Top o’ Selside Circular from High Nibthwaite

Taking a walk on the quieter side of the Lake District. This route crosses open moorland where you are likely to be on your own with the fabulous views across the fells and over to Morecambe Bay.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	4.8 miles
Difficulty	Difficult
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Nearest is Bakehouse Born and Bread

The Area

If areas of the Lake District had a league table this one would be somewhere in the second or third tier, and it’s all the better for it.

I’ve covered several walks that are in premier league areas like Grasmere which are beautiful, but also visited by lots of people. These areas define most people’s perspective of the Lake District, and I’m happy for them, but there are significant areas of Cumbria that don’t get this treatment and today’s walk is in one of those areas.

High Nibthwaite is at the southern end of Coniston and on the less visited eastern shore.

There isn’t really anywhere to park in the hamlet, but there is a small unmarked car park just outside to the north. There is also a field opposite this small car park which occasionally gets recommissioned as a place to leave your car, although on the day I last visited the field was full of impressive white cows. You will need the RingGo app for the field, the small carpark is free. When I say that the small car park is unmarked I mean that there are no signs at its entrance, you can’t see where the cars are parked from the road, and the entrance is down a rough track which immediately makes you doubt that a car park could be at the end of it. There is a grey metal post, but it doesn’t have any signs on it and it is shown on the OS Map. Here’s the link to the location of the small car park, if you zoom in close on Google Maps satellite view you’ll see a car parked in it.

High Nibthwaite has its own artistic connections with Antony Gormley of Angel of the North and Another Place fame. At the edge of the hamlet is a house called The Stable at Lake End where Anthony visited in the 1980’s and where, in a field next to the boat house and quay he has left one of his famous iron sculptures looking out towards the Old Man of Coniston. It’s worth a visit to the sculpture and to take in the view at the quay by taking the footpath across the field (The footpath doesn’t go anywhere other than to the quay).

Much of this walk is across Bethecar Moor which is mostly trackless so you will need you map reading skills for this walk. The moor is a mixture of small rambling hills, gullies and bogs. There are marked paths on the map, but they aren’t as clearly defined on the ground. Don’t be fooled into thinking of this as a natural landscape though, like much of the Lake District this area has been shaped by people over a long time with some mining, coppicing, peat extraction and charcoal burning.

Near to the summit of the walk is Arnsbarrow Tarn which is a beautiful peaceful glacial tarn. The name “barrow” hints as the Bronze Age burial mounds nearby. People have been shaping this landscape for a very long time indeed.

This walk includes three Birketts – Stang Hill, Arnsbarrow Hill, and Top o’ Selside.

The name Top o’ Selside is a combination of Norse and English meanings. The Norse part Selside means seasonal pasture on a hillside, more Viking influence. The English part Top o’ says that it’s the highest point of.

The Walk

This is a medium length walk but I’ve marked it as difficult because of the need to navigate open moorland where the tracks are few and far between. In good weather the features are distinct, but in poor visibility it would be easy to become confused. Also, walking in this kind of open moorland is more tiring and slower going than on defined well marked tracks. The lack of tracks does give lots of opportunity to explore though.

We start this walk from the small unmarked carpark to the north of Coniston which is here. We are going to do this circular in an anti-clockwise direction, but you could do it the other way around. My choice of direction is solely down to a preference for coming down through the woods at the end rather than working my way up them at the beginning.

From the car park we head south along the road back into High Nibthwaite taking a short detour to visit the Gormley statue and to take in the views along the lake from the quay.

In the middle of the hamlet is a track off to left. This track is often used by off-road enthusiasts and mountain bikers, it forms part of our route down later on. For now, though, we are only following it for a short distance before heading along the path to the right along following route of a drystone wall to our right.

This path will take us along the route of Caws Beck which is in the woodland, to our right, and below the crags of Brock Barrow, on our left, to the farm at High Bethecar. This farm has fabulous views across the fells and Morecambe Bay but feels very isolated.

From High Bethecar we head out onto the moorland through a gate and along a track that steadily diminishes. We are looking for a fork in the path that takes us off to Stang Moss to the right. This is where you will need your map reading skills because it isn’t very clear on the ground where this fork is.

The route from Stang Moss to Arnsbarrow Hill is along a small ridge. If you are fortunate you can see the top of Arnsbarrow from Stang Moss and the route is almost straight there.

When we are picking our way along a route it’s easy to get engrossed in the few metres in front of us, be sure to lift your head and take a look around, this route has fabulous views.

Onward to Arnsbarrow Tarn which is worth a visit to take in the tranquility of it. You should be able to see the tarn from Arnsbarrow Hill. Work your way around the eastern side of the tarm up onto the Top o’ Selside.

The track down from the Top o’ Selside is probably the clearest part of this moorland part of the walk. The views across to the Old Man of Coniston are glorious on a good weather day. Part way along this part of our bimble you will start to see the bridleway that will form the next part of our exploring.

Once you’ve reached the bridleway turn left along it as it descends.

The last time I did this route there were two groups of off-road vehicles making their way up the hill. The noisy engines and tires felt like an invasion of privacy having been on my own in the quiet moorland. I can see why people would choose this route though, the views are fabulous.

The bridleway will eventually draw alongside a wood on the right and then a little further along there is a gate into the wood. There’s only really one path down through the woods back to the carpark. This wood is nicely isolated and you should watch out for wildlife, when I last visited I saw a woodcock, a bird I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before.

Extensions and Variations

This route is mostly across moorland and this makes for infinite possibilities and variations.

Near the beginning of the walk you can choose to branch off and climb Brock Barrow which would be quite steep. Even if you don’t climb up the front you can branch off the defined path to the left to get some early views of the surrounding hills. From there you can cross moor to High Light Haws before branching off to Stang Moss.

If you were really wanting to maximise the number of Birketts that you covered on this walk you would take the route from Top o’ Selside to Carron Crag which is the only other Birkett in the area. Doing this would more than double the length of the walk and I’m not sure would add much more interest.

Initial views across Coniston and the White Cows, this is the field which sometimes becomes a carpark

Out on the moors, managed to find a bit of a path

Top o’ Selside with Morecambe Bay glowing in the background

The views along Coniston and the Bridleway

Top o’ Selside Circular from High Nibthwaite

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Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag Circular from Grasmere

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Levens Deer Park Circular from Levens Hall, Carnforth | Graham’s Guides

A glorious parkland walk with interest all year round. Closer to home than the Lake District with a wonderful Graham’s cafe at the start/end.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	3.2 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Levens Kitchen

The Area

Levens Deer Park is part of the grounds of Levens Hall, it is free to enter. Parking for free at Levens Hall as is use of the toilets. Then on top of that, you can go to Levens Kitchen at either the beginning or the end of the walk, or both if that’s how the mood takes you.

What’s not to like, parking, toilets, walk and cafe all for the cost of a coffee. You could even pick up some fresh bread and cakes at the bakery.

While we love the Lake District there are days when we would rather be a little closer to home and away from the visiting hoards; this walk is one of our favourites on such occasions. That’s not to say that this is a second-best walk, it’s a wonderful little ramble. It’s not overly long and not too arduous, but is long enough to get the lungs going with enough elevation to stretch the legs. There’s plenty of interest too; waterfalls, goats, deer and if you are fortunate jumping salmon.

This walk is good all year round. In the spring there are blankets of crocus alongside the river near to the car park and blankets of snowdrops in other places. The summer brings cooling dappled light along deciduous tree lined avenues. In the autumn the trees transform into an explosion of colour giving great views along the river, this is when the salmon do their leaping. Cold crisp days in the winter bring a different light and the joy of crunching through parkland.

While the parkland may look naturalistic, it was actually landscaped over 300 years ago at the same time as the gardens at the hall. Imagine the physical manpower involved in landscaping such a vast area 300 years ago!

The Walk

There are a few places on this route where a decision needs to be made, most of the time the route is defined by the parkland. At the farthest end of the walk you leave the park to cross the river and then reenter it to return.

