Route: Dalemain to Dacre
Area: Eastern Lake District
Date of walk: 25th August 2022
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 3.0 miles
Ascent: 300 feet
Weather: Cloudy at first, gradually improving
We’ve visited the gardens at Dalemain Mansion on numerous occasions over the last 20 years or so. It’s a place which never fails to please. A walk round the garden combined with a short walk to nearby Dacre is a perfect way to while away a morning
We arrived shortly after opening, which was 10am today, and made our way around the gardens. We were too late in the season to see the Himalayan blue poppies which are a feature of Dalemain – click here to see a previous visit with some photos of these beautiful plants at their peak. However the late flowering perennials were putting on a good display and there was plenty of interest
After wandering around for an hour or two, it was time to get on with the walk, which is no more than a leisurely stroll along the estate road from Dalemain to Dacre, passing through rolling farmland. There are good views in all directions. Less than 1 hour after setting off we arrived in the attractive village of Dacre in perfect time to enjoy lunch at the excellent Horse & Farrier which I can highly recommend for its food and friendly service
Suitably refreshed, we visited nearby St Andrew’s Church which has many interesting features, including a memorial window by Lawrence Whistler. The interior was closed today, so we wandered around the grounds where our attention was taken by some strange stone statues. I’ve since discovered that these are the Dacre Bears, which have puzzled historians for centuries
From the church we retraced our steps along the estate road back to Dalemain to end a short but very enjoyable walk (for anyone looking for longer walks centred on Dalemain, visit Search Walks and enter ‘Dalemain’)
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
We pass by the front of Dalemain Mansion on the way into the gardens
Fountain in the Elizabethan Knot Garden
This Silver Fir is thought to be the oldest in the country, planted about 1840, and having a girth of 26 feet
The Rose Walk
Avenue of clipped hollies...
Summerhouse at the end of the Rose Walk
We descend down some steps to the Lower Garden...
Dacre Beck
The Giantess Sculpture
Here be dragons
We leave the Lower Garden and notice a new feature - the Spiral Garden
View from the terrace as we retrace our steps past the mansion...
The start of the walk to Dacre as we pass by the Great Barn, built in the 16th century
Fallow deer in the grounds
The path to Dacre, which is very easy and requires no navigation skills
Loudon Hill on our right
Aged oak trees lining the path
Soulby Fell
We pass by Dacre Castle, owned by the Hassell-McCosh family who also own Dalemain
Dacre village
The old school house
Time for refreshments at the excellent Horse & Farrier
Little Mell Fell from the beer garden
We visit St Andrew's Church
One of the four Dacre Bears, a mystery to historians, but they are believed to be pre-Saxon
From here we retrace our steps back to Dalemain to end a lovely short walk
