There are significant positive changes to Lake District rights of
way access as of today, Wednesday 1 August.

There are now three Open Acess Areas which you can see by
clicking
here which replace the existing system of approved access points
and promoted routes. The zone of most interest to mountain bikers is
the central area of the fells, but there are also open access areas
in the Hardrian’s Wall area and near Alston to the east of the
Lakes.

Within these zones, access is effectively back to normal, subject
to some restrictions and common sense. Users are asked to use
disinfectant mats and washes where provided, to keep boots and tyres clean before riding,
stick to rights of way and to keep dogs on leads. There may also be
cases where farmers have posted their own notices asking walkers to
bypass certain routes and Tourist Information offices are asking
cyclists, walkers and climbers to respect these for the sake of
diplomacy. If you come from outside the area, remember that foot and mouth has hit it hard and some locals are ultra-sensitive about the issue.

The Lakeland
Fells access area includes most of the, well, Lakeland Fells with
the exception of the area to the north of the A66, where Blencathra
and Skiddaw are still out of bounds, some of the fells to the south
of Coniston and Torver, some regions below Windemere and about
halfway up Ullswater. In total it looks like around two-thirds of the
National Park is now open.

Obviously it’s not wholly back to normal, but it’s good news for
mountain bikers, walkers, climbers and local businesses and there’s
even something left of the summer. See you on the trails.