We start this walk from the car park of Levens Hall. It’s free to park and I’ve never known parking to be a problem. If the car park is closed for any reason there is also parking on the road leading down from the A590. Not really sure how to describe this parking option, so here’s a pin for it.

Head out of the hall the way you came in, along the avenue through the stone archway. You will need your wits about you as you cross the road; the cars can come fast and there isn’t an obvious place to safely cross.

Once on the other side of the road we are going to do this walk clockwise which means walking along the road for a short distance, across the river and into the park through the small steel gates in the wall and then down some steps onto the path.

You should now be able to see in front of you the river Kent to your right as it sweeps to the left. The path follows this same sweep up a gradual incline. There’s also a signpost showing the walk. This sign also, currently, advises you not to swim in the river because of pollution, it always looks clear, but the danger is often what you can’t see.

If you are fortunate you may see some black fallow deer or some Bagot goats. The deer are regularly on this side of the river, but the goats are more regularly on the other side near to the end of the walk. The black fallow deer are a dark variant of the common European fallow deer. The Bagot goats have striking horns and very cute kids in the spring.

We follow this path across the park and upstream. The path is well defined and eventually takes a lefthand turn reaching a stile and gate over a wall. On the far side of the wall turn right and follow the wall along the edge of the field. This is one area where it can get muddy in wet periods.

The path follows the wall across a field, over another stile, and across the middle of another field.

On the far side of the second field a gate opens out on to a lane by a cottage. Turn right and follow the lane until you come to a path underneath the A590 as it travels over the River Kent. The lane continues on the other side.

A short way along the lane you will come to some cottages. Just before these cottages there’s a small carpark. To the rear of the carpark there’s a waterfall where, in the right season and if you wait long enough, you can see salmon leaping.

Continuing along the lane you will get views of several other waterfalls. This area is abundant with snowdrops in the spring.

The lane comes out at a road-bridge over the river to the right. Walk across the bridge and take the road to the right on the other side. It’s mostly righthand turns on this walk – it’s a clockwise walk. The views aren’t great for this small section as the river is masked by a large stone wall.

Follow the road over the A590 dual carriageway beyond which you will see a gate to the right. There’s a stile with a small gate at the top over which you will turn left. You are now back in the deer park on an avenue of mature deciduous trees. You follow this avenue most of the way back to the hall.

I imagine that the owners of the hall would promenade along this avenue with all the trappings of the important, or hunt the deer on horseback.

Near to the end of the avenue the path veers off to the right following the route of the river back to the road. This is the area where the Bagot goats tend to frequent.

Cross the road back to the hall and your vehicle.

Alternatives and Variations

There’s an extension to the route at the far end that takes in the now disused upper-reaches of the Lancaster Canal and also takes in Sedgwick House and the Hincaster Tunnel. This extension is fully described as Walk 3 on the Lancaster Canal Towpath Trail.

At the top of the walk, before crossing over the River Kent there’s a short extension to a footbridge a bit further upstream beyond the wonderfully named Nannypie Lane. I’ve seen photographs of salmon leaping in this area, but never seen any myself.

Helm Crag, Gibson Knott, Calf Crag Circular from Grasmere

A beautiful moderate ridge walk with views across to many of the Lake District larger mountains.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	8.2 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Lucia’s Cafe + Bakehouse Mathilde’s at The Heaton Cooper Studio

The Area

Helm Crag, while not one of the highest peaks in the Lake District, is one of the better known ones. The rocky outcrop that sits at the end of the ridge has a shape that provokes several nicknames. The shape of the outcrop have provoked popular names the Lion and Lamb and The Old Woman Playing the Organ depending on where you are viewing it. I have no idea why it’s an Old Woman the shape isn’t that specific, the Lion and Lamb reference is from the Bible and makes sense from certain directions. While this rock formation is distinctive, it’s not the summit, that’s a bit further along.

This walk starts from the valley where it can be quite sheltered. Although the ridge is quite low, it can be very exposed even if the weather in the valley feels benign. I recommend that you take extra clothing in anticipation of this.

We are starting this walk from Red Bank car park in Grasmere. On this occasion I decided to pick some bagging up at Lucia’s on the way through the village – the choice, sweet-chilli sausage roll and a raspberry blondie, both were excellent.

(Bagging: is a Cumbrian term for a packed lunch.)

This walk takes in three Wainwrights (Helm Crag, Gibson Knott and Calf Crag) there is a forth available at Steel Fell if you fancy a variation. This extended route is also known as the Greenburn Horseshoe and is traditionally done the other way around, starting on Steel Fell. I’d recently been up Steel Fell on a different route so chose the beauty of Far Easdale.

The Walk

Leave Red Bank Car Park and head through Grasmere aiming for Easedale Road via Broadgate. Broadgate is directly opposite the entrance o the car park. Follow Easdale Road past the Glenthorne Quaker Centre, then past the entrance to The Lancrigg. The Lancrigg sometimes offers parking which can be a great alternative for this walk.

Further along the road you will come to a small gathering of houses. This is where the road ceases to be tarmac and where we need to depart from it. At the end of the tarmac, the lane continues straight-on, but there is also a lane off to the right, up an incline. A short way along this lane it will veer to the left and then there is a bridleway to the right. This should have a footpath post pointing you towards Helm Crag.

Follow this path to the top of the crag. This part of the path is well marked and stepped in places. It does zig-zag a bit, but the main route Is clear.

From this point on this is a ridge walk until we get beyond Calf Crag. There are a few path off to either side, but the main path is the one we are going to travel.

The rocky outcrops along the top of Helm Crag are dramatic, but I don’t recommend climbing them unless you have particular skills.

The summit of Gibson Knott isn’t very distinct if that kind of thing matters to you but it did make for a great place to stop and eat my bagging.

From Calf Crag head down hill following the same ridge route. Once you’ve descended a little you’ll notice a path off to the left heading down into the valley and following the route of Far Easedale Gill. This path will take you all the way down to the path that started your Helm Crag ascent. The path crosses the stream a couple of times as you descend. If you are close to the stream you won’t be far wrong.

You’ll find with this walk that the number of people will diminish the further away from Grasmere that you walk. A few people make it to the top of Helm Crag, very few make it up Gibson Knott. You are most likely to have Far Easdale to yourself until you get to the stepping stones and footbridge at Stythwaite Steps.

Beyond Stythwaite Steps the path soon becomes a bridleway.

The route back to your car simply retraces the route you’ve already travelled through Grasmere village.

Alternatives and Variations

As a ridge walk there aren’t too many variations to this walk.

You can add Steel Fell in and create the Greenburn Horseshoe. This is a good walk, but can get quite wet and muddy at the top after Calf Crag.

This walk can be done in either direction, my only caution to that is the descent from Helm Crag which includes quite a few steps. I prefer to walk up steps.

The walk can be shortened by descending from either side of the ridge between Helm Crag and Gibson Knott. There’s also the option to descend on the Greenburn side after Gibson Knott.

The walk ahead to Calf Crag on the right, with the path down to the left

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Bolton Abbey Circular including The Strid | Graham’s Guides

Revisiting a long-term family favourite we discovered on our first holiday as family of three with a baby in a backpack.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	6.1 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Tea Cottage at Bolton Abbey

The Area

One evening, when we were young and had a very small baby, we were at the house of some friends when they asked us whether we’d got a holiday planned. We said that we hadn’t because money was a bit tight at present. They said that they would put their very nice caravan on any site within an hour’s drive, leave it there for a week and come and pick it up at the end. This generous offer meant that we spent a glorious week on a wonderful campsite near Grassington in September, it rained every night but was glorious every day. The colours were glorious and the waterfalls spectacular.

This was in the time before the Internet so we found new places to visit by picking up leaflets. I don’t know, but I’m assuming that on one day one of us picked up a leaflet for this place called Bolton Abbey. We decided to visit, and it’s been a family favourite ever since.

