The Lake District places to go

Hesket Newmarket, nowadays a quietly attractive village, was (as its name implies) once a reasonably prosperous market town, as evidenced by the extremely large central green with a surviving market cross. Sheep and cattle fairs were held here until the early years of the nineteenth century, but the village was too far off the beaten track to sustain them in the railway age. Now the long village green provides the focus for a series of attractive limestone cottages and farmhouses; nearby Hesket Hall is more unusual architecturally, cubeshaped and with a circular roof.

High Street is both the highest point of the most easterly of the Lake District's main ridges and also the name of a Roman road which, somewhat improbably, traverses the same range of fells. The ridge is long and generally composed of smooth, grassy slopes, though there are impressive crags above Blea Water and a fine ridge rises from Mardale Head to the summit plateau; the summit itself is of no great interest.

The Roman road is still traceable in its entirety, coming up from the narrow Straits of Riggin dale and passing to the west of the summit on its way to the Trout Beck valley. The Mardale shepherds' meet was held annually on the summit plateau until 1835, with barrels of beer rolled up from the dale and wrestling and horseracing amongst the attractions (hence the alternative name of Racecourse Hill).

Honister Pass carries the road from Seatoller in Borrowdale to Buttermere and is especially picturesque as it descends Gatesgarthdale into the latter valley, with the crags of the High Stile fells prominently in view. At the top of the pass are buildings associated with Honister Quarries, which have been producing high-quality slate since at least 1634 and are still operating. The old toll road from Honister to Seatoller offers a pleasant alternative to the motor road for walkers, whilst those in pursuit of something more strenuous can tackle Dale Head, or follow the ridge southwards to Great Gable.

III Bell (Kentmere) is the central peak in a quite delightful little ridge which separates upper Kentmere from the Trout Beck valley. The lesser peaks are Froswick, to the north from where the ridge goes on to link up with the High Street fells and Yoke, better known for its craggy eastern slopes, culminating in Rainsborrow Crag. III Bell has a knobbly, corrugated summit plateau festooned with cairns, and makes an attractive destination from Troutbeck, though devious routes via the Garburn Road and Yoke, or Scot Rake (used by the Romans as part of their road from Penrith along the High Street ridge to Ambleside) and Froswick, are preferable to the unremitting toil of a direct ascenr.

Ireby was once a market town of some little pretension but no longer functions as such; the Thursday market and the annual fair, granted in 1237, were still flourishing more than four centuries later but have long since been abandoned. The burter cross and Moot Hall are now private houses and they, together with the market place, remain as reminders of the village's former importance. Ireby old church, some distance to the west, is a disused Norman chapel, and another deserted site in the vicinity is that of the Iron Age settlement at Aughertree.

Irton parish must be one of the most dispersed in the Lake District. The church stands alone on a slight hill commanding a good view of the Wasdale fells; in the churchyard is an excellent Anglian cross. Also in the parish is the hamlet of Santon Bridge, while Irton Fell is the first summit in the long ridge of Whin Rigg and IlIgill Head, best known for its northwest slopes, which form the Wastwater Screes, the famous backdrop to the district's deepest and most forbidding lake.

Things to do in Kendal

Kendal caters largely for the tourist nowadays, though it still has an important market and administrative function. The ruined castle, sited on a drumlin (a mound of glacial boulder clay) across the Kent valley, and the burgage plots, alleys and courtyards in the streets around the market place are the most significant reminders of its medieval functions, while the disused canal and the adjacent industrial quarter testify to its later growth. The parish church, Holy Trinity, has five aisles together with chapels to three local families, including the Pans Catherine Parr, who became the sixth wife of Henry VIII in 1543, was born in Kendal castle. There is an art gallery and museum at Abbot Hall, near the church, an annual festival of music and, in September, the Westmorland County Show.

Kentmere is the name of a hamlet, a dale, a reservoir and a minor fell, Kentmere Pike. The hamlet consists of a heavily restored church with a grey ash-lared tower, Kentmere Hall an amalgam of fourteenth-century pele tower and later farmhouse and a cluster of farmhouses and cottages above the River Kent. There is no pub: in a notorious case in the nineteenth century the Low Bridge Inn (now a private house) became the first pub in England to lose its licence as a result of drunkenness and immorality.

The dale, of which the hamlet is the focal point, is chiefly notable for the diatomite works which processes the clay from the bed of the former valley lake. The reservoir, in an attractive mountain setting, was built to regulate the flow of water to the mills much further down the Kent valley. Above the reservoir the old packhorse route from Kentmere to Mardale can be seen ascending the delightful though very steep Nan Bield Pass.

Keswick hotels

Keswick is a popular area for tourists in the Lake District, and you can find a wide choice of campsites, hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfast accommodation in the area.

Keswick is much-maligned, but though it does suffer from the excesses of tourism it retains a good deal of character and interest. It began life late, obtaining its first market charter in the closing years of the thirteenth century and growing as a centre for miners from Newlands and Borrowdale and later as a woollen town. Now it functions purely as a tourist centre. The Moot Hall dates from 1813 and is now the information centre; Greta Hall is notable as the home for 40 years of the poet Robert Southey; and there are a number of alleyways, such as Packhorse Yard and Woolpack Yard, running down to the River Greta from the main street.

In King's Head Yard, Jonathon Otley, clockmaker turned amateur but gifted geologist, had his home. In Fitz Park is a small art gallery and museum, which contains manuscripts of the Lake poets, a scale model of the Lake District, and strange 'musical stones' which were played at Buckingham Palace in 1848.

Little Langdale suffers in comparison with its bigger brother but is justifiably popular with many; the road through the dale is far too popular in summer, congested with motorists travelling over the Wrynose Pass, with its twisting bends and steep gradients, or visiting Blea Tam in its idyllic location on a shelf between the two Langdales. The hamlet of Little Langdale is tiny, with just a pub, a school and a few cottages, but a lane on the left here leads to Slater Bridge, a marvellous bridge approached by a flagstoned causeway and spanning the Brathay on huge slate slabs.

Originally built by quarrymen needing to reach their work in the Wetherlam quarries, the bridge now caters for walkers bound for the Coniston Fells or Colwith Force. Little Langdale Tam is a disappointing and rather inaccessible sheet of water by Lake District standards. Behind Fell Foot Farm, owned by the National Trust, is a strange mound which might be a Viking 'thing mount' or meeting place.

Longsleddale is a fascinating dale which, by virtue of its peripheral location, is usually comparatively quiet. The dale head, above the picturesque hamlet of Sadgill, with its classically simple packhorse bridge over the turbulent River Sprint, is wild and rugged, with the Gatescarth Pass carrying an old trade route over to Mardale. Lower down the pele tower of Ubarrow Hall is the focus of interest. There are now no lakes in the dale, though the sites of a number which clearly existed in the immediate postglacial period can be discerned without too much difficulty.

Lorton consists of two settlements, High and Low, which together make up a village of considerable interest. There was once a good deal of industry here, based on water power from the River Cocker, and indeed the surviving Cockermouth brewery, Jennings, originated in the village; the village hall is on the site of the former maltings. Lorton Hall is a complex building of some interest, with traces of a fifteenthcentury pele tower, further medieval fragments, and seventeenthcentury additions incorporated in the present structure. The hall is said to be haunted by a woman carrying a lighted candle, and it has seen a variety of royal visitors, including Malcolm III of Scotland in the eleventh century and Charles II in 1653.

Loweswater, tucked away in a side valley with its outflow quickly swallowed up in Crummock Water, is a lovely little lake perhaps best approached from the roadside on its northern shore, though a relatively lightly used footpath threads its way through woodland on the opposite shore and is perhaps a pleasanter way to get to know the lake. Loweswater enjoys a close relationship with Mellbreak, a fell with dramatic crags and fine views d€lspite its lack of height. The 'village' of Loweswater, loosely centred on the church and the Kirkstile Inn, is very scattered but supports the Loweswater Show and a vintage car rally in the autumn.

Lowther estate is now best known as a country park with adventure playgrounds, assault course, jousting tournaments and the like, and the castle is a mere shell. Yet there has been a castle here since the thirteenth century, and the estate has been in the hands of the Lowthers during all that period. The ruined facade which is all that is left of the castle is a much more recent rebuilding, however, having been constructed in 1806-11 to the plans of Robert Smirke, architect of the British Museum.

The church of St Michael is the sole survivor of the former village of Lowther, its houses pulled down in the late seventeenth century by Sir John Lowther 'to enlarge his demesne, and open the prospect of his house, for they stood just in front of it'. Earthworks near the church indicate the former village street and the house sites. The villagers were relocated at Newtown, an estate village begun in 1683 which also housed a carpet factory. The church has a Victorian tower but an early medieval interior, and there is a strange Lowther family mausoleum in the churchyard.

Things to do in Ambleside

Ambleside has perhaps succumbed too much to tourism, but given the town's superb location this was inevitable and the wonder is that there is still so much to see. Best of all, perhaps, is the oldest part of the town, in narrow streets climbing above the flood plain of the River Rothay to Above Stock; the former chapel of St Anne's, the old house of How Head, the grey slate farmhouses and the Golden Rule, a marvellously unspoilt pub, make a fine combination.

Less attractive are the overcrowded market place, with its myriad gift shops, and the Bridge House, possibly built in the seventeenth century as a summerhouse for Ambleside Hall but now just one of the National Trust's odder properties. The parish church, built in the 1850s and designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is the successor to the chapel in Above Stock.

Ambleside mills

A number of mills can be seen: the Old Mill, now a pottery, was formerly a corn mill and dates from the fourteenth century, while a converted bobbin mill can be seen upstream, together with the remains of mill races. Still further upstream is Stockghyll Force, much visited by the early tourists and in a pleasantly wooded ravine but for all that a minor waterfall. At Waterhead there is a steamer service along the length of Windermere, while at the head of the lake are the remains of Ambleside's precursor, the Roman fort of Gala va. Amongst the many events in the town's calendar are the Ambleside Sports, held on the Thursday before the first Monday in July, and the rushbearing ceremony, which takes place on the first Saturday in July.

