Route: Loweswater and Holme Wood
Area : Western Lake District
Date of walk: 20th January 2023
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 3.1 miles
Ascent: 600 feet
Weather: Sunny and cloudless, icy paths
Although this is a short walk, it includes a lonely valley, wonderful views of Lorton Vale and the lakeland fells, an ancient woodland and a lake. We’ve followed longer variations of this route on many occasions. This shorter alternative is a perfect choice when time is limited as it was today
We parked at Maggie’s Bridge where there is space for 8-10 cars (during busy times it’s necessary to arrive early in order to be sure of a space). Instead of heading directly to Loweswater we followed the track to High Nook Farm, where Alfred Wainwright used to stay when he was researching his Guide to the Western Fells. After passing through the farm we carried on to the head of the valley before joining the wonderful terraced path above Holme Wood, known as the old coffin road from Loweswater to St Bees (the description may be fanciful but the name has stuck). The views from here are superb
The path contours around the sides of Carling Knott and Burnbank Fell and reaches a height of over 1,000 feet – higher than one or two lakeland fells. However the climbing is so gentle that it’s hardly noticed, although icy paths meant that we had to tread carefully. Just before Holme Beck we descended to a gate at the edge of Holme Wood. We followed a path which took us down to the foot of Loweswater (the lake is unusual in that it drains into lakeland rather than out of it as would normally be expected)
We followed the track across the foot of the lake and this brought us back to Maggie’s Bridge to end a short but sweet walk
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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