Bolton Abbey has on display, a wonderful combination of natural features and English history. We’ll pass The Strid on this walk which is a unique limestone feature on the river Wharfe, the wood surrounding it has been open to the public since the nineteenth century. The ruins and remaining church of Bolton Priory have been a place of worship since the twelfth century having been donated to the Augustinian canons in 1154. The nearby hall is an extension of the former priory gatehouse, the stones from the ruined priory being reused in many of the buildings in the area. The church remains at the priory because during the dissolution they were able to argue that it was the local church and not a monastery.

The estate is a long standing seat of the Duke of Devonshire, the same people as Chatsworth, although both are now owned by a trust. How the English Dukes and the broader aristocracy got their lands is a fascinating part of English history, how they’ve retained, and lost, them is just as fascinating.

The Walk

I’m going to start this walk from the main visitors car park, shown on the web site as Bolton Abbey Car Park, it’s the easiest place to begin. There are toilets and a small shop in the car park. As you head into the village there’s the choice of a couple of cafes, there’s also a cafe on route (with a toilet) and regularly additional ice cream options. This walk is not short of refreshment options. There are also three parking options, I’ll cover those in the alternatives.

From the car park head into the village, across the road you should be able to see a hole in the large wall with a wooden gate. The other side of the gate the stepped path heads downward across open fields towards the river. Near the bottom, the path heads to the left across the back of the Priory and onto a footbridge.

We nearly always stop on the beach before the footbridge to skim some stones and to take in the swirling powerful waters. Swimming is not recommended here, too many currents.

It can be tempting to explore the Priory at this point, resist, we are coming back that way.

If the river isn’t too high, and they are all in place, there is the option of crossing the river on stepping stones. They run parallel to the footbridge a little upstream. The stepping stones are good fun, but don’t be a hero, if the sign says they are closed it will be for a good reason.

There are several paths that emanate from the far side of the footbridge, we tend to prefer the one that heads steadily upwards which is the righthand option. You will need to climb the riverbank at some point and doing it early gives fabulous views back across the Priory. The other options all rejoin the main path at some point.

There are several great places to take photographs in the section.

From this point on follow the path upstream for several miles. Along the way you will pass the Riverside Car Par on the opposite bank, the Cavendish Pavilion, where there is a footbridge and The Strid. The Strid isn’t particularly visible on this side, but the woods are glorious and the views on the way back are spectacular.

On this walk we will go all the way to the footbridge at the end of the woods beyond The Strid. This is the first footbridge after the Cavendish Pavilion. On the estate map, that they give you when you enter the car park, this footbridge is labelled “Aqueduct.”

Cross the footbridge and then follow the path along the river back towards The Strid which is signposted. The Strid is a fascinating geological feature, be careful though, it can be slippery and you don’t want to fall in it’s regarded as one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the country. According to Yorkshire folklore the foaming waters of The Strid are home to a kelpie.

From The Strid carry on along the river to the Cavendish Pavilion, then alongside the riverbank through the Riverside Car Park. Feel free to stop for refreshments at the Cavendish Pavilion, it’s nice, but it’s not our favourite.

At the end of the Riverside car park you will notice a path heading up towards the village, there’s a fountain at the top. You can’t miss this path, it’s the only one. The views of the Priory are wonderful along this short section.

From the top follow the path along the road, towards the village, until you get to the entrance to the lane down to the Priory. The Priory is well worth an explore. The ruins are fascinating, the remaining Nave is lovely and peaceful, the type of place where you can tell that people have been praying for nearly a thousand years.

The Priory lane rejoins the road just along from the hole in the wall where we started the walk.

If we hadn’t already been, this is where we would head off to the Tea Cottage which is just beyond the hole in the wall. If the weather is fine, we will be sitting outside on a table overlooking the Priory and the river Wharfe beyond. If the weather is less conducive to sitting out, we will be just as happy by a window in the cottage with a very similar view.

Alternatives and Variations

There are obvious ways to extend and to shorten this walk. To shorten it you can cross the footbridge at the Cavendish Pavilion and make your way back from there. To lengthen it you can go as far as the Barden Tower and make you way back from there. You can carry along the Wharfe for a very long way, but only on one side. You can also extend the walk at the beginning by heading south from village. After a short while you will reach Bolton bridge where you can cross over and make your way back up the river to rejoin the path beyond the ruins of the Priory.

There are three primary car parks for this walk. I’ve started from the Bolton Abbey one, we progress through the Riverside one so that’s reasonably obvious. There’s also a car park at The Strid, this is just a short walk from the path, there is another cafe and some toilets here. There’s also a smaller car park at Barden Tower.

We tend to walk the route in one particular direction, as described, but there isn’t any reason why you couldn’t do the walk in reverse, it’s just as picturesque.

The path back to the village from the Riverside Car Park

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Join the romantics taking in the beautiful autumn colours of Easedale via the ingloriously named Sourmilk Gill.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	5.1 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Lucia’s Cafe + Bakehouse Mathilde’s at The Heaton Cooper Studio

The Area

Areas of the Lake District are famous for different things. The names of the romantic poets, William Wordsworth, Dorothy Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge are synonymous with Grasmere and Rydal. Sister and brother, Dorothy and William lived in several houses in the area including Allan Bank and Dove Cottage (both houses open to the public) and were regularly visited by other poets. William is famous for several poems including: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, To the skylark, and The sun has long been set. Dorothy is primarily remembered for her journals which give a fascinating insight into their life and are themselves poetic.

Dorothy, William, and his wife Mary are all buried at St Oswold’s church in the centre of the village. This medieval building occupies land that has housed places of worship since the seventh century.

Next to the entrance to St. Oswold’s you will find the much loved home of Grasmere Gingerbread. The gingerbread is a glorious unique confection, it’s not really a bread having a consistency which is a bit like a cross between a cake and a biscuit, it is delicious. There is regularly a queue stretching down the street, don’t let that put you off, the shop is very small inside.

This walk takes you past the Heaton Cooper Studios where you can view, and purchase, artwork from the famous Heaton Cooper family. The gallery was established by William Heaton Cooper to sell his distinctive landscapes, the cafe Mathilde’s is named after his mother. The distinctive Heaton Cooper style and colouring is most evident in the landscape in the autumn.

The name Grasmere probably means what is says “gras” coming from “gras” the Norse word for “grass” and “mere”; a “mere” being a type of lake. There is some speculation that “gras” could also refer to “grys” which is a young pig, but that feels like overcomplicating something with a more obvious answer.

The Walk

We are starting this walk from the Red Bank Car Park in Grasmere. It’s a smallish car park, but nicely hidden away making it less busy than the main car parks.

There is some uphill to this climb, but there isn’t any climbing, the most complicated part is negotiating the stepping stones around the bog on the way down.

From the car park head down Langdale Road, which is almost opposite the entrance. This will take you past Tweedie and onto Broadgate. Continue past the Heaton Cooper Studio and the left onto Easedale Road.

Just before Easedale Road you will see two of Graham’s Cafes; as part of the Heaton Cooper Studio is Mathilde’s Cafe, on the other side of the road is Lucia’s Coffee and Bakehouse. Both are great places to start and finish a walk, Lucia’s is particularly good for a packed lunch, Mathilde’s is more of a cozy wet winter lunch kind of place. I should note here though that the route that we are going to follow doesn’t come back into the village centre, but it’s only a short diversion to find your way back here.

Returning to our walk, follow Easedale Road until you reach Glenthorne Quaker Center and Guest House where you’ll notice a gate on the right which will take you off the road onto a path running parallel to it up to Goody Bridge.

A short way beyond Goody Bridge the road takes a right-hand turn and there’s a path going straight on over a footbridge.

The footbridge will take you onto a cobbled bridleway which will be your guide all the way to the tarn passing the waterfall of Sourmilk Gill as you go. If you are wondering why it is called Sourmilk Gill it’s likely down to the white frothy appearance of the water as it tumbles over the falls. At the main falls there’s a short path off to the right which takes you to the clear pool at the base and for much of the year you can use the large rocks in the beck as stepping stones. The waterfall pool can be a popular place for a dip in the summer, but the real wild swimmers tend to go in at the tarn. If you are planning a swim it’s worth noting that the tarn is at altitude and quite sheltered making it significantly colder than many other swimming spots nearby.