Lake district towns and villages

Askham, attractively situated above the Lowther valley, is a particularly good example of an Anglian green village, with farms and cottages set around a long, narrow central green. The village was one of several purchased by the Lowthers when they were ensconced in the nearby castle and at the height of their power in the eighteenth century. Little survives from before this period, though Askham Hall dates in part from the fourteenth century.

Backbarrow is an industrial hamlet in the Leven valley, with the remains of the most ambitious of Lakeland's iron furnaces, originally built in 1711, and other relics of the heyday of water power. The 'Dolly Blue' works closed only recently and has been converted into an hotel and timeshare complex.

Bampton is an unremarkable village in the Lowther valley, passed through by many on their way to Haweswater reservoir and Mardale Head. The name of the pub, the St Patrick's Well Inn, recalls the legend that St Patrick walked to Bampton after having been shipwrecked on Duddon Sands in 540AD. The nearby hamlet of Bampton Grange was originally an outlying farm of Shap Abbey.

Bassenthwaite village not only stands well away from the lake of the same nae, but it is also shunned by the two churches with which its name is associated. The older of the two, that of St Bega, lies two miles to the south, along an unmade track by the lake shore; it has a Norman chancel arch but little else escaped the Victorian restorers. St John, an elaborate edifice of 1878, is situated close to the village school in the hamlet of Chapel. The centre of the village, though, is the irregular green around which a mixture of slategrey cottages and newer houses cluster.

Bassenthwaite Lake, although it sits prettily at the foot of Skiddaw's western outliers and is especially attractive when seen from them (the view down the lake from the little subsidiary peak of Dodd is reasonably accessible and very pleasant), is really too far divorced from the central core of the Lake District to yield a great deal which is spectacular. Some four miles in length and fourth largest of the lakes, it has the fast, noisy A66 along the bulk of its western shore and is perhaps best approached from the east, either at Bassenthwaite's older church or near Mirehouse, where the house and grounds are open at certain times. The northern section of the lake is used by the Bassenthwaite Sailing Club. Since 1979 the lake has been owned by the Lake District Special Planning Board.

Black Combe is the forgotten fell of the Lake District, its smooth slopes covering a huge area in the extreme southwest yet so far removed from the mountain core as to be scarcely glimpsed from most of the central fells. Yet it is of unusual interest, being composed of an outcrop of Skiddaw Slates encircled by Borrowdale Volcanics, and with one of the Lake District's rare stone circles on the slopes of its northeastern spur, Swinside Fell. Monk Foss, at the foot of its western slopes, was one of Furness Abbey's properties until 1242, when it passed into the hands of David de Mulcaster. Wordsworth was sufficiently impressed to write a poem about the fell in 1813 View from the top of Black Combe.

Blea Tarn must be the most common tarn name in the district though arguably the best is actually called Blea Water; this one is the deepest of all the tarns and nestles in a corrie plucked out of the higher slopes of High Street and Mardale III Bell. The best known Blea Tarn sits in an upland hollow between Great Langdale and Little Langdale, is owned by the National Trust, and has excellent and striking views of the Langdale Pikes.

Blencathra, still occasionally called Saddleback after the distinctive profile of the summit plateau, is one of the great mountains of Britain, with a succession of splendid routes up the ridges and intervening gullies which make up its distinctive southern face and, tucked around its eastern flank, the spectacular rocky arete of Sharp Edge above Scales Tam.

The best of the southern approaches is from Gategill, ascending Hall's Fell and the exciting Narrow Edge to arrive exactly at the summit. Blencathra's name is of Celtic origin, and so too is that of the Glenderamackin, the river which meanders around its northern, eastern and southern flanks; the walk along the valley on a green path from Mungrisdale is delightful. To the west the Glenderaterra Beck divides Blencathra from Skiddaw.

Boot is a splendid base for exploring upper Eskdale, with two inns (the Burnmoor and, somewhat away from the hamlet, the Woolpack, formerly catering for the packhorse trains) and a variety of other accommodation. There is plenty to be seen in and around the hamlet: the remains of iron ore mines, the packhorse bridge over the Whillan Beck and the adjacent com mill, painstakingly restored and now open to the public, and the chapel of St Catherine, down by the River Esk, here at its most delightful with wooded banks, rocky gorges and stepping stones. A fine walk leaves Boot over the packhorse bridge, then climbs alongside the beck to reach Burnmoor, with its burial mounds, secluded tam and excellent views towards and across Wasdale.

Borrowdale is the Lake District dale par excellence, with a classic lake, with its gentle sylvan beauty, giving way to the rugged slopes of dramatic fells higher up the dale. There is something for everyone, notably the sight of Derwentwater from a whole series of splendid if somewhat hackneyed viewpoints such as Friar's Crag, Ashness Bridge or the Surprise View, the subdued and intricate landscape of the mid-valley around Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite, and the fellwalkers' paradise around Seathwaite, with paths striking off in all directions at the start of classic expeditions to Great Gable, Great End, Scafell Pike and the other major peaks.

But there is much more the unusual, such as the glacial erratic known as the Bowder Stone; the picturesque, including the Lodore Falls; and the historic, represented by the hill fort on Castle Crag. Rock climbers will make for Shepherd's Crag, botanists for Johnny Wood, with its ferns and liverworts, and others for man-made attractions such as the bridge at Grangein Borrowdale.

Bowfell, though it is seen to advantage from Langstrath, where its bleak northern cliffs stand above Angle Tam, and from upper Eskdale, where the mountain takes on the appearance of a rocky pyramid, really belongs to Langdale, and is probably climbed most frequently from there, along the rising slopes of The Band to Three Tams a desolate and windswept spot between Bowfell and Crinkle Crags and then either direct to the summit or, more excitingly, along the climbers' traverse below Flat Crag and the jagged outline of Cambridge Crag to the awesome Bowfell Buttress.

The top of Bowfell is a jumbled mass of naked rock, with a nice little rocky pyramid for the summit itself. The views are exceptional, too, with a very good profile of the Scafell range and a long prospect down the Esk valley to the Irish Sea.

Bowness hotels the Lake District

If you are looking for a Lake District hotel, and you want to be close to the main attractions of the lakes, look no further than Bowness. This pretty town on Windermere is home to some of the best guesthouses, Lake District cottages and boutique hotels you will find in the Lake District.

Bowness, which has now coalesced with Windermere town, is the closer of the two to the lake and has therefore developed a considerable range of facilities for the tourists who congregate here. It does still have its attractions, however, with a pleasant town centre behind the promenade at Bowness Bay, where there is a steamer pier and a variety of boats for hire. Here too is a theatre and a steamboat museum. Nearby Adelaide Hill has a very good overall view of Windermere lake.

Braithwaite has seen a good deal of recent housing development and has not grown in attractiveness as a result. This was the original location of the Cumberland Pencil Company, which began here in 1868 but moved to Keswick thirty years later after a disastrous fire. The Coledale Inn was at one time the factory manager's house. Now the village has a rather suburban feel to it Keswick is close at hand along the intrusive A66, which bypasses Braithwaite though it is nicely situated at the foot of the Whinlatter Pass and the ascent of Grisedale Pike, a very worthwhile expedition, starts not far from the village.

Brotherilkeld is the highest farm in Eskdale (though Taw House across the Esk is not too far downstream) and has been so since it was first established by the Norse settlers. The farm was sold to the monks of Furness Abbey in 1242 and has since functioned as the centre of a massive sheeprearing enterprise. The present farmhouse, long, low and white, dates from the great rebuilding in the Lake District during the heyday of the statesmen farmers in the seventeenth century. A magnificent walk hereabouts follows the Esk upstream to Lingcove Bridge; at higher level the Hardknott Roman fort can also be reached without too much difficulty.

Brothers Water, shallow, reed-fringed and small, is sometimes regarded as a reservoir because of its straight shorelines but is in fact a natural lake at the head of the Patterdale valley, close to the picturesque village of Hartsop and at the foot of the climb to the Kirkstone Pass. The lake was once a great deal larger, and its straight southern shore represents the edge of a mass of deposited material which fills the valley as far as the mouth of Dovedale. It is possible, too, that Brothers Water was once joined to Ullswater; certainly there is a narrow, flat valley floor between the two lakes. Few walkers visit the lake, though there is access to the western side, and the added interest of prehistoric homesteads close at hand.

Mountain walks in the Lake District

Mountain walks in the Lake District are among the most popular in England, and whether you want an easy stroll or a challenging climb, you will find walks of all levels close to your Lake District hotel.

Great Gable

These are two favourite mountains, and rightly so, for each has special characteristics which remain long in the memory. Great Gable (simply 'Gable' to many) has the rock architecture of the Great Napes, including Napes Needle, and Gable Crag, while Pillar has Pillar Rock, an aweinspring buttress falling vertically into the depths of Ennerdale. Both are tackled most frequently, and with good reason, from Wasdale Head, though Great Gable is also a target for many in Borrowdale or at Honister, and Pillar is the climax of an exhilarating though quite long walk over Haycock from Ennerdale.

Wasdale Head

Wasdale Head, a tiny hamlet but one with a unique place in climbing history, is virtually surrounded by high mountains, but Great Gable cries out to be climbed. Perfectly seen from the hamlet, it promises a magnificent climb and indeed delivers several, with a wide choice of routes. The best require a little perseverance to begin with, as the scree slopes of Gavel Neese are overcome, but the rock pinnacle known as Moses' Finger signals the start of the excitement. It is possible to keep straight ahead, scrambling over the rocky upper sections of Gavel Neese, but this is a tortuous and at times difficult route.

