Route: Borrowdale
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 6th April 2016
Walkers: Andrew
Distance: 8.5 miles
Ascent: 900 feet
Weather: some dry spells but numerous hail and rain showers
Today’s walk links all the villages in the beautiful valley of Borrowdale, with the exception of Grange which lies on the other side of its ‘Jaws’ – the point where the valley squeezes between Castle Crag and Grange Fell
The villages in question are Seatoller, Seathwaite, Stonethwaite and Rosthwaite – in order of appearance on the walk. When I arrived at the National Trust car park in Seatoller it was raining and hailing (nearby Seathwaite is by repute the wettest inhabited place in England). As soon as it stopped I set off down the quiet lane to Seathwaite – the village is a dead end so there is no through traffic
After passing though the village I returned along the other side of the valley and made a short ‘in and out’ to Stonethwaite before joining the Cumbria Way and making my way to the last village of the quartet – Rosthwaite. From there I followed the path beside the River Derwent back into Seatoller
It was raining or hailing for much of the time, and the photos which follow were snatched during such dry spells as there were
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)
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Red squirrel in the garden before I set off this morning
Hailstorm through the car window as I waited in Seatoller for a break in the weather
Eventually the hail stopped (but not for long)
The Seathwaite turning is a few yards down the road out of Seatoller
The quiet lane leading to Seathwaite
I turn off the lane to follow a track beside Nichol Dub
One of the ‘Fraternal Four’ yew trees immortalised by Wordsworth and calculated to be 1,500 years old
Seathwaite - the starting point for many grand adventures on the higher fells
Sourmilk Gill
Looking along the valley as I walk into Seathwaite
I took shelter here from another downpour
I leave Seathwaite to return along the other side of the valley
Looking back
Another hailshower as I walk above Seatoller
Castle Crag and Grange Fell - the Jaws of Borrowdale
Another passing hailshower
Looking back
Approaching St Andrew’s Church Stonethwaite (situated outside the village)
The church gate
Stonethwaite, with Eagle Crag towering above it
The Langstrath Country Inn is at the end of the village
I cross over Stonethwaite Beck
Young lambs sheltering from the rain
Looking back to Eagle Crag
On the Cumbria Way
Sunlight on Castle Crag
Herdy
Approaching Rosthwaite
I cross the bridge over Stonethwaite Beck
Castle Crag again
Robin in Rosthwaite
Just beyond the village I pass through ‘Boot Camp’ in the grounds of the YHA
Path beside the River Derwent on the edge of Johnny Wood
Looking along the Derwent
The path back to Seatoller
A final look across Borrowdale as I arrive back at the start
Red squirrel in the garden later that day