Continue up beyond the waterfalls to the tarn which has been a popular tourist destination for a very long time. As early as the 1870’s there was a hut alongside the tarn at about the point where you get the first views of the tarn from the path which served “a humble style of refreshments”. The hut continued its service into the 1930’s, but later fell into disrepair. Wainwright sketched its presence and noted “with every passing year the hut loses a few more stones and slates (and gains more autographs)”; its location is barely noticeable as you travel along our route today.

This is a walk of two halves, on the way up you are likely to be alongside quite a few other walker as they too travel this popular path, there will also be plenty of people using the same route to retrace their steps back to Grasmere. We will venture off this main path for our route down and it will feel like a completely different walk with very few fellow travellers and glorious secluded valley views.

We are only going as far as the tarn for this walk, you can use this same route to venture into the surrounding mountains, but I’ll cover those in other walks.

Our route down starts where the beck flows out of the tarn. There are several large stones allowing you to cross the stream onto a path running alongside the other bank. This path follows the stream for a little while and then skirts around a more boggy area. There’s no need to walk in the bog though as the path comprises a set of large flat-topped boulders. The boulders are quite well spaced, but you do have to watch your step.

The only slightly complicated navigation of this walk is just beyond the stepping stones section. It will feel like the natural way down should be to track to the right down the valley along the wall facing you. Thankfully someone has helpfully put a large “GRASMERE” with an arrow underneath it showing the correct direction, which is to the left away from Grasmere for a short while. As you head down you will come to footbridge across the beck, alongside Stythwaite Steps (“thwaite” is another Lake District word of Norse origin meaning clearing.)

The path from here meanders alongside the beck all the way back to Easedale Road. You’ll recognise where you are once to get to the footbridge where you left for Sourmilk Gill.

Rejoin the path alongside Easedale Road just beyond Goody Bridge, but instead of rejoining the road a little further along, continue on this path around the back of Glenthorne and into the grounds of Allan Bank. Follow the lane from Allan Bank until it meets the junction of Broadgate and Langdale Road. Head down Langdale Road to the car park.

Alternatives and Variations

Most of the alternatives and variations to this walk lead on to other walks. The first part of this walk is the same as a popular route up Helm Crag which I’ll cover as part of another guide, likewise for Tarn Crag. If you carry on beyond the tarn you are soon on your way up High Raise.

You can do a circular route around the back of the tarn as a bit of an extension, I’ve only done it once, it was wet and boggy but did give some wonderful views.

Any car park in Grasmere could be the start of this walk, you’ll just have to find your way to Easedale Road, and then back again.

Through Easdale, with Sourmilk Gill in the distance

The start of Easdale Road (opposite) taken from Lucia’s

Silverdale Circular via Scout Wood and The Cove | Graham’s Guides

A favourite revisited, with an added glorious surprise.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	2.6 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	The Wolf Cafe

The Area

While we love the Lake District, we are privileged to be surrounded by many beautiful places a bit closer to home. Silverdale is somewhere we have visited regularly even spending holiday weeks. A frequent route for us is a circular walk from Wolfhouse through Scout Wood, across the village to The Cove and back to the car and a cafe stop.

On a recent visit our walk was tinged with sadness; one of our favourite cafes, the one at Wolfhouse itself, had closed a few months before. We have many fond memories of sitting in the tiny cafe, or the outside courtyard having rented the house next to the gallery a coupe of times..

Silverdale sits on limestone which makes this countryside what it is, showing up in outcrops, forming the cliffs and in the miles of drystone walls. While we are reflecting on Silverdale, it’s worth noting that it’s probably not called Silverdale because of the colour or even the metal, it’s far more likely to be a morphing of a Norse word. There are quite a lot of things around the Irish Sea that were named by the Vikings.

The Walk

On the map this walk starts from Wolfhouse itself, but on our latest visit we set off from the entrance to Scout Wood which is a little way up the hill from Wolfhouse. There’s room for a few cars there; it’s also a great place to start one of the alternatives to this walk which adds in Jenny Brown’s Point. The entrance to Scout Wood is through a gap in the limestone wall immediately followed by a fork of the path, we take the one to the right, the higher road.

This portion of the walk takes us along the top of a limestone cliff covered in ancient woodland on one side, with pastureland, over the drystone wall, on the other. The cliff is known as Woodwell Cliff reflecting the presence of the Woodwell at the bottom. There is another route around Silverdale that takes in the various ancient wells in the area but that’s not what we have planned for today.

This is sheep country, they are likely to be in the fields on at least part of this walk; this also means that it’s a great walk in the spring when the lambs have been born.

We follow the path along the top of the cliff and through the woods. At the end of the woods is a kissing-gate where the woods opens out. The path takes a bit of a wiggle here to the right and then to the left where there’s another gate following which the route is again defined by the cliff, a wall and some more pastureland.

At the end of the wall there’s a gap to the right onto a path alongside a field and onto a lane known as The Chase.

We are at the outskirts of the village here and about to meet Stankelt Road. At the end of The Chase turn right and then the next left down a lane. At the end of the is a farmhouse and to the left of it is a gate into a field. The path here runs along the back of some houses to the left and opens out to a wonderful view across the open countryside to the right. If you know what you are looking for you can see the outline of the huge Middlebarrow Quarry now disused but providing another variation to this walk.

At the end of the field there’s a small gate onto a lane that takes you down the back of St John’s Church and onto Emersgate Lane. Turn right onto Emersgate Lane and a short way along you will see a narrow lane on the left between two houses. Some would call it a ginnel or even a snicket; the name you use for a narrow lane can define you in the eyes of certain people.

At the end of the footpath you will come out onto Cove Road near to the children’s playground, plenty of fun here for the younger ones, the zip-wire is particularly good.

As its name would suggest Cove Road is what will take us to The Cove. Unfortunately, there isn’t a defined path along the full length of Cove Road so you do have to be watchful for vehicles. It’s generally not too busy and the tightness of the space means that, hopefully, none of the vehicles are travelling too quickly.

Having travelled along Cove Road for a little way the road will take a sharp righthand turn towards Arnside at Cove Orchard and Cove House. We, however, are taking the road off to the left called Cove Lane. Anyone like to guess what the defining feature of the landscape is in this area?

Cove Lane takes you down to the long-anticipated cove. We are quite relaxed about how we name things in the UK despite our love of definitions. A lane and a road have distinct meanings but are used interchangeably in many situations. This is one of those situations; a cove would normally define an inlet of water and here that’s not really the case. It’s a very lovely cutting in the limestone down to the shore, but I’m not sure it’s really a cove. Also, I’m not sure whether to call it a beach.

As you enter The Cove note that there’s a path off to the left, that’s where we are going after we’ve done a bit of exploring.

To the right is a cliff that curves around and in which there is a cave. The cave doesn’t go very deep, but it’s big enough to get into. The clamber up has become smoothed by the many feet that have made their way up and care is required. The house on the land above the cave has a tenuous connection with the Bronte sisters via its original owner Rev Carus Wilson.

What lies beyond the cove is the flatland of Morecambe Bay which often has an other-worldly look about it. If you are there in the afternoon or evening the bay looks particularly spectacular with the sun on it; the sunsets can be amazing. This isn’t, however, a place you go to for the traditional seaside experiences. You’re unlikely to see any sea, or waves, and I wouldn’t recommend going in if you did; the combination of tidal forces, mud, quicksand and swirling winds can be deadly. If an exploration out into the bay sounds like an appealing idea, the best way of doing it is to join the Kings Guide to the Sands on one of their walks.

From the cove we wander up the path along the top of the cliffs, through a kissing gate and across a couple of fields with further views across the bay. In the far corner of the second field there’s a gate out onto Stankelt Road. Stankelt Road becomes Shore Road as it heads down to Silverdale Beach past the Silverdale Hotel. We are heading along Lindeth Road which is the other option you should see in front of you at this point.

Lindeth Road leads all the way back to Wolfhouse. There isn’t a path all of the way and there are portions of this section where you have to walk on the road. It’s a steady uphill climb back to the car.