Better is the traverse to the right, towards the Great Napes and then energetically up one of the two prominent scree funnels, graphically described as the Great and Little Hell Gates. Better still, in the view of a good number, is the left-hand route, on a level path above the Gable Beck. This is Moses' Trod, reputedly first devised as a whisky smugglers' route from Honister to the coast but certainly much in use in the early days of quarrying at Honister, when the slate was hauled on sledges along this track into Wasdale.

Moses Trod eventually arrives at Beck Head, the col between Kirk Fell and Great Gable, where there will be either one or two tarns depending on the season. A really enjoyable route involving a little scrambling now rises by the side of Gable Crag to the rocky summit plateau of Great Gable, a place of pilgrimage for many and the highly appropriate site of the Fell and Rock Climbing Club's war memorial. The views along Wasdale from the Westmorland Cairn should be savoured before the return to Wasdale Head, perhaps via the Breast Route to Sty Head and then along the quieter of the paths along the Lingmell Beck valley, is finally tackled.

Pillar Rock

The way to Pillar lies along the track starting behind the Wasdale Head Inn, passing (but not crossing) an excellent example of a Lakeland packhorse bridge and then striking up alongside the Mosedale Beck towards the Black Sail Pass. At the pass, where there are still the forlorn remains of a gateway, the path to Looking Stead and Pillar climbs up to the left. Looking Stead is as good a vantage point as any for the Forestry Commission's plantations in Ennerdale; clear felling of the drab green blanket, so unfeelingly and unimaginatively imposed on the valley in the 1920s, at least gives them a second chance to get it right.

Beyond Looking Stead the High Level Route to Pillar contours across the fellside to Robinson's Cairn, the ideal viewpoint for the east face of Pillar Rock, a savage piece of rock scenery dropping vertically for some 150m (500ft) into Pillar Cove. John Atkinson, a local shepherd, is credited with the first ascent of Pillar Rock, in 1862, and there are now some awesomely difficult routes to the top of the remarkable buttresses and deeply riven gullies which comprise the face of the precipice.

From Robinson's Cairn the Shamrock Traverse, an exciting though not particularly exacting walk for the sure-footed, leads above tremendous crags to a steep scree slope with fine views of the little rocky tower of Pisgah and then up to the summit plateau of Pillar. This is a bit of an anticlimax, with the top of the fell a surprisingly level area adorned with cairns, wind shelters and an Ordnance Survey pillar as well as a ruinous fence, part of a boundary fence which once enclosed the whole of the Ennerdale watershed. The walk continues along the ridge to Scoat Fell, dropping down first to Wind Gap, with the superb sight of Steeple, its summit attainable from the ridge only by scrambling along a rocky arete, across Mirk Cove.

Wasdale Head

A variety of routes confronts the walker bound for Wasdale Head from Scoat Fell; the easiest drops down to Scoat Tarn and the Nether Beck valley, but it is better to gird up the loins for one final ascent and return via Red Pike, its rocky top overlooking the deep glaciated trough of Mosedale, and the col at Dore Head, where a rough scree slope can be used to reach valley level.

Wasdale Head is also the natural starting point for walkers intent on reaching England's highest point, the summit of Scafell Pike, but there are several other approaches worthy of consideration. Borrowdale and Great Langdale spring immediately to mind, but the best way of all is perhaps the route from Brotherilkeld in upper Eskdale. This is a long but outstandingly satisfying expedition which passes through a wide variety of mountain scenery, from the relative calm of the Esk valley and the strange bowl of Great Moss to the bouldery chaos of the Scafell Pike plateau.

Brotherilkeld, the highest point of settlement in the dale, was the centre of operations in Eskdale for the Furness monks from 1242 onwards and is nowadays a long, low and above all isolated farmhouse dating mostly from the seventeenth century; it is also the location for the Eskdale Show, usually held on the last Saturday in September.

The walk up alongside the Esk from the farm is a delight, with the river rippling through rocky pools and little gorges and the dale closed in by scree slopes and rocky bluffs such as Yew Crags, its name a reminder of the trees which were abundant here before the sheep moved in. At Throstle Garth, the path crosses the singlearched Lingcove Bridge close to the monks' sheepfold and keeps above the river (a detour is necessary to see Esk Falls) as far as the huge basin of Great Moss.

Great Moss walks

Great Moss was the site of a shallow lake scoured out during the Ice Ages and it is now a peat bog, presenting a real challenge to the walker who likes to remain dryshod; the most promising route uses the medieval boundary wall, a turf bank with a core of boulders, which the monks built in 1284 to restrict their sheep to the lowland pastures whilst allowing the more agile deer to roam freely. Next, the River Esk, shallow and wide hereabouts, has to be crossed, before a route rising diagonally to the right up the steep fellside opposite is taken to reach the delightful and little known summit of Pen.

It is then a relatively easy matter to contour round into' the upper reaches of Little Narrowcove and thus gain the summit plateau of Scafell Pike across a sea of awkward boulders. This, at 977m (3,206 ft), is the highest land in England, though the immediate surroundings are bleak and inhospitable, and not enhanced by the tumbledown wallshelter around the summit. But the walk down to Mickledore and subsequent conquest of Scafell more than makes up for any disappointment.

The approach to Mickledore, a deep col where less resistant volcanic rocks have been rapidly eaten away, reveals the majestic Scafell Crag, a splendid piece of rock architecture which bars direct access to Scafell's summit but has one weakness, the rocky gully of Lord's Rake between the main crag and Shamrock Buttress. This has long been a favourite route for adventurous walkers and is showing signs of wear and tear, with a river of scree filling the deadstraight channel which rises steeply from the foot of Deep Gill.

Shortly before the first col the West Wall Traverse branches off and forms a suitably exciting climax to the ascent of a fine mountain. An easier alternative is to keep to the Rake as it rises and falls across the face of the mountain (don't be tempted to detour left into an apparently promising gully; this ends in a desperate scramble) before reaching the summit plateau a little below the highest point, marked by a substantial cairn.

The return to Eskdale can then be achieved via Foxes Tarn (the second highest in the district) and the Mickledore path back down to Great Moss and Brotherilkeld or, for those able to finish the walk lower down Eskdale, over Slight Side to Wha House or Boot.

Whichever finishing point is chosen, this is a memorable long walk, undoubtedly amongst the best in the Lake District's highest fells.

Things to do for kids in the Lake District

There are plenty of things to do for kids in the Lake District, including boat trips on Windermere, a visit to the Beatrix Potter Attraction, Go Ape in Grizedale Forest and a vast range of child-friendly museums and places of interest. There are also some great walks in the Lake District which are suitable for children.

Skiddaw walks

Skiddaw by the 'tourist' path from Keswick, across Jenkin Hill and Skiddaw Little Man, is a straightforward route which can be kept under foot most of the year simply by following the party in front, but it lacks real interest during the route because of the nature of Skiddaw steep in places but without rock outcrops or the like to enliven the scene. The alert explorer can, however, find a number of alternatives of rather greater subtlety. From the north, a worthwhile route takes the Skiddaw

House road as far as the foot of Dead Crags, then skirts them to gain the summit of Bakestall and continue up the north ridge to the top of Skiddaw itself. Another possibility is to start at the Ravenstone Hotel and climb The Edge to Ullock Pike before traversing Longside Edge, a quite sharp arete, to Carl Side; but scree-ridden slopes now have to be ascended on the way to Skiddaw Little Man and Skiddaw.

Other quite pleasant routes start at Millbeck and Applethwaite, and a final possibility is to opt out of the mainstream altogether and head up the eastern slopes from the former shepherd's cottage at Skiddaw House, in its dramatically isolated position in the grassy wastes of Skiddaw Forest.

The Newlands Round

The Newlands Round, though it is likely to be reasonably well populated in the season, seems not to have captured the imagination of walkers in the same way as, say, the Fairfield or Mosedale Horseshoes and as a result can be enjoyed quietly and at leisure. Start at Little Town and take the excellent green path into Yewthwaite Combe, with fine retrospective views to Causey Pike and its neighbours. On reaching the ridge at Hause Gate, turn right to climb steadily up towards the summit of Maiden Moor.

Progress is likely to be slow, not because of undue difficulties underfoot but because the panorama eastwards and northwards is spectacular. Derwentwater lies spread out below, with Catbells in front and to the left of the spreading bulk of Skiddaw, and Blencathra's magnificent southern face well seen across the lake. To the east the knobbly fells above Grange-in-Borrowdale form a fore ground for the Helvellyn range. On the way to High Spy a particular highlight as the path skirts above Eel Crags is the sight of the deep, shady gullies on the far side of the Newlands valley.

Then the path, easily followed and quite stony in places, dips down to Dalehead Tarn before climbing very steeply up to the outstandingly attractive cairn at the summit of Dale Head, almost overhanging the crags at the head of Newlands. The panorama is superb, from Helvellyn round to the Central Fells, the High Stile ridge and, best of all, straight down the trough of Newlands to Swinside and Bassenthwaite Lake.

The ridge west from Dale Head is one of the highlights of the walk, with the deep Buttermere valley away to the left and the summits of Hindscarth and Robinson easily gained. Robinson, its name derived rather prosaically from a former landowner, has the oddest of summits, with two narrow and parallel ribs of rock snaking across the otherwise grassy top of the fell.

