Route: Lanthwaite Hill
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 8th April 2018
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 3.0 miles
Ascent: 400 feet
Weather: Sunny at first, clouding over
There was only time for a short walk this morning, so we chose one of our favourite local spots – Lanthwaite Hill (shown on the OS map as Brackenthwaite Hows). It’s a superb vantage point and hardly any effort is required to get to the top
What this walk lacks in distance it more than makes up for in the sheer beauty and variety of the terrain
We parked in the National Trust car park near Scale Bridge and instead of heading along the obvious path ahead turned steeply uphill to climb up through Lanthwaite Wood. There are a couple of short rocky sections to add interest, though they are very easy
The view from the top of Lanthwaite Hill was as beautiful as ever, with Lorton Vale, Loweswater, Crummock Water and the Buttermere fells displayed in all their splendour
We descended through Lanthwaite Wood to the boathouse on the shore of Crummock Water, and then walked back along the track beside the River Cocker. What a great little walk this is, one that we could never tire of
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Two days ago, a very unusual garden visitor - either polecat or ferret. Sadly it was injured, so I left out some food in the hope of aiding its recovery
Next day, constant rain, so plenty of time to watch the red squirrels...
Nuthatch...
The start of today's walk, looking across the River Cocker to Mellbreak from the National Trust car park at Scale Hill
We enter Lanthwaite Wood here and take the path to the left
The vast majority of folk follow the main track to the foot of Crummock Water, so as usual we had Lanthwaite Hill to ourselves
After a short and sometimes steep climb we leave Lanthwaite Wood and pass through the deer gate onto Lanthwaite Hill
We follow a path through the gorse in the direction of Whiteside
Lorton Vale
Looking back to Loweswater. The lake itself is out of sight
Low Fell
Carling Knott and Holme Wood
Lanthwaite Green
Crummock Water and Mellbreak
Foot of Mellbreak
Gavel Fell
Loweswater and its church
We descend back into Lanthwaite Wood
The High Stile Range
Entering Lanthwaite Wood
We pass by this enticing path
We follow the equally enticing path which skirts around the edge of the wood...
Foot of Grasmoor
Lanthwaite Green
We ignore another tempting path and continue to walk around the edge of Lanthwaite Wood
Descending to the shore of Crummock Water
Boathouse on the shore of the lake
Foot of Mellbreak
We follow the path along the eastern shore
The foot of Crummock Water is below, but we carried straight on as a large group of noisy people seemed to have claimed squatters' rights
This wide track takes us back to the start of a wonderful little walk