As we rounded the corner we were delighted to notice that the cafe at Wolfhouse appeared to be occupied, a board outside confirmed that to be the case, and boasting a new name The Wolf Cafe. We’ve known a few iterations of the cafe at Wolfhouse, and it’s always been an excellent place for a refreshment stop. As we weren’t planning on visiting the cafe our sojourn only involved a drink and a cake so I’m not in a position to comment on the broader menu. The coffee was glorious, the cake was excellent and we’ll certainly be back, perhaps next time we’ll do food. Interestingly the new owners operate the Lone Wolf Bakery in Lancaster.

Alternative and variations

Silverdale has a huge variety of options for a morning, or afternoon, tramp; so many that I’m not sure I know where to start.

Perhaps the best place to start is at the beginning?

As you walk up the hill from Wolfhouse rather than turning left into Scout Wood you can turn right and take the path to Jenny Brown’s Point via Heald Brow and the Copper Smelt Kiln Tower. This will turn the walk into a figure of eight walk bringing you back up to Wolfhouse. You could do the walk the other way around and head down to Jenny Brown’s Point via Gibraltar Farm and the Lindeth Tower coming back over Heald Brow to join the path into Scout Wood. Whichever way you go it’s worth noting that the path near to the Kiln Tower is on the shoreline and changes regularly as erosion and accretion play their part. There’s also the option to explore Jack Scout and the Giant Seat on this route. At the right time of the year Jack Scout has excellent brambling.

Another adaptation would be to take a detour across to Middlebarrow Quarry by taking the path to the right just before you arrive at St John’s Church. This will bring you out onto Bottom Lane. At the end of Bottom Lane, you can head up into Eaves Wood heading right around to the Quarry entrance. You can’t currently get into the quarry, but there are several places where you can get a good view inside. If you head anticlockwise around the back of the quarry you will eventually come out at Arnside Tower via Middlebarrow Wood. From here you could head up Arnside Knott, but that would be another walk altogether. From Arnside Tower you can take the path into the back of Holgates Holiday Park and down the road to The Cove.

If you are feeling like you want to gain a bit of height to get a better view, a short extension to the walk is to head up to The Pepperpot in Eaves Wood on your route to The Cove. The monument marks the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, but the real star is the view from this elevated position.

From The Cove, given the right tidal conditions, you can follow the shoreline to Silverdale Beach from which you can rejoin the route. If, however, you are enjoying the shoreline walking you can carry on all the way to Jenny Brown’s Point with a couple of options to head back inland along the way, including the option to head into Jack Scout. I can’t guarantee that any of this is going to be possible on any given day such is the fluidity of the coastline around Morecambe Bay.

There are other options for a cafe in Silverdale Village itself where there are also public toilets and a convenience store not far off the route as shown.

Time to be nosey – peaking into back gardens

Beacon Fell Circular – Up Hill and Down Dale | Graham’s Guides

A lovely little walk that takes you up a small hill with a fabulous view, then down dale for even more views. Made for the summer, boggy the rest of the year.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	3.2 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Not on this one, but there is a cafe. If you are travelling from Preston The Lookout is on the route through Longridge.

The Area

A conversation from my Polytechnic days has stuck in my mind for over 30 years now. One of the other students who was from somewhere in the south said “We went out to the Forest of Bowland over the weekend, but there aren’t any trees there.”

The area of hillside to the north west of Preston from roughly Whitechapel in the south-west up to Hornby in the north-west, across to Clapham in the north-east and Bolton-by-Bowland in the south-east is known as The Forest of Bowland and designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

As my student friend suggests, if you associate forests with trees you’ll be disappointed, there haven’t been that many trees since the 17th century when the land was increasingly used for livestock. We don’t like changing the name of things in the UK.

Just beyond Inglewhite and Whitechapel, and just within the Forest of Bowland, lies a small hill know as Beacon Fell.

It’s currently owned by the local council and operated as country park. As the name suggests Beacon Fell was once a vital part of the national chain of beacons communicating major events a role it’s had for over 1,000 years.

The fell is not very big, but it does sit on the edge of the west Lancashire lowlands giving it spectacular views across to the mountains of both Wales and the Lake District. On a day with good visibility you can see the Isle of Man, most days you can see the Manx ferry making its way in-to, or out-of Heysham. In the opposite direction you get great views of the more substantial Forest of Bowland fells including Parlick and Fair Snape.

As a country park Beacon Fell has good facilities with several car parks, lots of good paths and even a visitors centre with a cafe and toilets.

The Walk

This walk starts from the Sheepfold Car Park. There are a couple of reasons for this, the first is that this car park is free, unlike the one at the visitors centre although the one at the visitor centre only charges £1 for the day. The second reason is that there’s a back route to get here without travelling half of the circular one-way road around the fell.

I’ve called it ‘up hill and down dale’ because that’s the order I did the walk. I tend to prefer walks that go up and then come down, even if that means going down first to go up. This walk goes the other way around, you finish by going up, there’s really no way of avoiding that as the car park really isn’t very far from the top. You could minimise the amount of up at the end by doing the walk the other way around, that way around the walk back up to the car park wouldn’t be as steep.

This walk starts on the wide, well marked, paths of the Beacon Fell Country Park travelling around the park first before veering off into the surrounding farmland.

From the car park we are heading towards The Tarn along Larch Avenue which was previously the road up to a farm which stood where the visitors centre is now. It’s worth spending a little bit of time at The Tarn where the Dragonflies and Damselflies can be glorious.

There a little bit of tricky navigating here if you want to follow the same route as me, there are several paths that all converge here. You are aiming for the circular route that takes you between Quarry Wood and Quarry Car Parks. Don’t worry if you miss this and find yourself on a different route to the summit, that’s where you are heading eventually.

Part way along the circular route there’s a short cut-back connecting path that puts you on a path to the top. It’s worth taking what feels like a detour to experience the views on any day, but especially when the visibility is good.

Having reached the trig-point at the top it’s time to head back down to the circular path, but only for a short while. You are aiming for a point on this path where there is a sculpture known as The Lizard Love Seat on your left and a gate with a path heading down hill on your right which will take us down-dale.

Up to this point you could travel this walk almost any day of the year, beyond here we start to move into farmland and some of it is particularly boggy, so I don’t recommend it as a winter walk. This year has been dry for weeks and it was still wet in places. There’s no need to do this piece of the walk, if you want to get back to you car you can simply stay on he circular route. This part of the route is there to add interest and some different views.

At this point you should be heading down to the circular road then across the road down toward Sagar’s Farm (no idea who Sagar was), the path is marked by some nicely placed yellow topped posts. Before you get to Sagar’s farm, though, you’ll reach a not very well defined hedgerow cutting across your path, at this point you want to turn left along the line of the hedgerow.

The views of the Forest of Bowland Fells from here are spectacular. If you are fortunate you may even see a glider heading off from the nearby club, paraglider are also quite common floating off the top of the larger fells.

You are heading toward North Nook across a series of boggy fields via a set of stiles, each one marked by a yellow pole. All you have to do is find the stiles which isn’t always easy.

Just before North Nook you cross a road and along a path that feels a bit like you are walking through someone’s garden. Across the garden are two stiles close together. Once you come out the other side you are looking for a tall stile which isn’t quite where it’s marked on the OS map.

You’ll now make your way through some young woodland and then out into some more open scrub. You are looking for a path heading left on a steep incline. You are heading up into an area known as the Rosemary Bullivant Memorial Forest where each of the trees is dedicated to someone.

From the Memorial Forest you work your way to the right either via the visitors centre and toilets, or a less travelled route via the Jubilee Memorial.

There’s a path from the end of the visitor centre car park, across from the Orme sculpture, that takes you back up onto Larch Avenue and back to the Sheepfold car park.

Alternatives and Variations

There are so many variations to this walk I nearly didn’t write any. The country park is criss-crossed with paths that you can use to shorten or elongate this walk. I’ve already mentioned the option of missing out the down-dale part but then it would only be half the walk.

You can start the walk in one of the other car parks the walk passes nearby to most of them.

