Is this the best trail in the UK? – Borrowdale Bash

I took on the Borrowdale Bash in the Lake District — one of the UK’s most iconic mountain bike loops — as a total eMTB beginner! 🚵‍♂️💥

Armed with my eMTB and zero experience on proper Lakeland trails, I set out to see what all the hype was about. From steep climbs out of Keswick to rocky descents and stunning views over Derwentwater, this ride had it all — and tested me every step of the way!

If you’re thinking about tackling the Borrowdale Bash yourself, or you’re just here for some Lake District scenery and eMTB chaos, this one’s for you.

📍 Route: Borrowdale Bash, Keswick, Lake District, UK
⚡ Bike: [Add your eMTB model here]
🎥 Filmed with: [DJI Action 4 .]

👇 Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:10 The Climb Out of Keswick
04:30 Rocky Tech & First Impressions
08:45 Views Over Derwentwater
12:00 The Big Descent
15:30 Final Thoughts

If you enjoyed the ride, hit 👍 and subscribe for more Lake District eMTB adventures and beginner ride experiences!

#BorrowdaleBash #eMTB #LakeDistrict #MountainBiking #CyclingUK #TrailRide #AdventureRide

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[Music] very impressed that you we keep haven’t got the top yet. Good morning and welcome to the channel. And today this amateur MTB cyclist is going to attempt the Boredale bash even while crag which is just there. And uh yeah, it should be an epic ride. Should be some really stupid descents from me. I’ve never done it before. So should be interesting. So stay tuned and let’s enjoy the ride. So let’s get further up. So I’m just coming to near the summit of Wallet Crag. And uh to be fair, considering there’s that much rain come down last few days, I thought that was going to be a bit more boggier than what it is. But yeah, bike’s doing well so far. Obviously getting my height on this first fell. So what a crack done. Right, we’re off down there now. Let’s give it a go. Yep. Yeah. So, that’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life mountain biking wise. I know some of you die hards probably think that’s easy, but that was some coming up there. I’m telling you, [Music] by the way, the ones who I asked about sag on me shock, you were right. It was about 60% sag when I sat on it just cuz obviously I’m a big rider. So, uh, yeah. So, I got a high pressure pump and got it down to 30%. So, both shock and fork should be about right for now cuz it added to 30% on do. So, hopefully I won’t be striking as much on the bottom. Uh so it’s been I felt the total difference so far that’s for certain because uh yeah it’s felt more responsive. Still comfortable but more responsive when I go over bumpy stuff. Now now now the views have just opened up to that. Now that’s what I call a view. Oh, a bit of descending now. I’ve done all the climbing for ages. So, I tell you what, I’m like here with the first bit of decent descending I’ve done since I’ve had the bike. So, don’t expect me to go quick. So, just let you know, I ain’t going to bother with the drone today because I just want to concentrate on trying getting around the full route and uh not having to stop cuz it does take a lot of time getting the drone in and out when I setting it up. So, I just hope I can get capture the views on me chest because uh still get stunning views. It’s just I can get around quicker keeping on me chest and speaking to you like this because obviously takes time doing the drone. Yeah, I might come back in the summer and spend all day filming and basically get the drone up and that up then. But today I’m just concentrate on getting around and getting you the views on the chest. So yeah, let’s get further on and then uh yeah, we’ll get down to the bridge and then we’ll have a bit of road up to surprise view. So let me get you there. So just that surprise view uh Ashnes bridge or Ashworth I can never remember the name of it just full of tourists. Couldn’t even stop there. We get the get some shots of me coming down near the bridge but nope Monday 9:00 and it’s still chuck a block. Anyways, let’s carry on. So, the autumn leaves are coming down, colors are coming up, getting them beautiful autumn colors, and uh obviously the further I get away from that surprise view, the quiet it gets. It’s just absolute crazy. Uh especially for a Monday morning. That’s why I like summers cuz I got up at 4:00 in the morning. Obviously with the darkness now can’t really set off till 7ish and then time getting here 8ish and I thought it’s still going to be quiet but nope it’s uh still busy. Anyways I’m nearly at the can’t name the village. I’ll put it at the bottom here where I’m nearly at. And uh then I think I go over a little bit. I don’t know if I go over that thing there. And then uh drop down into