Mountain biking

This rugged wilderness is MTB heaven.

Experience some of the best singletrack trails in the UK with breathtaking views.

Why not take in the Deadwater red grade trail or the extremely challenging “Up and Over” black grade trail. Either way you will be taking in the 1,900 foot summit of Deadwater Fell which straddles the English/Scottish border and gives sensational 360° views from coast to coast (on a clear day).

Download the Deadwater Trails guide

Lonesome Pine Trail

This stunning new 17 kilometre ‘red route’ has been built as part of a £900,000 investment in mountain biking in the Park. The red route sets out from Kielder Castle and heads into Lewisburn, with its tall trees and stunning river views, creating an unmistakable `North American’ feel to the trail. It then climbs to an altitude of 1,600 feet and crosses over boggy ground using a one kilometre, one metre-wide wooden broadwalk – a so-called `North Shore’ trail – the longest of its kind anywhere in the UK. Five truck loads of Kielder grown timber were used in its construction.

The route then drops down past the world-famous £480,000 Kielder Astronomical Observatory for a thrilling descent to Kielder Castle, offering intermediate level bikers a challenge worthy of the breathtaking Borders scenery.

Download the Lonesome Pine Trail guide

Bloody Bush Trail

A 33 kilometre red grade trail – providing riders with single track access to the border to link with existing routes - was fully opened to cyclists on Saturday, September 5, 2009. 

With the final 12 kilometre section now complete, it links Kielder Water & Forest Park to the Scottish border and the 7 Stanes bike centre at Newcastleton, Scotland, offering an awesome adventure ride through some of the UK’s wildest terrain.

Download the Bloody Bush Trail guide

New blue grade trails

A new blue trail opened May 2010 – the longest of its kind in England – designed for casual and family riders. 

This is a moderate route for experienced mountain bikers and is a great progression for those who have used the Lakeside Way and are looking for more of a challenge. It begins from Kielder Castle car park and heads off to the eastern side of the Park.

After joining the Forest Drive for a while, riders can expect to loop back and up towards Grey’s Pike where there are some stunning views, gently looping singletrack and a bespoke bridge.

Be prepared to dismount in a couple of areas if you are a beginner but it is definitely worth it for the breathtaking new views the trail opens up to visitors.

Eventually the trail joins the Lakeside Way and on the stretch back to Kielder Castle look out for Silvas Capitalis, our giant forest head, and Bakethin Nature Reserve. The route is approximately 20km in total so equipment for two to three hours of riding is required.

The new blue route adds to Kielder Water & Forest Park's full suite of trails, giving bikers of all abilities a great chance to explore this tremendous and historic landscape.

Download the Osprey Trail guide


Castlewood Skills Training Loop

If you are not sure whether mountain biking is for you, give the Castlewood Training Loop at Kielder Castle a try. It is packed full of short trail sections that will give you a taste of what the different grades of trails are like to ride out there in the wider Kielder Water & Forest Park.

The circuit is designed as a great progression from Lakeside Way and we recommend all mountain biking visitors to Kielder Water & Forest Park ride this Skills Loop first before taking on one of the challenging cross country trails.

MTB Trials Park

Packed full of advanced level features, the Trials Park is an ideal spot for riders looking to push their skill levels, style it up, learn new tricks or just hang out and ride with friends. It's located right next to the Kielder Castle car park.

The park is graded ‘orange bike park’ with a great range of features, small and large. Check out the info panels on site before riding. In addition to helmet and gloves, body armour is strongly recommended!

Riders tend to practise 'session' short sections rather than riding a whole trail in one go. 'Sessioning' is positively encouraged, but please use the Deadwater Outward trail that runs alongside the Trials Park rather than the actual trails to push back up.

Bike hire

There are two bike hire facilities in Kielder Water & Forest Park - Purple Mountain and The Bike Place Kielder.

Besides offering a huge range of bikes for hire, Purple Mountain also stages an exciting array of events, from night rides using powerful cycle lamps to family sessions and outings aimed at women, school children and corporate clients. For more information click here.

The Bike Place Kielder has an exciting new location at the previous Kielder garage site. Its new home is a lot easier to find and as well as having an array of bikes on offer, the Bike Place is continuing its popular marathon series. For more information click here.