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.
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.
posted by Windermere Boutique Hotels | 02:25
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