary:
up, up and more up.....

Review:
when me and my mate arrived we were initially impressed, the place looked well organised with good scenery. how wrong we were!
this trail is hard work with no reward, we just seemed to be going up all the time. the downhill at the end is good but very technical and if your not careful the ambulance which arrived sirens blazing as we were leaving could be for you.
there is some singletrack but it does not seem to have any flow, there is always another uphill around the corner to take away your smile.
i was told by a local that the new section has more and even harder uphills than the current section so i wont be going back, grizedale may not have black sections or be as technical but it is much more fun if your in the lakes.