Blea Crags

A further surprise awaits on the descent along the north ridge of Robinson, for in descending Blea Crags the route lies down a succession of steep rock staircases close to a quite precipitous drop into Keskadale. The way now lies down High Snab Bank and into the Scope Beck valley, following a lane to Newlands church, beautifully situated on open ground with a backdrop of fells, and with the former schoolhouse adjoining. The starting point for the walk is now only a short stroll away, across the Newlands Beck and along a narrow lane to the tiny cluster of cottages and farms at Little Town. The Langdale Pikes

The famous Langdale Pikes

Few visitors to the National Park will be unaware of the Langdale Pikes, old favourites to many and instantly recognisable as a cluster of prominent rocky summits above the Ushaped valley of Great Langdale. The ascent from the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, though not one for the seeker after solitude, nevertheless remains the classic route; the considerable and commendable repair work on the footpaths ascending by Mill Gill (often glamorised as Stickle Ghyll) is testimony to the pounding the paths here take.

There is a choice of paths, on either side of the stream, though they converge at the outlet of Stickle Tarn, a corrie lake much enlarged when it was harnessed as a reservoir for the Elterwater gunpowder works but still naturallooking and with a fearsome back wall comprising the magnificent crags of Pavey Ark. Skirt the tarn to the right, then ascend Pavey Ark by one of three routes.

Jacks Rake the Lake District

By far the most remarkable is Jack's Rake, which can easily be picked out ascending diagonally and steeply from right to left; it is the hardest route in the Lake District in common use by mere walkers, since it does not have much in the way of protection in places, and only the more acrobatic should attempt it. An easier but still interesting alternative uses the gully climbing slightly left to right from close to the start of Jack's Rake, and reaching the summit by means of a rough, steep but far less exposed climb. Finally, the less sure footed or ambitious can take a path climbing 'up by Bright Beck and then cut up behind the crags, still on quite steep rocks in places, to reach the top of Pavey Ark.

Most of the hard climbing has now been completed, though on the traverse to Harrison Stickle, the highest of the Langdale Pikes at 732m (2,403ft), it is possible to devise another scrambling route on easy rocks. The way now lies across hummocky and bouldery ground to Loft Crag the top of the awesome Gimmer Crag, another early climbers' haunt, is close at hand here and Pike 0' Stickle.

It is quite feasible to descend here into the upper reaches of the scree gully where the most famous of all the axe factories was located, and even to find the man-made cave in the south buttress which may have been hacked out by the Neolithic axemakers, but the ground is steep and dangerously loose and it is preferable to keep to the plateau across the edge of Martcrag Moor, close to its Langdale edge, as far as the path coming up over the Stake Pass from Langstrath. Welldefined zig-zags then lead down into Mickleden, one of the two branches of upper Great Langdale, and along the very popular path.

The Coniston Fells

Shunned by many because they appear to lack the excitement of the Central Fells, the Coniston Fells deserve far better because they combine dramatic rock faces with stretches of easy high-level walking and also possess a strong sense of history, from the evidence of prehistoric man on Little Arrow Moor to the remains of Coniston's industrial past in Coppermines Valley.

Best seen from Torver High Common, where Dow Crag and the Old Man of Coniston rise steeply from the moorland plateau, or from across Coniston Water, this compact group of fells is full of surprises for the explorer and the Coniston round described here is a richly rewarding walk for the energetic.

Leave Coniston along the Walna Scar Road, a pre-historic trackway at the base of the fells, and pass the virtually extinct Boo Tarn and a little spring called Well in Crag. The way lies through two rock gateways, then divides: the easier route, to the left, follows the track to the Walna Scar Pass, the fifth highest in the National Park, before turning up the fell-side to Brown Pike and Dow Crag, whilst the right-hand alternative reaches Goat's Water in its desolate, rocky basin at the foot of the scree fans and astonishing rock buttresses making up the tremendous eastern face of Dow Crag.

The Old Man of Coniston

Rock scramblers will enjoy making their way to the summit via the easiest of the gullies, the socalled South Rake, but others will make for Goat's Hause on the ridge connecting Dow Crag to the Old Man of Coniston.

The top of the Old Man, easily conquered from here, is unlikely to be deserted, though it is dramatically sited, with the corrie tarn of Low Water far below and a magnificent southerly prospect over the estuaries of the Kent, Leven and Duddon. Now the easy high-level walking along the spine of the Coniston Fells begins, over the rounded dome of Brim Fell to the col at Levers Hause (a quick return to Co!!iston leaves to the right here, passing Levers Water and the copper mines) and the summits of Swirl How and Great Cans.

While on this broad and level upland sheepwalk it is worth taking the trouble to visit the top of Grey Friar, not for its pretensions as a destination in itself but for the fabulous view of the entire Scafell range across the head of Eskdale, from Slight Side through Scafell, the deep cleft of Mickledore and Scafell Pike to Great End. This means a retracing of steps, back to the top of Swirl How, but this is quickly and painlessly achieved and the final summit, Wetherlam, can now be claimed. The walk curves around the ridge of Prison Band, with the shattered rim of Broad Slack, a massive corrie containing the remains of an aeroplane which failed to clear the ridge, down on the right. Wetherlam is perhaps the most interesting of all the Coniston Fells.

Its industrial past is all too evident in places, with the waste heaps of mineral working on its Tilberthwaite and Little Langdale slopes, and the whole fell pockmarked with adits and mine shafts; Moss Rigg Quarry, the largest of all the holes, is still in production. The summit ridge is met by three parallel northsouth ridges (Black Sails, Lad Stones and Yewdale), and the return to Coniston takes the middle one of these, a marvellous open walk with good views to the south over Coniston Water. At the base of the ridge the Coppermines Valley track comes in from the right and this is used as far as Miner's Bridge, where Church Beck is crossed and followed down through wooded, rocky glades to Coniston.

Romantic hotels in the Lake District

Whether you are walking, hiking or making the most of the Lake District attractions in Bowness or Windermere, you can find a wide range of romantic hotels and unique boutique hotels in the region. If you are looking for a romantic break in the Lake District, you can find a range of superb hotels to suit your needs.

High level walks in the Lake District

The high tops of the Lake District have always excited the imagination of walkers though perhaps too much emphasis has been placed on the very highest. Although Helvellyn is probably the most visited, the other three-thousanders (Scafell Pike, the highest land in England; it near neighbour Scafell; and Skiddaw) are not far behind, and a select few of the other fells are almost as popular. In this group can be included Great Gable, symbol of the National Park, the magnificent Blencathra, and the Langdale Pikes.

Yet there are other Lakeland mountains which, though they are more modest in stature, have compensating attractions for the more discerning walker: impressive mountain scenery, superlative views (often far better than those from the highest levels) and, perhaps best of all, the opportunity for quiet enjoyment when the honeypot peaks are thronged with visitors. In this chapter it is only possible to introduce a selection of the best walks in high fell country, some very well known and others of such quality that they deserve to become so.

Mardale Head and Patterdale

In the eastern Lake District there are two places in particular to head for, namely Mardale Head and Patterdale. Mardale is of course a drowned valley, its focal point of Mardale Green lost beneath the waters of Haweswater since the 1930s, but the dalehead is the starting point for the best walks in the High Street range.

From Mardale Head probably the most popular walk is the ascent of High Street via the craggy and at times narrow ridge of Long Stile, but there are other routes worthy of consideration. The best, perhaps, takes in Harter Fell, Mardale III Bell and Kidsty Pike in addition to High Street, and descends into the ghostly valley of Riggindale.

From Mardale Head, where there is limited parking, the way initially lies along the former packhorse trail making for the Gatescarth Pass; at the pass, a rather boggy area overlooking the seldom visited valley of Mosedale, a well worn path strikes up the slopes of Harter Fell,climbing comfortably to reach the rocky summit plateau, its highest point marked by a cairn now adorned with the twisted remains of the iron fence which once traversed the area. From here there is an awesome panorama into the heart of Lakeland, across the High Street plateau to Helvellyn, the central fells and, in the blue distance, the Scafell range.

Mardale III Bell is the next objective, easily reached via the Nan Bield Pass, where another packhorse route comes up steeply on its way from Kentmere past the delightful tarn of Small Water, where there are some unusual low shelters, to Mardale Head. Keep tQ the right on the way up the slopes of Mardale III Bell to enjoy the best of the views, both down the valley past Small Water and Haweswater to the Pennines and also across the bleak upland tarn of Blea Water, the deepest tarn in the district, into the heart of the High Street range.

Once the summit of Mardale III Bell has been reached the way forward becomes much less rocky, and a vast sheepwalk has to be traversed on the way to High Street, at 828m (2, 718ft) the highest point in the ridge which bears its name. So flat and grassy is the area that it also bears the name of Racecourse Hill, and the annual Mardale shepherds' meet and fair day was held up here until 1835.

Hotels Lake District

If you are looking to stay close to the main attractions of the Lake District, or a little further afield, you can find a range of Lake District hotels to suit all budgets. Wherever you choose to stay in the lakes, you will be close to some superb hotels, cottages, guesthouses and campsites to ensure your stay is a comfortable one.

The Straits of Riggindale

Northwards from High Street's summit the ridge narrows dramatically at the Straits of Riggindale, where the walkers' path and former Roman road converge. To the left is the deep Hayeswater valley, to the right the deep bowl of Riggindale, a classic example of a Ushaped glaciated valley, while straight ahead the High Street ridge, going on towards High Raise, throws off a subsidiary spur to The Knott and Rest Dodd.

Our route lies to the right, leaving the main High Street ridge and climbing gently to the summit of Kidsty Pike, perched above the steep and rocky northern side of Riggindale. The eastern spur of Kidsty Pike is then descended to the shores of Haweswater, and the final stage of the walk consists of a gentle stroll around the head of the lake, passing the site of the former Riggindale Farm and rounding The Rigg, the wooded spur at the foot of Long Stile, on the way to Mardale Head.

Patterdale and Helvellyn

Patterdale is much better known than Mardale, and is wonderfully situated at the head of Ullswater, surrounded by fine mountains, from Place Fell and St Sunday Crag round to Helvellyn. The classic Helvellyn route, up Striding Edge and down Swirral Edge, begins here.

