Whinlatter Pass - Brainthwaite Up

[FifeingEejit]

Just spotted that my plan to ride up the Whinlatter from Braithwaite over to Lorton is rather scuppered by a bridge closure near the village.

Can anyone tell me what the alterantives are like?
Halfway through using my usual method of looking for an alternative I remembered it's in England so switched from sussing out useful looking paths on GSV to the OS map.

I note there's a bridleway up from Hallgarth Farm to the spot Height at 221m which is signed on GSV with a "Unsuitable for motor vehicles"; which suggests to me it's going to be a rough climb on a road bike and a duff walk in road shoes.

I also noticed another bridleway up from Thornthwaite to the visitor centre which appears to be part of NCN71 and claims to be forest track; possibly more tolerable on a road bike?

Does anyone have any knowledge of these 2 bridleways? (Complementary "The 200km I'd planned isn't looking possible, anyone got an idea of an alternative?" post on the Audax board soon)

[andrew_s]

The NCN71 forest track looks OK in Geograph, at a quick look.

The bridleway up from Hallgarth I would expect not to be too good

[FifeingEejit]

thanks, looks like it might be tolerable, but tricky to sift the pictures of the adjacent footpath from the bridleway on Geograph!

[FifeingEejit]

Turns out there's a temporary bridge provided to wheel the bike over.

[andrew_s]

A pedestrian bridge sufficient for a bike is common, normal even.

The most entertaining I crossed was over the M4 at either Acton Turville or Tormarton, where the entire road between the top of the embankment and the first upright support was absent, so they had built a pedestrian bridge out of scaffolding.