Seascale to Barrow in Furness A595 advice needed

[Lien Sdrawde]

Hi. I'm touring round the lakes in June and want to get from the Seascape / Ravenglass area down to Barrow in Furness.
Is the A595 a safe option? - Sustrans maps advises a different route which is extremely hilly.
All advice most welcome. Thanks.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

What does cycle.travel suggest? It’s a great routing resource.

 

[midlife]

A595 is not great in a car, not sure it would be nice on a bike .....

 

[PK99]

put the bike on the train and enjoy the scenery

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

What does cycle.travel suggest? It’s a great routing resource.

gosh, what a great site. Thanks. It says go climbing.

 

[ColinJ]

What does cycle.travel suggest? It’s a great routing resource.

It suggests the hilly route - I suggest hopping on the train instead.!


Oh, and typing faster!

 

[ColinJ]

Once you get to Barrow, I can vouch for the Bay Way for an onward journey. I did it last year with a non-cyclist friend and she really liked it.

 

[PaulSB]

I rode this a couple of years ago but in reverse. My route is below. I turned inland at Duddon Bridge and guess this is the route being suggested to you. The A595 was fine all the way to Duddon Bridge, very little traffic, and I only turned off because I had been warned the A595 was a poor road for cycling. You'll be able to see just north of Ulpha I hit a climb of 13-17% on a loaded tourer - and I travel light!!!! Once up this climb, I walked, there is then a long 9/10 mile descent to Eskdale and beyond to Holmrook. Apart from the vicious climb it's a lovely ride. The problem you face is you will have to climb the ten miles from Holmrook to Woodend. It's long, long climb.

Personally I'd take my chances with the A595, the section I rode didn't have enough traffic to cause me any concern. The Bay Way is fantastic.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17446560

Halfway between Eskdale Green and Holmrook I met a lady in her 60s on a sit up lady's step through with loaded rear panniers. She'd ridden over from Ambleside via Hardknot - I felt shamed on my ten speed triple

 

[Lien Sdrawde]

Once you get to Barrow, I can vouch for the Bay Way for an onward journey. I did it last year with a non-cyclist friend and she really liked it.

yes, that's the plan - meeting up with others who are beginning that ride from Barrow.
Thanks for all the help.

 

[User10119]

That's not far from @mcshroom's neck of the woods.

 

[Salar]

What does cycle.travel suggest? It’s a great routing resource.

Didn't know of the site, looks great. Thanks for sharing.Now bookmarked.

 

[MontyVeda]

go the hilly route... the effort will be rewarded with scenery that you won't get from the A road.
I believe the same goes for the train option.

 

[Amanda P]

I've ridden that a few times. There are fast sections, but it's wide with wide verges and good visibility on most of those, and not much traffic. There's plenty of room for motors (even big ones) to pass safely and generally they do. It's not the pleasantest of rides, but it is a quick way to get from Ravenglass-ish to Barrow-ish, and as you've seen, the alternatives are slow and may become tedious.

 

[mcshroom]

To be honest the A595 south of Sellafield is not that busy until you hit the narrow stretch where it turns off towards Barrow at Grizebeck. I'd prefer not to ride any more of that bit than I had to at rush hour. The A595 is also rather hillier than you might think.

However, I would recommend riding to Eskdale Green, and then over Birker Fell to Ulpha. Yes it is hillier, but the views are significantly better.

From there I would head to Foxfield (which is on the A595 again, so you could just ride down to it should you want to), cross the railway line and follow the minor road to Chapels. After that you can go into Kirkby in Furness. There's an off road cycle track alongside the bit from Askham to the A590 roundabout, and IIRC, another cycle path into town from there.

 

[mcshroom]

Oh, and yes the train line is very scenic. It's quite comfortable too if you get one of the ancient loco hauled units they are using for some trains at the moment. These also have the benefit of a guards' van, but are about 10-15 minutes slower to Barrow from Seascale than the more modern DMUs