After an easy tramp across the Grisedale fellside the walker encounters Striding Edge, best known though perhaps not quite the best of Lakeland's aretes. This very narrow ridge between Nethermost Cove and Red Tarn Cove the latter with Red Tarn itself, the only tarn stocked with the rare schelly and backed by a tremendous cliff reaching right up to the summit plateau of Helvellyn itself is a popular though easily underestimated route, with plenty of opportunity for rock scrambling and a real feeling of achievement when the main Helvellyn ridge is reached. Now there is a straightforward walk to the summit of Helvellyn, at 950m (3, 118ft) the second highest in the Lake District, with its clutter of cairns, shelters and monuments.

The way down Swirral Edge, on bare rock to begin with, is highly attractive and not too difficult, with Red Tarn sparkling in its icedeepened hollow far below. A path heading for the tarn leaves the ridge but it is preferable to keep to the heights as far as the top of Catstycam, a pyramid peak at the end of the ridge.

The northern face of Catstycam falls away in a tumbling mass of shattered rock and scree to the corrie which used to contain Keppelcove Tarn (a former reservoir for the Greenside lead mine, this has been dry since 1927, when it broke its banks in a storm), but the return to Patterdale descends the east shoulder of the fell and joins the Red Tarn path down to the Glenridding Beck and past the buildings of the Greenside mine.

The beck here flows through delightful ravines, with rowans clinging tenaciously to rock faces which fall sheer into the clear water. Beyond the mine a level path diverges from the beck to reach Miresbeck, the slopes of Keldas (a good viewpoint for Ullswater), the secret Lanty's Tarn, and the lane alongside Grisedale Beck into Patterdale.

Fairfield horseshoe walk

A very good introduction to the eastern fells, this is a popular and not too difficult walk which is also highly accessible, starting in the old part of Ambleside with a lovely walk to High Sweden Bridge. As the walled lane rises above the town the views open out, taking in the length of Windermere to the south and the Rydal valley, backed by the Langdale Pikes., to the west.

Closer at hand the lane passes through little woods and runs alongside the Scandale Beck before crossing it on the highly photogenic single-arched High Sweden Bridge. A stiff pull up the fellside now leads to the summits of Low Pike and, not too far distant, its bigger brother High Pike. The way to the next objective, Dove Crag, lies close to the head of the tremendous side valley of Dove dale, a wild trench ringed with magnificent crags. This is real mountain country, rocky and desolate, and the route now takes in a highlevel traverse of Hart Crag on the way past the head of Deepdale to the summit of Fairfield.

The great glory of Fairfield is its northern face, with projecting buttresses falling dramatically into Deepdale, so it is worth diverting along the subsidiary ridge to Cofa Pike in order to obtain the best views. Down below, to the west, lies Grisedale Tarn, a wellknown staging High Sweden Bridge, a classic packhorse bridge across Scandale Beck on the path from Ambleside to Low Pike and the Fairfield Horseshoe post on the old packhorse route from Grasmere to Patterdale, while to the north are the flanks of Dollywaggon Pike, the first of the outliers of Helvellyn.

There are excellent views not only of the tremendous Helvellyn massif but also of Place Fell and the far eastern fells around High Street. The Fairfield Horseshoe turns south, however, along the top of Fairfield Brow to Greatrigg Man and then easily down the ridge on a carpet of grass to Heron Pike, Nab Scar (which still has the remains of a medieval deer park boundary) and Rydal, before returning at valley level through Rydal Park to Ambleside.

Blencathra and Skiddaw walks

It is not by mistake that Blencathra is listed before Skiddaw, despite its lesser height; in terms of interest and quality of walking there is no real comparison between the two. Skiddaw has generally smooth slopes and relatively few points of high drama though the sight of the central fells from Skiddaw Little Man is memorable, and the cascading Whitewater Dash to the left of Dead Crags is a gem known to too few.

Blencathra has not only its dramatically serrated southern face, with a succession of ridges the best of them Hall's Fell, narrowing to the arete of Narrow Edge in its upper reaches and intervening ravines, but also the even narrower knife-edged ridge of Sharp Edge, perched alluringly above the supposedly bottomless Scales Tarn.

The best way to the base of Hall's Fell cuts diagonally through fields from Threlkeld, passing a substantial field barn on the way to Gategill, site of a former mining venture and now the place where the Blencathra foxhounds are kennelled. A path climbs beside Gate Gill to the fell gate and a view of some of the derelict mine buildings. Now the climb up Hall's Fell begins, steeply at first on exposed slaty rock but later more steadily through heather to reach Narrow Edge.

A narrow path runs along the right hand side of the arete, a little below the crest, but even this is rocky and a little exposed, with dramatic views down into the depths of Doddick Gill. The more adventurous will elect for the sensational scrambling route along the crest itself, with Gate Gill steeply down to the left and the summit of Blencathra itself in sight at the top of the arete. Once the slabs, miniature rock towers and little crags have been conquered the summit, beautifully poised at the edge of the abyss, is gained by a final scramble up loose rock. John Ruskin may have come this way: he included 'several bits of real crag work' in his ascent of the mountain.

Sharp Edge walks

Probably the finest conclusion to such a walk is a descent along Sharp Edge, with Scales Tarn poised below, but many might feel that Narrow Edge is exertion enough and will opt to descend Blue Screes to reach the col at the head of the Glenderamackin valley. Turn right here and accompany the infant stream, here at the start of its extraordinary journey to Mungrisdale and then sharply round Souther Fell to the far side of Blencathra. There is a very good, well graded and pleasantly surfaced path all the way down to Mungrisdale, though in order to get back to Threlkeld it is necessary to leave this and climb up to the col at the head of Mousthwaite Comb before curving round to Scales and, by paths at the base of the south face, Threlkeld.

Climbing in the Lake District

High Rigg

A personal favourite amongst these climbs in the lower fells is the little walk from the church of St John's in the Vale to the adjacent summit of High Rigg, at only 354m (1, 163ft) the highest point of the ridge which divides the valleys of St John's Beck and the Naddle Beck. The church, approached along a gated road, is a low, unsophisticated, squattowered structure, typical of many in the Lakes.

Lake District hotels can be found close to High Rigg, although the best choice of Lake District accommodation is closer to the central lakes at Windermere and Bowness.

The path to the top of High Rigg starts just to the west of the church and climbs steeply for a short distance, ascending a marvellous green rake at one point, before becoming an easy stroll through quite broken terrain to the summit plateau, which is pleasantly rocky and, if the route is well chosen, can entail a little scramble before the highest point is reached.

The views are quite magnificent, from Grasmoor and the Newlands fells in the west through the dominating Skiddaw and Blencathra massifs in the north to the northern ramparts of the Helvellyn range in the east. These surprisingly rocky outliers of Helvellyn itself are usually dismissed as flattopped and,tedious, but their western slopes are of great interest, not least to rock climbers.

This interest centres on the detached bastion on the slopes of Watson's Dodd, known as the Castle Rock of Triermain; a remarkable, craggy tor jutting into the valley, it has attracted its share of legend and romance, having been tentatively identified as the site of the Green Chapel in the medieval poem Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight and later used by Sir Walter Scott as the setting for The Bridal of Triermain.

Eagle Crag and Borrowdale

Travellers along the valley road through Borrowdale, journeying between Rosthwaite and Seatoller, have a fine view of our next objective, the proud buttress of Eagle Crag, which stands guard at the head of the Stonethwaite valley, its slopes running down to Smithymire Island at the confluence of Greenup Gill and Langstrath Beck.

Although it is hard at first to see any way of tackling the craggy face of the fell, a satisfying direct ascent is in fact perfectly feasible. The way lies across steep grass, bracken, scree and, worst of all, boulder fields to the top of the subsidiary buttress of Bleak How; from here it is comparatively simple to reach the summit of Eagle Crag, though the last steps require some minor scrambling ability. From the cairn many of the major fells can be seen, including Great Gable, Scafell Pike, and Bowfell. Helm Crag

It is not without a little trepidation that the next example of a fell which makes up for its lack of elevation with sheer style and character is included. This is Helm Crag, one of the most familiar and popular fells in the district. This popularity stems not from the attributes of the walk to its summit, however though the fact that the National Trust have had to reconstruct the path from Grasmere in its entirety is eloquent testimony to the weight of visitors it suffers but from the unusual configuration of the summit rocks when seen from the valley below.

Depending on the viewpoint, various scenes can (given sufficient imagination!) be recognised, though the bestknown is the Lion and the Lamb. The fell has more to offer, though, for it is set in attractive scenery and it has a delightful summit area, with the top itself accessible only by scrambling up a little rocky peak. Don't expect to have the fell to yourself during the summer months, however.

Lake District holiday

If you are planning a Lake District holiday, one of the best places to start out is Windermere and the central lakes. From here you can explore the surrounding areas, including Bowness with all of its attractions, Keswick and its stunning landscapes and some of the best Lake District museums at Coniston and Penrith.

Hallin Fell

Amongst the fells which crowd in at the head of Ullswater Place Fell holds pride of place as the perfect destination for a short walk, combining relative ease of ascent with interest and variety in the walk itself and with a fine reward at the summit of a marvellous vista of the surrounding scenery, notably Helvellyn above the craggy back wall of the deep hollow containing Red Tarn between the twin aretes of Striding Edge and Swirral Edge. At 656m (2, 154ft) it is, sadly, a little too high to qualify as one of the lower fells. Fortunately a fine substitute lies close at hand, in the shape of Hallin Fell.

Hallin Fell's summit is a mere 387m (1,271ft) above sea level, and it can be reached very easily indeed from the newer of Martindale's two churches, yet its situation is delightful, perched above Kailpot Crag and overlooking two reaches of Ullswater. It is slightly detached from the main mountain mass at the head of the lake, and as a result has better views than might be expected.