There are several sculptures around the park; this route only passes a couple of them, you can add in more of them if you head straight to the top from Sheepfold, passing the Heron, the Walking Snake and the Bat as you go. From there you can partially double back down to the tarn, or head down to the circular route and the Lizard Kissing Chair.

On the map there are various options from extending the down-dale part of the walk also, but I’ve not walked any of them so can’t comment on their suitability.

Across the boggy bit – look out for the yellow topped posts

The view across to Parlick and Fair Snape from the down-dale bit

Tarn Hows Circular via Tom Gill from Glen Mary Bridge | Graham’s Guides

A beautiful walk when you don’t want to be out too long.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	2.6 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Not on this one.

Tarn Hows is a popular destination. If you want a walk where you don’t see anyone, this is not the place. This popularity isn’t anything new, Charabanc would travel up from Ambleside and Windermere in the 1890s. That said, I’ve never known the tarn to be over-run with people; there’s plenty of space to spread out and there’s probably less public transport now than there was in the days of the charabanc.

The walk starts from the Glen Mary Bridge car park, a name that was given to the local area by John Ruskin who thought that the name Tom Gill wasn’t picturesque enough. It is a picturesque. It’s a National Trust car park making it free for members. Much of the land around here is owned and operated by the National Trust including the tarn itself, I’ll talk a bit more about that later.

(It’s worth noting here that a “gill” is a local Cumbrian name for a valley with a stream in it, with Scandinavian roots. A “glen” is a Scottish name for the same thing.)

If Glen Mary car park is full, which it can do, there are a few other parking spaces just off the main road alongside Yew Tree Tarn from where you can also begin this dainty walk.

This is a walk of two halves. The first part takes you rambling up through an ancient wood alongside a cascading stream, it’s not hard but it is uneven in places. The second part is around the tarn which is more like a promenade than a ramble. The main path around the tarn is flat, wide and well paved.

From the car park there’s a footbridge across the stream which is your guide to the tarn. There aren’t any decisions to make on this route, you follow the well worn path on the ground which follows the general route of the stream. There are several delightful waterfalls on your way up the hill, some you explore via short detours.

Part way up the hill, through a small gate, the cutting narrows significantly, the walking gets a bit more tricky, you’ll struggle to get lost though.

The stream takes you to the tarn where it flows out via a small dam. There used to be three small tarns in this area, the dam raised the water level to join them together into the larger expanse of water we see today. Much of what people assume is natural in the Lake District has been tinkered with by humans.

The tarn is banded by a circular route which brings you back to the dam. On your way around there are several places to drift off the main path to see something of interest, or get a better view. This is a great place to let children explore, there are still plenty of trees to climb even though the area has been heavily impacted by storms over recent years.

The promenade is very picturesque with photo opportunities around many of the corners.

It’s traditional for us to go clockwise around the tarn, so we head left, but could just as easily head right. The end of the tarn is marked by a bridge which is accompanied by a seat with glorious views along the full length of the tarn.

Having promenaded down one side it’s time to do the same along the other.

At the other end of the tarn there’s another car park operated by the National Trust, you could use this as a start to the walk, but where’s the fun in that. There are some toilets at the car park, if you are fortunate there will also be an ice-cream van.

From the ice-cream van head back down to the dam and onto the path back to Glen Mary Bridge.

On the other side of the road from Glen Mary Bridge is Yew Tree Farm which is notable for several reasons. The farm is part of an estate of land known as Monk Coniston which stretches all the way down to the shores of Coniston, and included Tarn Hows. When this land was put up for sale in 1930 a local couple Mr and Mrs Heelis, him a solicitor, her an author and illustrator who is better known as Beatrix Potter, purchased it. They were determined that the estate shouldn’t be broken up or developed. The National Trust wasn’t the large organisation it is today and weren’t in a position to buy the land. Beatrix later donated the land to the National Trust, but with a stipulation, the local Herdwick sheep were to continue on the land, each farm being allocated a minimum headcount.

The Herdwick allocation probably saved the breed from extinction in this area of the Lake District, but it hasn’t always been easy, the wool is course and they develop slowly so you can’t use the lamb meat. In recent years, however, the farmers at Yew Tree farm have found a way of making the Herdwick profitable and now have over 1,000. Sue and I recently spent a wonderful day at the farm on a Herdwick Experience where they tell you about the history of the sheep, about the resulting hogget which is used in several Michelin Starred restaurants in the area and can be purchased from the farm. They also, as part of the experience, take you to meet a group of the sheep who like to be petted. You sit in a field and they join you, sitting alongside you as you scratch their backs.

(A lamb is a sheep that is less than a year old, a hogget is a step between one and two years.)

Oh, yes, also, Yew Tree Farm is one of the main locations for the ‘Miss Potter’ film with Rene Zellwigger and Ewan McGregor.

What about variations?

There aren’t many options for variant walks through the woods along the stream, you can sometimes venture closer to the stream, but that’s about it.

Once you get to Tarn Hows there are a few more options to add in extra distance and difficulty. Near the beginning you can head off to Tom Heights from which there are good views of the surrounding hills (it’s been a few years since I’ve been up there so I’m hoping the views are still there). You can join the Tom Heights path on to the walk up to Black Fell. Black Fell is one of the smaller, and easier, Wainwrights, so you can get an easy tick.

Another route up to Black Fell is from a stile at the end of the Tarn via the Iron Keld Plantation. The path to Iron Keld Plantation can also be used to access a route that circles the tarn from higher up. The higher route gives better views of the surrounding hills and is less well travelled.

From the car park at Tarn Hows there’s a different route back to Glen Mary Bridge, I’ve never walked it so can’t comment.

Clock House Farm, Cow Hill, Fulwood Park Wood and Ladywell Circular | Graham’s Guides

A local walk providing endless variations if you know where to look with plenty of history thrown in for good measure.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	3.6 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe	Not on this one.

A short walk from my front door is a portion of the Guild Wheel. From where I join I can walk east and soon get to Fulwood Row, if I walk west I reach Fernyhalgh Lane. Both of these roads allow me to traverse the M6 motorway and then onward into the mixed countryside beyond.

I’ve pondered a few different ways of depicting the matrix of walks that are available from this local area and decided on a few of guides with lots of descriptions of the available variations. Think of the variations as a menu of options that can be added on, or taken away, depending on your day. If you do venture into this area my advice to you is to follow the lines on the map and follow the lines on the ground. There are lines on the ground that are delightful but aren’t on the map, there are lines on the map that aren’t that well defined on the ground.

This walk is shown as starting on Fulwood Row at about the point where it goes under the motorway. There are normally plenty of places to leave a car here if that’s your method of transport.

While the adjacent houses are relatively modern, ours was built right at the end of the last century, the routes are mostly ancient. Fulwood Row and the initial footpath is clearly visible on the archive maps from the 1840s as are the other major landmarks of this walk. The most significant landmark that isn’t on the maps from the 1840s is the M6 motorway, that wouldn’t arrive until the 1950s.

This is a long post, there’s a lot more to describe in the this environment, particularly one where the old is intersected by the new.

Our walk begins on Fulwood Row which we follow under neither the M6, up the hill on the other side, past the Guild Wheel exit on the right continuing on to Clock House Farm. Continue across the front of the farm buildings, none of which appear to be used for farming anymore. Beyond the farm buildings you’ll come to gate with a stile a little further along. Hop over the stile and onto a bridleway running alongside several fields. These fields are regularly visited by Roe Deer and Hare, there’s also a good selection of birds including a local Tawny Owl. Buzzards nest in the trees on the other side of the field.

At the end of the fields you’ll come out onto Cow Hill, carry on straight, along the road a while further until you see a stile on the left. Walk across the field along the hedgerow to another stile. Once over the stile turn left on the road where the lane to Clarkson’s Fold is visible. You’ll also notice the local, normally patriotic, flagpole. Travel along the lane, through the farm, out the other side, across a field, over a small footbridge, across another field, over a stile and onto a narrow tree lined lane. You can’t see any of this from the farm gate because the footbridge is down a slope and hidden behind some trees, also, the paths across these fields aren’t really visible on the ground. When I last went over the stile, just this morning, it was broken which made for an interesting scramble. Turn left one over the stile.

