Whinlatter

Whinlatter Forest Park is one the most exciting places to Mountain bike in Northern England. The Forestry Commission have been one of the few public land agencies to put the interests of extreme sports fans FIRST! With two defined routes the Whinlatter park has caterterd for a higher level of Mountain Biker. A Blue route, 7.5km of stunning single track with some technical obstacles as well as some painful hills to get you out of the saddle. Up from this, a 19 km Red route with some black route options marked aptly with a skull and cross bones.

Its not just Mountain Biking that draws the crowds. There are designated walking routes as well as an Alpine Cafe to be enjoyed by all visitors to the park. The ‘Go Ape’ course is perhaps as popular as the Mountain Biking at Whinlatter. ‘Go Ape’ is an obstacle high rope course made about 40 ft up in the trees that had zip lines, rope swings and high wire walks.

The forestry Commission has made some tremendous investment is sites like Whinlatter, often with the help of sponsors. Whinlatters Red Route is sponsored by Altura, a Mountain Biking brand that have have invested alot of time an money into really pushing the profile of Whinlatter. The cost has been about £1/2 million stabilizing 12 existing jobs and creating 10 more. The site was built by Hugh Clixby who has also built trails in Dalby, North Yorkshire and Cannock Forest in the West Midlands.