These views are not just related to Ullswater, however: nowhere else has a better situation in relation to Martindale and its tributary valleys, notably the almost deserted glacial trough of Boredale named after the wild boar, which died out here in the thirteenth century as its woodland habitat was progressively turned over to sheep pastures.

From Martindale church a wide grassy path, made slippery in dry weather by the passage of countless boots and shoes, leads straight up to the summit, where there is a magnificent and very substantial cairn, out of all proportion to the importance of the fell itself.

Loughrigg Fell and Windermere walks

No description of the best of the lower fells would be complete without reference to Loughrigg Fell, that amorphous mass covering a huge area west of Ambleside and between the Brathay valley and Grasmere. Despite the vast area it covers, Loughrigg's highest point (summit would be too pretentious a description) lies at only about 335m (1,100ft), yet this is a fell to spend time on, with excellent walks on grassy and heathery paths, little crags to explore, and splendid views across the Grasmere bowl, along the length of Windermere and westwards to the Langdale Pikes.

The most popular walk traverses Loughrigg Terrace, an excellent promenade above the peaceful lake of Grasmere, but there are others which are equally as interesting, none more so than the northsouth traverse from Ellers to Steps End near Rydal. The caves of Loughrigg Quarries, the biggest a massive cavern, are close to the northern end of this attractive walk.

The best places to go in the Lake District

If you are visiting the Lake District with the family, you can take advantage of the great range of things to see and do in the area, including the Beatrix Potter Attraction at Bowness, the boat trips on Windermere and the Lakes Aquarium near Bowness. Alternatively, if you prefer the great outdoors, some of the best easy walks can be found in the Lake District.

Walna Scar walks

Many more examples of these passes, some of them at a relatively high altitude and thus exposed to raw winter weather, and others very well used in their heyday, can be identified from a study of the map. The Walna Scar Road, connecting Coniston with Seathwaite in Dunnerdale, is a classic example: a pre-historic routeway passing close to Little Arrow Moor, with its stone circle and Bronze Age burial mounds, it rises to 580m (l,990ft) as it crosses the Walna Scar Pass, the fifth highest in the Lake District.

The way lies past the former Coniston railway station and then up to the open moor below the Old Man, passing the virtually dried up Boo Tarn and then through rock gateways the popular route to the towering Dow Crag, dominating the barren upland tarn of Goat's Water, forks right near here before reaching the summit of the pass and the long descent to Seathwaite.

Sticks Pass Lake District

Higher still, at 735m (2,420ft) (only Esk Hause is higher) is Sticks Pass, used by packhorses carrying lead ore from Greenside Mine near Glenridding to be smelted at Stonycroft, in the Newlands valley, and Brigham near Keswick. The name derives from the tall stakes, long since vanished, which were driven into the ground to mark the line of the track during the worst of the winter weather. At this height the winter snows can be both heavy and prolonged, and indeed the slopes to the south are alive with skiers nowadays when conditions are right. Generally, however, the surroundings at the summit of the pass are bleak and a little dreary, and it is only its elevation and its position in the heart of the Helvellyn range which assures Sticks Pass of real distinction.

Borrowdale and the Stonethwaite Valley

The well-used path from Borrowdale through the Stonethwaite valley and across Greenup Edge into Easedale and finally to Grasmere passes through an almost equally featureless landscape as it crosses the central watershed of the Lake District, but in its lower reaches to both east and west of this barrier it is quite delightful. Once again this was a busy packhorse route in its time, but it is just as important now as an easy walkers' route into the heart of Borrowdale.

Starting from the west, the route passes through the attractive hamlet of Stonethwaite, with its cluster of whitewashed stone farms and cottages, and after crossing Stonethwaite Bridge runs alongside the beck to Smithymire Island, the site of a bloomery established by the monks of Fountains Abbey to smelt their ore, carted along Langstrath from Ore Gap.

The way ahead is dominated now by the glorious ramparts of Eagle Crag, but the path lies to the left here, climbing to Greenup Edge and then down into the head of Far Easedale, a place of formidable crags, boulderstrewn slopes and the tumbling waters of the beck in its rocky trench. Lower down the scenery beconles more gentle and the old trade route crosses the beck on Stythwaite Steps before entering the village of Grasmere along a narrow lane.

Hotel Lake District

If you are looking for a romantic hotel in the Lake District, a luxury hotel or a boutique hotel, you can find a wide choice of Lake District accommodation in and around Windermere, Bowness, Grasmere, Coniston and Ambleside.

Camping and accommodation in the Lake District

Camping is another favourite pastime of Lake Distric walkers, and campsites with excellent facilities can be found in Coniston, Bowness, Windermere and Keswick. If you are looking for small hotel accommodation in the Lake District, check out the boutique hotels in the region.

Grisedale Hause

North-eastwards from Grasmere one of the busiest packhorse routes crossed the Helvellyn massif by means of Grisedale Hause on its way to Patterdale. The track is very clear as it climbs alongside Tongue Gill, passing yet more iron ore mines, to the Hause at 610m (2,004ft). This is the col separating the Helvellyn and Fairfield groups; to the north, beyond the bleak and exposed Grisedale Tarn in its rocky basin, is the path to Dollywaggon Pike, Nethermost Pike and then Helvellyn itself.

The way down into Grisedale is steep and rough at first, past Ruthwaite Lodge, originally built in 1854 as a shooting lodge but now in use as a climbing hut, and along the lower slopes of St Sunday Crag to the isolated farmstead of Elmhow. The ancient route crosses the seventeenth-century packhorse bridge here and approaches Patterdale along a surfaced road.

In the great rush to conquer the biggest and apparently the best of the Lake District's mountains, the vast majority of walkers visiting the region overlook the fact that some of the choicest routes lead not to the highest summits some of which provide dull walking in the extreme but to the tops of the lower fells.

These outstanding routes, often uncrowded but always worthwhile, traverse varied and attractive country and offer better views than those available from the heights. Some of the best are included below, though there are many others, most of which can be discovered from the map or from lowlevel reconnaissance in the dales.

Mellbreak and Crummock Water

An obvious example which will be familiar to those whose knowledge of the area extends beyond the tourist traps as far as the delightful western dales is Mellbreak, 510m (l,676ft) high but with the presence of a much higher mountain because it stands alone above the western shore of Crummock Water. The most arresting profile of the fell though, is not its forbidding frontal assault on the eye from across th lake, but its endon, pyramid peak aspect from Kirkstile: from here it simply has to be climbed. The best route lies along the lane to Kirkhed, then through bracken to the base of Raven Crag.

The crag can easily be climbed, keepmg away from the gullies and rock faces which confront Crummock Water, across heathery slopes to the north top of the fell. Sadly this is not the summit of Mellbreak: a level walk of about half a mile now follows before the highest point is underfoot. The great advantage of this easy walk across the summit plateau is that a tremendous panorama of the Buttermere fells develops as thee walk progresses.

Dodd and Skiddaw

The little satellite fell of Dodd usually goes unconsidered amongst the fells in the Skiddaw group, but it is in fact a very fine viewpoint and an easy walk from the Keswick to Carlisle road. Starting from Mirehouse, the route lies alongside the Skill Beck for much of the way, with good views along Bassenthwaite Lake, as far as Long Doors.

A wretchedly difficult route over unstable scree leaves from the col to climb Carl Side and eventually Skiddaw, but the way to the top of Dodd is much easier, through a pine wood and over rocks, swampy ground and then easy rocks again. A memorial tablet marks the summit, from which there are excellent views of the central and north western fells across Derwentwater. A choice of routes along waymarked forest trails now leads back to Mirehouse.

Things to do in the Lake District dales

If you are planning a trip to the Lake District dales, you can find plenty of things to see and do when you arrive. The dales are one of the most popular areas for Lake District walks, and you can also find a fantastic range of accommodation in Troutbeck and Borrowdale.

The dales are easy to reach from Windermere and Bowness, so if you are staying in the more central Lake District hotels, you are still within easy driving distance of the dales.

Eskdale reigns supreme for low-level walks in the dales, with a remarkable selection ranging from the remote traverse of Great Moss below the towering cliffs of the Scafell range, through the sylvan delights of the mid-valley near Boot, to the easy walking over Muncaster Fell and around the Esk estuary. Perhaps the best of all is the riverside walk from St Catherine's chapel at Boot, upstream at first over rocky ground alongside the Esk, here characterised by swirling rapids, deep silent pools of delightfully clear and cold water, and tiny rocky gorges.

Cross the river at Doctor Bridge, an imposing single arched bridge carrying the farm road to Penny Hill and the path to the superb rocky summit of Harter Fell. Now turn downstream along the south bank, passing through the farmyard at Low Birker and skirting Great Coppice on the way back to the chapel accessible across the river only by means of stepping stones which are slippery and, except in times of drought, usually awash.

Better, then, to carry on along the southern bank, passing Stanley Ghyll (possibly diverting here to the splendid waterfall higher up the gill, in a deep, well wooded and steep sided ravine) and Dalegarth Hall, the former manor house of the Stanley family, with round chimneys but no longer any vestige of the pele tower which was added in the fifteenth century. Now a lane can be followed down to and across the Esk, with a bridleway latterly a marvellous walled green lane leading back to the chapel on the riverside.

Dunnerdale walks

The next spoke anti-clockwise in the Lake District's 'wheel' of valleys is Dunnerdale, probably the least spoilt of them all and certainly amongst the prettiest. There are no major mountains here, though there are distant glimpses of Bowfell and its neighbours from near the valley head and of the Coniston Fells (though not at their most photogenic) and Harter Fell from around Seathwaite.

The valley walking is delectable though discontinuous; amongst the best routes are the walk from Cockley Beck to Birks Bridge, in the footsteps of the Romans as far as the solid farmstead at Black Hall, then alongside the river past the sharp little turret of Castle How and below the forestry plantations on the flanks of Harter Fell to Birks Bridge, a classic and much photographed humpbacked bridge taking nothing more grand than a rough track over a marvellous rocky gorge on the River Duddon.

