Work travel meant I found myself a long way from home recently, but that provided an opportunity to head out on the bike. Carron Valley Trails took less than 45 minutes to get around and were definitely not deserving of a ‘red’ grade. Lovely scenery though.

A few days later I got lucky with more sunshine and scenic snow at Whinlatter in the Lakes, which is definitely more like proper riding. At only 16.5km, the Altura Trail isn’t particularly long but was definitely ‘engaging’ in the remnants of the previous night’s rain, particularly since the North loop seems to be made mostly of wet off-camber roots. The Southern half was less intense, and breaks out of the trees for long enough for you to really appreciate that you’re in the Lake District rather than just any old generic Forestry Commission woodland.