Route: The Kirkstile Inn from Lanthwaite Wood
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 28th January 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 4.7 miles
Weather: Overcast with sleet snow and hail, windy, cold
We parked in the National Trust car park at Scale Bridge and, instead of heading along the wide track to the foot of Crummock Water, turned uphill and climbed up the rocky staircase which leads to the top of Lanthwaite Hill (or Brackenthwaite Hows as the OS calls it)
The views from the top are wonderful – in all directions – though it was overcast and rather dull at the time. We walked round the back of Lanthwaite Wood and then down to the boathouse on the shore of Crummock Water. At this point there was a blizzard, horizontal sleet/snow borne on a ferocious wind, and I had to put the camera away for a while
Taking photos remained difficult for the rest of the walk and at certain times was impossible. We’d planned a slightly longer walk, but in these conditions we decided to seek refuge in the Kirkstile Inn as fast as we could get there. Steak and ale pie and Loweswater Gold, plus the roaring fire, soon warmed us up and recharged our batteries for the return leg
In view of the awful conditions we changed our planned route and walked back to the start the shortest possible way – along the road
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
Red squirrel in the garden as we waited for an improvement in the weather
The improvement never came, but we decided to go for a walk regardless, so made the short journey to Lanthwaite Wood
The River Cocker was running high - Mellbreak is in the background
The welcome sight of snowdrops in Lanthwaite Wood
Bonnie knows from experience that we’ll be taking the higher path up through the woods
The rocky staircase up Lanthwaite Hill
We leave the wood via this deer gate - Whiteside is in the background
Approaching the top of Lanthwaite Hill, with Whiteside and Grasmoor beyond
Sweet Lorton Vale
Our destination - the Kirkstile Inn - is in the centre of the picture
Crummock Water and the High Stile Range
Gasgale Gill at the foot of Grasmoor
Rannerdale Knotts above the gorse
Walking along the edge of Lanthwaite Wood
Lanthwaite Green
Looking towards Lanthwaite Green again
Bonnie
We follow the beck down to Crummock Water
We arrive at the boathouse. Up to this point the weather had been merely dull, now it took a turn for the worse as a blizzard came in
Snow and sleet blowing across the foot of Mellbreak
Foot of Crummock Water, not much of the classic view to be seen
Weather
Walking past the fish ladder
We cross the bridge over Park Beck
Rannerdale
Walking beside Park Beck
We cross the beck via Park Bridge
The lane leading to the Kirkstile
St Bartholomew’s Church Loweswater
The famous Kirkstile Inn
This isn’t a Photoshop effect - the camera lens had misted up!
On the way back to Lanthwaite Wood - the snow has been settling on Grasmoor
We pass by the red phone box in worsening weather, nearly back to the start
