In nominating one 'great motorcycling road' in the Lake District I'm on a hiding to nothing. There are so many routes that encompass all the pleasurable aspects of motorcycling; whether you enjoy scenery cruising or the skill of handling a bike over the narrow mountain passes, it's all there in a compact geographical bump just before Scotland.

So, breaking with my Wemoto News 'tradition', here are two roads over two riding days, or to be more precise, one road and two mountain passes. There may not be time to ride these now before unfriendly weather and shorter days set in; but put them on the list for next spring and summer, you won't be disappointed.

The A592 runs alongside two of the National Parks' (longest) lakes which a lot of people have heard of and go to visit: Ullswater and Windermere. Starting just west of Penrith the road winds for about thirty-five miles taking in attractive Lakeland villages, the Kirkstone Pass, and the tourist town of Bowness on Windermere, before running along the east shore of Lake Windermere and melting into the A590 at Newby Bridge.

Though designated as an A road, as soon as you turn away from the dual carriageway (A66) that runs west from Penrith to Keswick it's narrow and scenic road time, threading along the Ullswater shore.

As the still grey lake waters first came into view, I glimpsed one of the lake Steamers heading into a jetty at the north end, so turned towards the village of Pooley hoping to get a couple of good pictures. But by the time I'd got the bike on the stand, taken off helmet and gloves, unzipped my jacket, donned my glasses, taken the camera out of the bag and fiddled with the settings to account for dull light – you know the feeling - the Steamer had tied up and passengers were disembarking.

As with all mountain country, the weather doesn't always conform to the general forecast, which indicated that I should be enjoying the late warm spell along with the rest of the population. But low lying cloud clung to the fells and mountains, refusing to shift on a completely calm autumn day. When I switched off the bike engine at a couple of photo stops, the windless tranquillity lent an almost mystical feel to the surroundings, and rendered a slight feeling of guilt when I fired up again.

There's an attraction to riding next to water, whether it be a coast road, a river or lakeside. The A592 never strays far from the shoreline, and from the the western shore I was viewing majestic cloud-shrouded fells that swept down to the lake, while streaks of light from a reluctant sun held clearer skies in prospect.

It's laid-back riding, with the occasional stretch that tempts a more feisty throttle response, but even in late September there's still a lot of tourist activity going on courtesy of the 'grey pound'. A cautious almost philosophical response is required, otherwise there's a danger the visor will steam up when you're obliged to sit behind a well polished but very slow saloon car.

The road turns away from the lake at the attractive villages of Glenridding and Patterdale, and heads towards the Kirkstone Pass, cleaving the hills towards Windermere. This is nifty riding. Lots of bends, but as they are kinks in the road rather than severe nerve testers, they can be taken at a decent pace, shifting the bike and having fun through the gears. If a scenery stop is on the cards the Brotherwater Inn next to the tarn of the same name will get you fed and watered, and there's a good car park.

Then over the top past the Kirkstone Pass Inn the tip of Lake Windermere and the surrounding hills are glimpsed, and its a downhill swing through more sharp sweeps with a couple of fingers on the front brake and on into the bustling tourist 'trap' of Bowness on Windermere – lots of boats, forty pence to use the toilet, but free bike parking.

I followed a rider on an older Honda Pan European down the pass, and for a heavy bike that doesn't have a reputation as a sharp handler, he was slipping along at a decent rate. A gaggle of riders came the other way, and I spied a couple of KTM road bikes and a Ducati monster in the group, just the wheels for stormin' the passes.

The 592 continues along the east shore of Windermere, past well healed commodious lakeside properties with speed restrictions on some stretches, until it ends at the roundabout at Newby Bridge where you can take off onto other Lakeland routes or swing back along the western shore through splendid forest and more twisties.

Getting over the Lake Districts Hard Knott Pass and Wrynose Pass is one of those biking initiation rides that indicates you've 'made it' in terms of bike handling skill and nerve, it really is that challenging.

The last time I tackled the two passes I was reviewing one of Eric Buell's large traillie type motorcycles, and could barely touch the ground. It was with some trepidation that I approached on the narrow roads through Eskdale. A small misjudgement without being able to dangle a leg as a safety prop, could easily have seen me on my back half way up a mountain road.

At the little hump back bridge leading to Hard Knott from the south I stopped to give way to a car. The driver stopped too and told me that a couple of Harley Davidsons were on the road and one of them had toppled over at one of the very, very tight bends. The Harleys had gone by the time I rode up. This time I was on my own Moto Guzzi Breva: and although a bit of a Hippo at slow speeds, it's a bike I've travelled thousands of miles on.

I had stayed overnight at Broughton in Furness. This is a popular halt for riders who can park up in the village square and fulfil refreshment requirements at the Square Cafe, Manor Arms, or a new bakery/cafe that my Lakeland riding mates Dave and Sarah say is a treat, and it's just won a national award. Broughton is a more down to earth and grittier stopping off place than many villages in the national park, which is probably why riders like it - no souvenir shops.

From Broughton there's a route to Eskdale through the hamlet of Ulpha which I'd not travelled before. It took me through a long rock-strewn valley where the Herdwick sheep lay unconcerned and partly camouflaged in the bracken at the road side. Then via a steep and narrow climb to high fells before a series of technical and magnificent curves down to Eskdale, where tractors scurried along the road carting supplies to their annual show field.

The signs at the approach to Hard Knott (see picture) give an indication of what to expect, and severe means exactly that. The early part of the road rises very quickly through three or four difficult bends, and challenges slow speed control, gear selection, and throttle: and the road is very rough, so that on the Guzzi with its big torque, too much throttle in the necessary low gears soon had its back hopping over the corrugated surface. The other hazard for two wheelers is the generous amount of loose stuff distributed across the surface through a combination of four wheel traffic – the Mountain Goat Transit mini buses run over here – and stones etc washed down by heavy rain and streams. This always injects a degree of nervousness, and what you might expect from the UK's steepest, and some say most difficult road to ride/drive.

A good few years ago at a track day at Cadwell Park, a group of us were talking through the various bends and a particular problem we had negotiating Charlie's Bend, a long right hander, quickly and comfortably. One bloke said 'try dropping your shoulder into the bend and relaxing'. It worked, and this is good advice when rounding a very, very tight thirty per cent (1 in 3) up hiller in the mountains too.

After a radical introduction the severity eases off, and there's some time to appreciate the rugged grandeur, or even stop in one of the passing places to look around. But before you can relax totally before the summit, the road throws in the most severe turn. An uphill right hander that almost caught me out.

If there's a small breath of relief when the summit is topped and there's a gasp at the valley scenery stretching into the distance towards Wrynose Pass, it's short lived as you have to negotiate the downward stretch: brakes and second gear on the Guzzi. Then on one tight turn the road has almost been washed away. It has to be tricky coming from the other direction, but a couple of bikes had passed over the Hard Knot summit as I approached - we didn't stop to compare notes.

Wrynose is a little easier to negotiate. Its drop (or rise) is not as severe as Hard Knott and gives out to long distance views across Little Langdale towards Ambleside. At the bottom you could take a left turn into the bowl of mountains around Great Langdale and Scafell if you wanted to continue the mountain road experience, and you wouldn't regret it.

Apparently the Romans built these roads to link the (then) port of Ravenglass to the interior. Another on the list of what the Romans have done for us, so spare those ancient road builders a thought as you pick your way up and around those bends.

John Newman
for Wemoto News