Loweswater walk - Holme Wood walk - Holme Force

Route: Loweswater and Holme Wood

Area : Western Lake District

Date of walk: 25th August 2019

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 3.8 miles

Ascent: 700 feet

Weather: Sunny and very warm, cloudless, hazy

This is a shorter variation of one of our favourite local walks which manages to cram in a huge variety of scenery including farmland, ancient woodland, a lake, and open moorland. Along the way there are wonderful views over the Solway Plain looking north (including Scotland in clear weather) and to the high lakeland fells looking south

We set off in the late afternoon and parked in one of the roadside spaces at Fangs Brow on the edge of the Lake District. From here we joined the track which is part of the ancient coffin road from Loweswater to St Bees. This wonderful terraced path contours around the edge of Burnbank Fell and Carling Knott at a height of around 1,000 feet, with ever improving views into lakeland

After crossing Holme Beck we left the old coffin road to enter into Holme Wood, which is well managed by the National Trust. We followed a path downhill, which has several intersections branching along the way. We took the first of these, turning sharp left in order to visit Holme Force. Following recent heavy rain the waterfall was on good form

The path descended to the shore of Loweswater, and after a brief detour to the lakeshore we continued along the main path, leading out of Holme Wood and passing around Hudson Place. We then passed above Jenkinson Place and Iredale Place before heading uphill to rejoin the old coffin road. It was a lovely short walk, although the contrasty light, cloudless skies and hazy views made it an unrewarding one for photography

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)