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4.9

| 10 reviews

The Lake District Challenge

Name: The Lake District Challenge
Rating: 4.90 (10 reviews)

United Kingdom

1 night

Moderate

Take on one of the UK’s most rewarding challenges in a single day - a 20km cycle, 10km trek, 5km paddle and a 12-hour sweat to the finish

What's Included?

Small Like-minded Groups

Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 12 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people

From

…

excluding flights

From

…

excluding flights

What's it like?

4.9

| 10 reviews

Thank you so much for the amazing trip- ove...

June 2022

Maha

Brilliant day. I loved every part of the it...

April 2022

Colette

April 2022

Colette

April 2022

Colette

April 2022

Colette

September 2021

Stewart

September 2021

Stewart

September 2021

Stewart

Hop on a bike and burn 20km through the ups and downs of Grizedale Forest

Hike the Old Man of Coniston on a 10km push to the summit and then grab your paddle and kayak 5km across Coniston Water to the finish line

12-hours of unrivalled action in one of the UK’s wildest adventure playgrounds

Key Information

Day 1

Prepare yourself

Check into your hostel in Coniston and head for a detailed pre-challenge meeting. After that you’re free to explore the town or just chill out at the hostel in preparation for the challenge ahead.

Day 2

The Lake District Challenge

Cycling

20km · 374m up · 250m down

Hiking

10km · 822m up · 500m down

Kayaking

5km

Your challenge begins on Coniston Water, one of the 16 bodies of water in the Lake District. Get set up with your bikes and start cycling, skirting the edge of the lake before heading deep into Grizedale Forest. Swap your bike for hiking boots and stomp up a zigzag trail to the iconic peak of the Old Man of Coniston (803m). On the way you'll climb over Brown Pike, Buck Pike and Dow Crag, part of the famous Coniston Round.

Pause to catch your breath and soak up the panoramic views before continuing down the other side past the old copper mines. It's now time for the final push as you paddle around Coniston Water, before smashing through the Lake District Challenge finish line. Celebrate with a glass of champers, you’ve earned every sip.

The Area

Logistics

Starts

Windermere Train Station

18:00 on Day 1

Ends

Windermere Train Station

18:30 on Day 2

Transfers

Your host will be waiting for you in front of Windermere Train Station at 18:00. If you’re not able to join the transfer, or coming by car, you can also make your own way to the YHA Coniston Holly How by 19:00. There is free parking available at the hostel.

At the end of your adventure, you will be dropped back at Windermere Train Station at 18:30, or back at the YHA.

Travel options

There are regular trains to Windermere from stations across the UK. For those driving, parking is available at the YHA.

Day 1

Hostel · Same sex dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Breakast in the Lake District National Park

A full English or continental breakfast is included at the hostel. A packed lunch is also provided for the hiking portion of the challenge including a sandwich, cereal bar, drink, chocolate bar and piece of fruit.

Coniston also has plenty of restaurants and pubs to choose from. Any dietary needs can be accommodated including vegetarian and vegan: just let your host know when booking.

What is the accommodation like?

Coniston

You’ll stay at the Coniston Holly How YHA in single-sex dorm that sleeps 4-6 people per room.

David(June 2022)

excellent trip, Jim was a superb host will be booking again soon

Harry(June 2022)

The Lake District challenge was fun and challenging as you’d expect despite the weather. The guide for our trip, Jim was excellent too. Would recommend.

Maha(June 2022)

Thank you so much for the amazing trip- overall excellent day. The hike up the old man of Coniston was really nice with beautiful views. Cycling in the forest is a very good choice. Jim was very helpful and professional throughout the day,Thank you so much again for a great day!

Karen(June 2022)

A fantastic experience. Jim was amazing, he created a welcoming, relaxed and fun atmosphere which enabled the group to gel fantastically well. He worked incredibly hard to ensure the weekend ran to plan. The activities were challenging but to the right level. Shame the weather was grim but to be honest this made it great fun and certainly didn't dampen spirits. A great group of people. We will certainly be doing more adventures!

Colette(April 2022)

Brilliant day. I loved every part of the it but the kayaking on Coniston waters was breathtaking. Our host Jim, was very helpful and encouraging. The whole day is planned around the lake so it smoothly links from one activity to another. There was a great sense of achievement when we finished. Definitely value for money.

Garrett(April 2022)

Absolute incredible day in the Lake District. Jim was amazing as a host. Made it a fun and rewarding experience.

Katherine(October 2021)

Hosts Jim and Sue were fab! Enjoyed it so much especially the mountain biking that was through beautiful forests

Stewart(September 2021)

Great trip highly recommend

Rach(August 2021)

Highly recommend, bike ride is through a scenic forest and Old Man is spectacular

Adam(July 2021)

Jim was the perfect guide and our group of 9 had an incredible day in the Lakes. Each leg came with its own highlights, we all left with a great sense of achievement and the dip in the lake at the end of the day was priceless. Thanks again Jim!

Guides

Qualified and experienced cycling, kayaking and mountain leaders

Accommodation

1 night in a local hostel

Meals

Breakfast at the hostel and a packed-lunch up the mountain

Transfers

From Windermere Train Station and back again

Equipment

Bikes and kayaks provided

Our trips are hassle-free by design. We include all the activities and equipment, as well as many of the meals, so you can simply rock up with your rucksack and share the adventure with your new pals.

Personal Expenses

You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

Cycling equipment (bike and helmet)
Kayaking equipment (kayak, paddle and buoyancy aid)
Safety equipment (first aid kit and radio)

What do I need to bring?

Rucksack (15-25 litre)
Warm jacket
Waterproof jacket with hood
Waterproof trousers
Worn in hiking boots or shoes
Warm hat
Thin gloves for kayaking
Padded cycling shorts (optional)
Cycling shoes or trainers
Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen)
Water bottles or water bladder (2 litres)
Snacks and energy food and drink for the day

No optional extras are available for this trip.

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 20kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).

For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

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Connect before you go

You'll be invited to join a WhatsApp group to get to know each other before your big adventure together. Full details

DEPARTURE DATES

Illustration of a group of people kayaking

Go private and split the bill with ease.

Forget complex logistics, we've taken care of all the details to ensure a hassle-free get together. All of the adventure, none of the faff.

2025 EARLY BIRD SALE NOW ON!

Save up to 15% on selected trips

The Lake District Challenge

Take on one of the UK’s most rewarding challenges in a single day - a 20km cycle, 10km trek, 5km paddle and a 12-hour sweat to the finish

What's Included?

Small Like-minded Groups

…

…

What's it like?

Key Information

Day 1

Day 2

The Area

Logistics

What is the food like?

What is the accommodation like?

Coniston

Guides

Accommodation

Meals

Transfers

Equipment

Personal Expenses

What's included?

What do I need to bring?

Explore our range of over 200 worldwide adventures

We've got your back

Guaranteed to run

Flexible payments

Happiness Guarantee

Full financial protection

Tried & Trusted

Connect before you go

DEPARTURE DATES

Go private and split the bill with ease.

Still Undecided?

A few other trips to tickle your fancy

Explore places you couldn't yourself

Go with the outdoor specialists

Join a small like-minded group

Hassle-free from start to finish

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Positive impact adventure travel

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