Lower down the Duddon valley there are excellent riverside walks around Seathwaite, a timeless hamlet which acts as a focal point for the upper valley, and lower still at Ulpha there are good walks on un-crowded paths and bridleways with fine views of the fells.

Things to see in Troutbeck

Third amongst the 'dale' walks is one which hardly qualifies as such; indeed, if the place it explores were any larger it might well be classified as an urban trail. The place is Troutbeck, neatly bypassed by the busy main road from Windermere over Kirkstone Pass to Ullswater, and the attraction is a complex village landscape of intersecting lanes, clusters of farms and cottages grouped around the wells from which communal water supplies were obtained, and points of historical and architectural interest.

The best-known feature of the village is the series of 'statesman' farmhouses it contains; these were the architecturally distinctive farmsteads built by the newly prosperous yeoman farmers of the seventeenth century. The classic 'statesman' farmhouse is Town End, and this is as good a place as any to start. The home of the Browne family for more than 300 years from 1623, it has miraculously survived almost unchanged, with its cylindrical Westmorland chimneys and mullioned windows and, inside, items such as an oldfashioned cheese press, wooden washing machine and antique mangle.

Opposite Town End is a seventeenth century bank barn, of a type found only in the Lakes and in the Yorkshire Dales, and as the village street straggles northwards a further dozen examples of statesman farmhouses can be spotted, though many are no longer associated with farm holdings and have become the desirable residences of offcomers. The most northerly cluster, at Town Head, includes the Queen's Head Inn, with stone slab floors and a mayoral parlour which has been the scene of Troutbeck's mayor-making ceremony for over 200 years.

Borrowdale walks

No apologies are made for returning to Borrowdale for the next example of these walks in the dales. The area around Rosthwaite is especially rewarding, both upstream, around Johnny Wood, and lower down the valley, around Castle Crag. Johnny Wood, accessible by a path leading to the cottages at Peathow and to Longthwaite Bridge, is an excellent example of an indigenous Lake District oakwood, and also has a remarkable variety of ferns, liverworts and mosses, plants which thrive here because of the very high rainfall in the area.

Downstream from Rosthwaite a path can be followed over New Bridge and close to Pennybridge Dub as far as the quarries in High Hows Wood; close by here is Castle Crag, whose hillfort certainly in use in Roman times and in the Dark Ages overlooks an ice marginal channel later utilised for the route of the ancient trackway from Grange into upper Borrowdale.

The track approaches Grange through Dalt Wood, but near Gowder Dub a riverside path can be picked up for the return journey to the village of Rosthwaite, on its rocky knoll above the Derwent flood plain.

Langdale things to do

A more ambitious walk takes in the two Langdale valleys, with an impressive array of peaks close at hand, together with visits to two contrasting tams. Starting at the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, one of the most famous of the climbers' hotels in the district, the walk reaches its first objective, the lonely Blea Tam, by means of footpaths which climb below Side Pike, with magnificent views into Oxendale and Mickleden, the twin valleys at the head of Great Langdale.

A further path leads down to the road from Wrynose Pass as it descends into Little Langdale close to the farm at Fell Foot, sheltering below the 'thingmount' which is reputed to have been the annual meeting place of the Viking settlers in the two valleys. Immediately ahead is Little Langdale Tam, in its wid and somewhat unexciting bowl.

Much more attractive is the area below the tam, with Slater Bridge the highlight. This footbridge across the River Brathay, with its stone slabs linking islands and spanning pools of clear water, was originally constructed by workers in the slate quarries whose remains disfigure the slopes of Wetherlam to the south, and was later used by Lanty Slee, a nineteenth century whisky smuggler whose illicit stills were located nearby in the Tilberthwaite Fells. From the hamlet of Little Langdale a lane runs past Dale End and pleasantly through Baysbrown Wood to Chapel Stile and Great Langdale; footpaths now lead alongside the Great Langdale Beck, with magnificent views of the Langdale Pikes, to New Dungeon Ghyll, where the overused path to Stickle Tam begins.

Windermere and Bowness accommodation

Whether you are visiting the Lake District for the scenery, the vast range of pubs, bars and restaurants or the incredible attractions, culture and history of the area, ther is no better place to find quality accommodation and boutique hotels than Windermere and Bowness. From Windermere you can travel to the fells, the famous lakes in the area and enjoy some of the best walks in the lakes.

Walking in the Lake District National Park

Some of the finest walking in the National Park can be had by tramping the tracks which connect adjacent valleys. No summits are conquered, but the views of the fells are often magnificent and there is a real sense of satisfaction in having followed ancient routes dating, perhaps, from the packhorse era or from the days of whiskysmuggling through such dramatic scenery.

Wasdale Head walks

Wasdale Head is a focal point for these old tracks: from the cluster of dwellings around the famous inn three routes connect the most dramatic of the western valleys with its neighbours. The head of Ennerdale is reached through Mosedale and across the Black Sail Pass; the well-known Sty Head Pass links Wasdale with Seathwaite in Borrowdale; and the old corpse road across Burnmoor, along which Wasdale Head's departed had to be carried until the dalehead chapel was licensed for burials in the early nineteenth century, provides a route to Boot in Eskdale.

The first of these routes, across the Black Sail Pass to Ennerdale, is a classic of its kind. It starts well, too, passing the delightful Row Bridge, a low packhorse bridge which once carried the valley road from Wasdale Head towards the coastal plain but which now merely conveys walkers (and sheep) into Mosedale.

The Black Sail route

The Black Sail route rises gradually across the flanks of Kirk Fell, with the view ahead dominated by the intimidating bulk of Pillar, which forms the back wall of Mosedale. The best is yet to come, however, for arrival at the summit of the pass reveals the wild head of Ennerdale, together with the afforested slopes of the lower valley and the majestic summits of the High Stile range and Haystacks across the glaciated trench. Between High Crag and Haystacks is the Scarth Gap Pass, the natural extension to the Black Sail route, leading down to Gatesgarth and blessed with a marvellous panorama across Buttermere to the northwestern fells.

Lake District cottages

If you are looking for Lake District cottages or hotels, the best place to stay is Windermere or Bowness which offers a wealth of great accommodation and places to stay.

A map of the Lake District

If you plan to tour around the Lake District, pick up a Lake Distric map from any of the tourist information offices around the region. Most Lake District attractions, places of intererst and recommended towns and villages in the Lake District will be listed, along with all major routes, roads and directions.

The Garburn Pass

Towards the eastern fringe of the Lake District is another excellent walk between rather than to the top of the fells. This is based on the Garburn Road, the old packhorse route from Troutbeck to the delightful hamlet of Kentmere.

The route follows a line of weakness in the rocks along a thin band of Coniston Limestone which has resisted erosion less well than the rock formations on either side. From Troutbeck church the old road rises as a stony track etched into the hillside and hemmed in by drystone walls as it makes for the low land between Yoke and Sallows.

East of the Garburn Pass the track is less eroded and more pleasant underfoot as it descends slowly to the village of Kentmere; to the right can be seen the fourteenth-century pele tower of Kentmere Hall. The packhorse route, surprisingly important in its day, then passed through Green Quarter and along the walled lane above Stile End to Sadgill in Longsleddale, where it crossed the River Sprint on the present, picturesque packhorse bridge before heading either north across the Gatescarth Pass to Mardale or south towards Kendal.

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

Return along the dale road, this time keeping close to Wastwater all the time, to pass the youth hostel at Wasdale Hall and, just before Strands, turn left onto the Santon Bridge road. Another left turn onto the Eskdale road leads past the entrance to the little-visited Miterdale and through Eskdale Green, which has two stations on the narrow gauge Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.

Keep on the Eskdale road to Dalegarth, where there is a car park which enables motorists to stretch their legs with a stroll around Boot highly recommended, since there is much of interest. Don't miss the little church of St Catherine, down by the river near some stepping stones; the packhorse bridge over the Whillan Beck; or the adjacent, recently restored, woollen mill.

Above Boot the valley narrows and becomes less sylvan in character, with the rocky summit of Harter Fell prominent on the right and the first hints of the major peaks at the head of Eskdale, beyond the statesman farmhouse at Brotherilkeld, on the left. Leave the car near Brotherilkeld and walk up to the Roman fort of Hardknott, perched high above the Esk and a tremendous tribute to the determination of the Romans.

The remains, painstakingly restored, are considerable and include the walls of the fort itself and the principal buildings, together with the bathhouse some distance away to the south, and a parade ground somewhat higher up to the east. And the Scafell range, Esk Pike and Bowfell form an effective background at the head of the Esk valley.

Dunnerdale and Hardknott Pass

The final dale, Dunnerdale, can be reached across Hardknott Pass, but those who are deterred by the extraordinary gradients and hairpin bends will return down Eskdale until, a little beyond Boot, a left turn can be made onto the narrow road which leads over Birker Fell to Ulpha in the Duddon valley (Dunnerdale).

A track on the right can be followed to the remote tarn of Devoke Water, but attractive though this is the panorama to the left is even more dramatic, with the highest land in England seen in perfect perspective across Eskdale. Beyond Crosbythwaite the road drops steeply down into Ulpha, with its typical dale chapel.

Seathwaite the Lake District

A little further up Dunnerdale is Seathwaite, a tiny hamlet but the centre of dale life. It is well worth exploring here, with stepping stones across the Duddon and the rocky buttresses of Wallabarrow Crag and Low Crag amongst the attractions. Higher still, as the dale scenery becomes more bleak and the shapely peak of Bowfell asserts itself on the horizon, the magnificent high arched packhorse bridge of Birks Bridge crosses the Duddon, which at this point is trapped in a particularly attractive gorge, with sheer rock above deep green pools of clear water a fitting climax to an exploration of the western dales. 5. Easy walks in the Lake District

We all like to think of ourselves as modern day Alfred Wainwrights when it comes to walking in the Lake District, but some of the easy walks are much better suited to visitors who come to the region once a year.

