Acorn Bank walk - Acorn Bank garden

Route: Acorn Bank

Area: Eden Valley

Date of walk: 30th June 2018

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 6.4 miles

Ascent: 400 feet

Weather: Sunny, cloudless and very hot

Acorn Bank is well located for walkers, as a series of footpaths and lanes in the area enable a circular walk to be plotted, with a visit to the house and gardens as part of the itinerary. The property is owned by the National Trust and gardens are renowned for their herbs and fruit orchards

This is a repeat of a previous walk in May 2016, the only difference being that today I walked in a clockwise direction, and started from Culgaith instead of Temple Sowerby. The reason for this was to coincide my arrival at Acorn Bank with opening time at 10am

After parking in the village of Culgaith I joined a path through the fields in the direction of Newbiggin. There were good, though rather hazy, views of the Pennines on my left and the rolling Eden Valley on my right. Just before Newbiggin I crossed the road bridge over Crowdundle Beck and walked through a meadow beside the beck, passing underneath the arched railway bridge. I arrived in the grounds of Acorn Bank just after opening time, just as planned, and after visiting the ticket office strolled around the beautiful gardens, which are worth a visit in their own right

After leaving Acorn Bank I followed paths through the fields, and a short road section, into the attractive village of Temple Sowerby. It was now time to head north in the direction of Culgaith, and after passing through several more fields I reached Millrigg. I’d mention that navigation is not obvious during parts of the walk and that some of the paths shown clearly on the OS map are not apparent underfoot, so there may be some uncertainty as to the correct route at times. I’d recommend bringing an OS map and compass and/or gps.

Beyond Millrigg, the way was obvious as it was entirely along country lanes back into Culgaith, including a rather tedious uphill climb at the end. It was a very pleasant country walk, the undoubted highlight being the beautiful gardens of Acorn Bank

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

The evening before the walk, Spotted Flycatchers in the garden - these birds are on the endangered red list, and it's great news that they have bred successfully here

They have various ambush posts, including the bird bath, from which to spot flies and catch them

Next morning, the start of the walk from Culgaith - I parked by the village green, known as The Tarn, which is a wildlife area managed by independent guardians