Ross weight, I think it is. So, so far going all right. Huh? Get out of your way. Yeah, I hate it. Need a rest. Anyways, drop across. Thanks. All right. Down here. Yeah. Down here. Can you see it? Yeah. Very impressed that you We keep haven’t got the top yet. Cheers. See you. Yippee! I haven’t got a clue uh who can cycle up that bit from the uh tarn there uh that village in the town. I can’t like I said I’ll put the name at the bottom but basically unsyclakable. Well, it is for me anyway. I don’t know. Thank you. Just one? Yeah, just me. I mean, look at that for a view. Absolute stunning. Yes. Get in. Okay. Woo. So, I’m not going to lie here. That was some hard terrain to come down for me. Uh, I mean, that was something I’ve ever ever done in my life. And uh yeah, some bits are enjoyable, some bits were a bit sketchy where especially when you’re cycling on your own, you got to be careful what you’re doing. But uh yeah, I think I’m just going to drop into Ross weight now. So I’ve managed to get here without breaking my neck so far. So only got honister off and then do that techy bit to uh cat bells and then I’ve done cat bells that path a million times and that’s nothing. So hopefully the the hardest bits are done. But yeah, man. I’ve got a live track on me G. If anything ever happens to me, it goes straight to me in emergency. But I think sometimes when you’ve not done something before, it’s always good to have someone who’s done it before with you. not knocking me off. Yes. Cheers. Thank you. Well, well, well. Back on Tif. Thank God for that. All right. So, little bit of a nightmare. Uh going to come down in a Ross weight. When I started going up on that, I thought it was recording. The action camera was on, but it wasn’t recording. So, I’ve done that crazy bit, but I did a lot of hiker biking to be fair. Some of it’s a bit too bit sketchy for me. The bit coming from Honestly down is easy enough. Uh, so I just been to Graange Cafe to get a coffee and a drink uh coffee and a cake just to uh check what I had footage wise. Luckily I’ve got all the way I’ve got footage all the way to Ross weight and then obviously I’ve got it now cuz I’ve sorted it out. Haven’t got a clue. I keep on pressing the wrong button and turning it on but not turning the record button on. just that’s the problem with uh filming. It’s not like I can just go back and do it again. Well, I could, but I ain’t. So, yeah, I’m just trying to find the uh to get back on the trail from Graange cuz I knew there’s a cafe there. So, I just come off to go there so I could sit down, get a drink, and check all me footage out. on the uh path. Uh just come up a bit of a sketchy bit, but not too long. and then back on this beautiful scenic path. But the problem with this is it’s absolutely chucka block with bloody tourists. One of the big reasons, like I said before, why I tend to uh get up at 4 in the morning Yeah. So, that’s I think that’s the Boredale bash done. Uh hopefully I don’t come off the path too early, but I drop down and want to the road now. So, I don’t know. It’s basically a road back to the car. But yeah, I don’t know if it’s half term or what, but uh it’s it was extremely busy. Extremely busy with hikers and small children and all that. So I was I was hiker biking quite a lot of it cuz I didn’t want to come down too fast and hit one of them or whatever. It was a total terrible day to come to be honest for me first time. And uh I got around it, but I really wanted to uh do a bit more do a bit more of the technical stuff, but maybe next time I’m going to come at 4 in the morning next time I do it in the summer. Uh I’ve got loads of routes I want to do. So, I’ll come back. I apologize. I didn’t get any footage near Honest to Pass. But if you watch me uh re uh I’ll put it at the end. There’s a review I did on the beer denner. I actually come down Honest Pass and basically I uh come down basically the path you meant to come down on the barel bash. So, I did it on a gravel bike. So, it would have been easy on this. Right. So, I’m probably about half mile from the car now. So, I just want to say thanks for watching this total and utter amateur take on the Boredell bash and still have his neck intact. No injuries. So maybe uh a bit slow, but I got around. Uh really impressed that I got around and yeah, so really enjoyable. So yeah, I don’t know what my next ride will be. I do want to try and tackle the red uh Northace route, not Gale. because uh apparently it’s not for amateurs. So, it might be a good practice for me to get a little bit better. So, obviously like and subscribe if you want to see more me on this bike. But yeah, stay tuned and uh hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the lack of drone footage. A little bit, but not a lot.