The vast majority of those who come to walk in the Lake District and the appalling state of some of the main routes shows that there are many of them aim to conquer at least some of the major peaks. But walkers who confine themselves to these popular, and often crowded, high fells, such as Helvellyn, Skiddaw and the Langdale Pikes, are robbing themselves of a wealth of interest and enjoyment. The Lake District's valleys and less exalted fells are not just the preserve of the very young and the very old, or to be regarded as worthy of exploration only on days when weather conditions put the high fells out of bounds for the majority: they have their own character and attractions.

There are, indeed, some quite outstanding walks in the dales and amongst the lower fells, often following ancient routes or using paths which offer magnificent views of the main mountain groups. In this chapter I have divided the walks into four types: those around the lakes, those which explore the dales, those which traverse the many lowlevel passes which connect adjacent dales, and finally a selection of those which conquer some of the lesser-known lower fells.

Famous lakeside walks

Some of the best low-level walks are those which follow the shores of the major lakes (either completely around the lake or, in the case of the larger lakes, for a convenient section of the circuit); they have the dual attractions of marvellous views close at hand, sometimes linked to boating activity too, and outstanding panoramas of mountain systems hemming in the dalehead. Not all of the lakes can provide a satisfying circular tour, however. The shores of Wast water, for example, are too close to the valley road on one side, too hemmed in by the dangerously loose, steep slopes of The Screes on the other. But the examples I have chosen, whilst they might be said to represent the cream of the available routes, by no means exhaust the possibilities for shoreline walking.

Buttermere walks

Amongst these lakeside walks the first to spring to mind for many people would probably be that around Buttermere, set in one of the most romantically scenic of Lakeland dales. Starting at the village, the route lies past the Fish Inn and across the flat meadows which now divide Buttermere and Crummock Water; in earlier times these meadows, too, were under water, and the two lakes were joined together as one. Below the ravine of Sour Milk Gill, recently scoured out afresh by a savage winter landslide, the lakeside path keeps to a good track which bears left through the trees, keeping a little above the lake. There are increasingly fine views of the head of the lake and the spine of Fleetwith Pike at the dalehead.

Wasdale Head and Ennerdale walks

Below High Crag the old track from Wasdale Head and Ennerdale, coming down from the Scarth Gap Pass, joins in from the right, and the path now crosses the lake flats to the farm at Gatesgarth. The lowlying land here was all once part of a much larger lake. A little road walking follows now, though it is by no means dull, for there are splendid views across the lake to Haystacks, one of the most delectable of the lower fells in the Lake District, with its succession of summit tarns, and to the High Stile range. Soon the lakeside footpath can be rejoined and followed through fields which can be thick with buttercups at times to the tiny cluster of farms, cottages and hotels which makes up the popular village of Buttermere.

Derwentwater walks

A more exacting circular tour follows the shores of Derwentwater though perhaps it is best if two segments of the circle, along the busy valley road from Grange to Friar's Crag, and from the landing stages around Keswick as far as Portinscale, are omitted. The first walk, from the landing stages south to Friar's Crag, is short but delectable, past Cockshot Wood and along the lake shore opposite the equally wellwooded Derwent Isle. Friar's Crag is, of course, one of the most famous beauty spots of the Lake District, easily accessible from Keswick and blessed with one of the best overall views of Derwentwater, with the jutting summit ridge of Causey Pike prominent across the lake.

The second Derwentwater walk, along the western side of the lake, is much longer, from Portinscale to Derwent Bank and then through the gardens of Ling holm, renowned for their rhododendrons and azaleas, to Copperheap Bay, the point from which the ore won from the mines at Goldscope and Dale Head was once shipped across Derwentwater to the smelter at Brigham, near Keswick. The path then runs below Hawse End, where the popular and very easy walk along the Catbells ridge begins, before plunging back into the woods of Brandlehow Park, the first acquisition of the fledgling National Trust.

Brandlehow Lead Mine

A delightful feature here is the profusion of little rocky bays with white shingle beaches:The walk then passes the remains of the Brandlehow lead mine, the largest and oldest of Borrowdale's lead mines, and skirts Manesty Park - the island in Abbot's Bay is called Otter Island before finally reaching Grange-in-Borrowdale, best known for its double bridge across the Derwent, by path and the stonewalled Field Lane. As its name implies, the village was once the site of a monastic 'grange', built by the monks of Furness Abbey to control their land in Borrowdale.

Ullswater walks

The third of the lakeside examples is the classic walk along the shores of Ullswater from Howtown to Patterdale. For much of the way the walk traverses the lower slopes of Place Fell, itself an attractive destination for a short excursion, with an unparalleled view of the upper reaches of Ullswater and the surrounding peaks. Regarded by many as the best low-level walk in the district, the lakeside stroll is distinguished by a series of intimate views along the upper reaches of Ullswater, from Howtown Bay to the head of the lake, and into the craggy recesses of the dalehead peaks, whilst itself traversing rocky country which gives the feel of a real expedition. The journey through the woods on the lower slopes of Hallin Fell, from the boat landing at Howtown past Kailpot Crag to Sandwick is especially memorable. And the best way back to Howtown is by ferry from the landing stage at Glenridding Pier, a memorable way of reviewing the highlights of the walk which has just been completed.

Tarn Hows walks

Tam Hows is the final destination in this section; not one of the major lakes at all, it is nevertheless eminently worthy of inclusion because of the very pleasant nature of the immediate scenery (best viewed out of season, for it is enormously popular despite rather haphazard signposting from some directions) and the outstanding views to some of the high fells, in particular the Helvellyn range and the Langdale Pikes. The tam, though, is an artificial addition to the landscape, created in the nineteenth century by damming a small stream and flooding an area of swampy and low-lying ground. Nowadays it is in the care of the National Trust, and good work has been done in controlling erosion and providing pleasant lakeside paths.

A tour of the western Lake District

The remoteness of the western Lake District, difficult to reach directly from the most popular centres, has protected it from the worst excesses of the tourist industry. Yet the mountain scenery is at its most magnificent here, as witness the cluster of noble fells crowding in at the head of Wasdale, and there is tremendous scope for a rewarding tourthough not a circular tour, since two of the dales have no through road, another factor in preserv:ing them in their present largely unspoilt state.

William Wordsworth Beatrix Potter and the Lake District

Among the most famous places to visit in the Lake District are the former homes of William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, Dove Cottage at Grasmere and Hill Top Farm at Sawrey. The world-famous Beatrix Potter Attraction is situated at Bowness, and is a perfect day out for all the family.

While touring around the western lakes, the first dale to be explored is Ennerdale, probably the least known of all. The public road ends at Bowness Knott, and further progress up the dale has to be made on foot; few will go too far, however, because the extensive Forestry Commission plantations block out many of the views.

It is probably better to climb the little rocky knoll of Bowness Knott and enjoy the wide sweeping view across the lake, from Angler's Crag up to the extensive, grassy Skiddaw Slate fells of Grike and Caw Fell, then further left to Haycock a fine winter mountain and Pillar, with the awesome Pillar Rock jutting out of the fellside at three-quarter height.

Ennerdale Bridge and Ennerdale Forest

Then follow the pleasant, quiet lanes to the sleepy village of Ennerdale Bridge and take the fell road south, past the Kinniside stone circle and the rather haphazard plantations of Ennerdale Forest to Cold Fell Gate. Another excellent detour here lies along the track to the left, which descends steadily into the Calder valley. Cross the river on a modern footbridge next to a ford, then walk upstream for a couple of minutes to arrive at Matty Benn's Bridge, a packhorse bridge ascribed to the monks of Calder Abbey. The situation is delightful, with the clear river in a rocky gorge below the bridge, but the bridge itself is suffering from decades of neglect and the luxuriant vegetation is beginning to take over.

The Calder Valley walks

Strong walkers will perhaps continue over Tongue How to reach Stockdale Moor, thickly littered with prehistoric remains (including the long cairn known as Sampson's Bratful), but this is a considerable trek in remote and rather featureless country, and it may be more prudent to return to the car and continue south to a junction of roads near Calder Abbey. The monks at this minor outpost, originally a Savignac priory, were twice raided by the Scots, but twice returned and exerted some influence in the medieval colonisation of Copeland Forest; extensive remains of the abbey survive to enhance the scene in the quiet Calder valley.

Turn left onto the main road at Calder Bridge, uncomfortably close to Sellafield, then left again to follow the Wasdale road through the large village of Gosforth, notable for its tall, slender Viking cross and hogback tombstones, to Buckbarrow and, with stupendous views opening up in front, the Wasdale valley.

This is as near perfection as English mountain scenery can be: a ring of craggy mountains at the head of a long, brooding lake with the threatening Wastwater Screes apparently streaming down into the lake on the right. The ring of mountains includes Yew barrow , Kirk Fell, the glorious Great Gable, Lingmell and the two Scafells - Scafell Pike above Pikes Crag and, to the right of the declivity of Hollow Stones below Mickledore, the dramatic northern face ofScafell.

Wasdale Head and Wastwater

As the road nears Wasdale Head the interplay between these mountains and Wastwater continually changes, and at Wasdale Head itself still further mountains crowd into the scene, notably Red Pike and Pillar above the deep glacial bowl of Mosedale. The hamlet of Wasdale Head is equally full of interest, with a little dale chapel, the well-known Wasdale Head Inn, a classic packhorse bridge, and a series of easy walks among the intake fields, many of them with notably thick walls piled with the boulders which were painstakingly cleared by the Norse settlers.