This lane is another one of those ancient routes that used to be vital links between small communities in a time before cars. From Cow Hill this lane goes out to Haighton and the farms beyond, we’ll leave the many routes beyond here for another guide. Head down the hill around the back of a house on the left and onto a road. Walk past some fancy gates and across a bridge where you’ll see a path on the right alongside Savick Brook. The brook flows through Preston, out the other side and into the Ribble, for the latter part of its journey it becomes the Ribble Link Canal. There are several places where you can walk alongside the brook, I have a plan to string a route together at some point.

After the bridge the path travels alongside the grounds of Haighton House. In the spring and early summer the stream is banked with successive wild flower; Snowdrops to Bluebells, Wild Garlic to Campions and Cow Parsley. Sadly, in recent years, this area has become completely engulfed by Himalayan Balsam by the mid summer. While we are talking about alien species it’s worth noting that this is also the stomping ground of a local flock of Ring-necked Parakeet with their distinctive call.

The path takes a few twists and turns here, but if you follow the path on the ground you won’t go wrong, and will arrive at a footbridge over which you will join the white-fence lined driveway of the House. The wood here is known locally as Bluebell Wood, on the map is titles Fulwood Park Wood, some people also call it Squire Anderton’s Wood, but that’s somewhere else. I have a morning ritual in these wood, this is a headphone free zone, the birdsong is so varied that it would be a shame not to listen in, besides there’s good evidence that birdsong is good for our mental health. Is there anything like the chorus of Blackbird, Wren, Song Thrush and Robin accompanied by Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Gold Crest and many more.

At the end of the driveway you’ll exit through some gates onto the road. A little further along there’s a path off to the right just before the road crosses back over the brook to the left. The house on the hill is called The Mount which is apt. Here we are on Fernyhalgh Lane which takes us to Ladywell, a place of pilgrimage since at least the 11th century. There’s an interesting legend about a sailor who, in danger of shipwrecked, prayed to the Virgin Mary and received instructions to create a shrine at a place with a spring called Fernyhalgh, hence the name Ladye Well. It’s also worth noting that the name Fernyhalgh is a combination of two Anglo-Saxon words – “ferny” meaning old and “halgh” meaning shrine. This place may have been a place of pilgrimage even before Christianity came to England. Ladywell and Ladyewell, with and without an “e”, are both used on signs in the local area. There’s still a chapel, retreat and shrine on the site which you will see on the right as you walk up the cutting past the outflow from the spring.

Just beyond the entrance to the shrine grounds there is a small gate on the left with a path across a field. At the far end of the field there’s a stile. To the left you’ll see a path across another field and a footbridge over the motorway. On the other side is a path that runs alongside the motorway back towards Fernyhalgh Lane. The houses here sit on the site of some of the skirmishes prior to the Battle of Preston during the Second English Civil War. There’s a sculpture that commemorates this not far from the end of the footbridge, we aren’t going that way today.

As the path nears the bottom of the bank there’s a t-junction, to the left will take you across a footbridge and up on to Fernyhalgh Lane, we’ll go right and rejoin the flow of Savick Brook. Further along cross the footbridge over the brook to the left and up onto the Guild Wheel again notable by a return to tarmac. The Guild Wheel will take you back to your transport if you head left (you will get to your transport if you head right but not for many miles). Having crossed Fernyhalgh Lane for the last time you’ll pass a local landmark known as Peter’s Garden which commemorates Peter Ward who was one of the driving forces behind the Guild Wheel, following a lifetime of cycling.

Now, the variations, where to begin?

At the start of the walk, rather than following the route onward to Clock House Farm you could take a right turn on the Guild Wheel. This is a good walking alternative, but opens up another set of walks which I’ll cover in another guide. There’s also a couple of options on the left of Fulwood Row, one is almost opposite the Guild Wheel junction, this will take you across some fields and drop you onto Fernyhalgh Lane near to the motorway and cut out most of the walk. The other option on the left is just before Clock House Farm, this takes you down another ancient pathway to the footbridge over Savick Brook near to Haighton House, this route can be very muddy, but is a good option for a shorter walk.

Once you’ve travelled across the fields beyond Clock House Farm and you drop onto the road at Cow Hill rather than continuing straight on, you can turn left. The road will bring you to a right-hand turn and another lane on the left. If you follow the lane down the hill it will bring you to bridge over Savick Brook with the path off to the right immediately before it. In the same way, you can skip the lane down to Clarkson’s Fold and continue on the road to the same lane from the other direction.

As you come through the fancy gates at the end of the Haighton House driveway you can extend the walk a bit by heading up the hill to Shepherd’s Hill Farm, walk through the farm and out the other side from where you’ll see a path off to the left. This path will bring you around the back of Ladywell Shrine. You can also continue a bit further before heading back to the footbridge over the motorway.

At the end of the driveway for Haighton House you can shorten the walk a bit by turning left across the bridge over Savick Brook. This is Fernyhalgh Lane, continue along until you get to where the Guild Wheel crosses.

Another variant of this walk comes as you head up the hill past the Ladywell Shrine, rather than heading left across the field you can carry on a bit further where there’s another footbridge across the motorway. The map shows a path running from the end of the bridge alongside the motorway, that is one of those paths that’s not very well marked on the ground and you’ll find yourself tramping through waist high vegetation. To avoid the tramping you can carry on straight beyond the end of the bridge and will come out onto Pittman Way, from here you have a multiple choices to get back onto route.

From the end of the footbridge over the M6 on the original route, there are several paths through the houses that bring you out onto Midgery Lane which connects up with the Guild Wheel just beyond the bridge over the brook. This path will take you up through Hindley Hill Woods – I have no idea why it’s called Hindley Hill Woods.

The entrance to the path alongside Savick Brook (on the right)

Rydal and Loughrigg Terrace Circular | Graham’s Guides

An all-year-round favourite with glorious views and plenty of other interest.

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	4.3 miles
Difficulty	Moderate
Map	🗺️
GPX	📁
Graham’s Cafe?	No
Swim?	Yes

We start this walk from the Pelter Bridge Car Park at the southern/easterly end of Rydal Water near to the village. Pelter Bridge is one of the Lake Districts smaller places to leave your vehicle and can often be full. As an alternative I’ve included instructions when starting from either White Moss Carp Park or Rydal Water Car Park. These car parks are bigger but can also get full.

My walking guides tend not to take you step-by-step through your journey, I prefer to give you an outline of where to go, then make the mapping information available. If you just have the words below I can’t guarantee that I haven’t missed something important.

The first part of this walk takes us along the former quarry tracks up to Rydal Cave. Simply head up the road that you’ve just driven on to get to the car park and carry on once you get to the gate at the end. Just after the gate you’ll get your first view across Rydal Water (the header image). You may, at this point, start to feel something poetic building inside you, if you do you wouldn’t be the first. The village of Rydal was the favourite home of the acclaimed poet William Wordsworth, his family, and his sister Dorothy, who deserves far more acclaim than she receives.

Dorothy Wordsworth’s Journals, many written in Rydal and Grasmere, are wonderfully poetic:

After tea we rowed down to Loughrigg Fell, visited the white foxglove, gathered wild strawberries, and walked up to view Rydale. We lay a long time looking at the lake; the shores all dim with the scorching sun. The ferns were turning yellow, that is, here and there one was quite turned. We walked round by Benson’s wood home. The lake was now most still, and reflected the beautiful yellow and blue and purple and grey colours of the sky.

Dorothy Wordsworth

(I don’t know when Rydale became Rydal, other than to note it was at some point after the early 1800s which is when Dorothy was writing.)

You’ll see from this vantage point that there is a path running alongside the lake, we are coming back that way, for now we are going to head up to Rydal Caves keeping left on the higher path.

There is one very famous cave directly on this route which you can go into with ease, but before that there are a few smaller caves which are more challenging to get into. One of the smaller caves used to have a drum kit inside it which sounded amazing. It’s been a while since I’ve been in that cave, as it now requires a rope to get in, so can’t confirm whether the drum kit is still there.

These caves are the result of slate mining and as you work your way along this lane and into the vast cathedral space it is worth remembering that this was a place of noisy, dusty, dangerous toil.

The Lake District is littered with various mines and quarries, the area wouldn’t be the same without them. This is a land shaped by people.

Having stepped inside the large cave and taken in the view and the acoustics, it’s time to carry on along the side of Rydal Water towards Grasmere. I love the views of Nab Scar towering over the diminutive Rydal Water from this elevated position.

As you near the end of Rydal Water there is a fork in the path where you should continue to take the higher option. This path will take you around the corner onto Loughrigg Terrace with elevated views across Grasmere including Helm Crag (also known as the Lion and the Lamb) and Dunmail Riase (remembering the last king of Cumbria who is reportedly buried below the cairn near to the top).

Carry on along Loughrigg Terrace to the end and into the woods. You need to go through one gate at the end of the path and then a slight right through another gate into Red Bank Wood. This is a gentle walk through established trees marking the seasons by their attire.

Eventually you’ll reach a cottage next to the road between Grasmere and Loughrigg Tarn. At the entrance to the driveway for the cottage there is a path to the right which cuts back through the woods heading downhill and on to the lakeside path below Loughrigg Terrace. The beach here is a great place for a swim but can get a bit crowded.

On leaving the beach you’ll come to a wooden footbridge across the stream. You have a choice here, the route I’ve provided takes you along the southern edge of the stream this path can be flooded when the river is high, but rarely. It can also be a bit uneven. If you prefer something a bit more even, you can cross the bridge take a right hand turn on the other side and follow the path along the other side of the river. Both paths meet at a metal bridge.

The metal bridge is where you’d join the route if you’ve parked at either White Moss or Rydal Water car parks.

From the metal bridge head through the woods up the hill until you reach a gate. Through the gate turn left and along the path by the wall. You should be able to see Rydal Water ahead of you. Walk along this path all the way to the other end of the lake. There are several places to swim along this part of the route, it’s also a great place to practice your skimming, there are plenty of flat stones available.

As you near the end of the lake you’ll notice the gate that you came through on your way to the cave higher up on your right. We are going to go through the lower gate. This route takes you through some more woods and along the river where you’ll get views of the boathouse which is a classic Lake District photo opportunity. Soon you’ll come to a footbridge, don’t go over the bridge but head right and up the hill through some woods and onto the car park road. You’ll reach the car park road via a small gate; the car park is down the hill to your left.

There are several variations to this walk:

As hinted a couple of times you can start this route from White Moss Carp Park or Rydal Water Car Park. There are a few reasons why you may choose to do this, the first being parking. The second is access to a toilet which can be found in the woods between White Moss and Rydal Water car parks. The third reason being access to refreshments; there is normally a pop-up coffee van by the side of the stream near to the toilets.

You can extend the walk a bit near the end. Instead of turning right up onto the car park road you can turn left across the footbridge, from there you can cross the road into the village. In the village there are several places of interest.

Almost directly opposite the exit from the footbridge is Dora’s Field which is full of daffodils in the spring. The daffodils were planted as a memorial to one of the Wordsworth’s daughters who died aged 43 of tuberculosis. Dora’s Field has a gate into the church grounds, both the grounds and the church are lovely with even more Wordsworth associations. Up the hill from the church is Rydal Mount where the Wordsworth family lived for a while.

As you go up the hill, before Rydal Mount there is an entrance to the ground of Rydal Hall. The hall is a Christian retreat, but the grounds are open to the public where there are several walks and gardens to explore. Within the ground is one of the Lake District’s most photographed waterfalls with The Grot alongside it. The Grot is a great place to spend some time in quiet. Swimming is not permitted in the waterfall.

Within the grounds of Rydal Hall is the Old School Room Tea Shop which we’ve visited several times and always had great food, but haven’t visited for a while and hence it’s not currently included in Graham’s Cafes.

There are a couple of Graham’s Cafe’s nearby, last time we did this walk we ventured to Lucia’s Coffee + Bakehouse in Grasmere.

Another option on this walk is to follow the Coffin Trail along the other shore back to your car, I’m going to cover that route as a whole new guide.

The view across Rydal Water towards Grasmere

The view from the start of Loughrigg Terrace towards Grasmere Village

The view across Grasmere towards Dunmail Raise

Rossall Beach Promenade | Graham’s Guides

Is there anything quite like a walk along a windy beach?

Graham’s Walks	📌
Distance	5.2 miles
Difficulty	Easy
OS Maps Route	🗺️
GPX	📁

Here in the UK we like a seaside promenade on a sunny day, taking in the blue skies and sea.

However, the British weather is never guaranteed, which means we are conditioned to be just as happy walking along a windy promenade on a cloudy day with the white capped waves careering into the sands. It was precisely these conditions that greeted me as I parked in the promenade car park at Rossall Beach on a recent Sunday afternoon.

There are several places to walk along the Fylde coast each with their own charms. The charm of Rossall Beach is that it’s a quiet sandy beach where you get great views across to Morecambe Bay to the Lake District and even as far as the Isle of Man. If you want fish-and-chip shops, ice-cream parlours and amusement arcades you need to be a few miles further south. Rossall Beach is more rural, although also, almost suburban.

From the Rossall Beach promenade car park I head north along the beach taking in the changing skies and relishing in the occasional burst of sunshine sparkling off the Irish Sea. I’m conscious that the wind is on my back and that, at some point, I am going to need to turn around and walk directly into it. The tide is on its way out and there’s ample firm sand to walk on. It’s a shorts and jumpers day.

I’ve set myself the target of getting to the Rossall Point Observation Tower, to give it it’s Sunday name, about 2.5 miles (about 4 km) away. This rather strange structure has various uses including a public observatory. There are also public toilets here.

Part way along I pass Rossall School a place of education since 1844. The buildings are from a different time to everything that surrounds them making it look strangely out of place even though it was here first.

The weather continues to change as I enjoy the scenery, there are a few other people around, but this isn’t a day where the beach is full. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the beach flooded with people here, that’s part of the joy of the place it’s easy to get to but it also feels isolated.

Having reached the tower it’s time to head back facing into the strengthening wind. It looks like the weather may turn to rain so I choose the promenade for my return. There has been lots of work on the sea defenses in recent years including the integration of paths, boulder groins, various seating options and art installations. There’s also areas set aside for nature on the onshore side of the defences forming the Larkholme Grasslands. I particularly like the Sea Swallow sculptures forming part of the Mythic Coast project.

This is a great place for a sunset, not that there is going to be one on this particular day the cloud is thickening fast.

I’m passed by various joggers and cyclists many of whom have the look of people rapidly heading for a safe haven. One young man passes me in short-shorts and a vest top, muscles pumped. He’s in fully Rocky mode punching away at some invisible opponent. He stops not far in-front of me and proceeds to go through a routine of upper-cuts, hooks and jabs, then continues his run. He’s carrying a portable speaker that’s proving musical accompaniment.

Having returned to the car park I look at the houses with views of the sea, that also overlooking the expanse of cars. There are always at least one of them for sale and it’s become obligatory to look them up on Rightmove. Views of the Irish Sea come at a premium.

There are a few variations you can make to this walk.

If you start the walk a bit further south at Jubilee Gardens you can visit the Sea Ogre and take pictures of Mary’s Shell. If you are a Star Wars fan you can stand in part of the set at FBKafe which featured in the Andor spin-off.

At the far end of the walk you can choose to walk a bit further and take in the events at the boating lake.

Part way back from the observation tower, you can choose to head inland and make your way via the Larkholme Grasslands. This can make for a less windy return.

You can, also, make the walk to the Observation Tower much shorter by starting at the Rossall Point car park heading south.

Header Image: This is the view of the observation tower from the beach.

The Area

The Walk

Extensions and Variations

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The Area

The Walk

Alternatives and Variations

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The Walk

Alternatives and Variations

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Alternatives and Variations

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Alternatives and Variations

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The Walk

Alternative and variations

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