Lake District National Park Off The Beaten Path

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No, not some Cumbrian hostelry or age-old custom, but a huge Bronze-age stone circle.

This was our third visit to this little known stone circle and we were yet again impressed at both it's size and location. We also took a look at Long Meg's poor relation, Little Meg, just a stone's throw away. Gosh, this was absolutely tiny, comparing the two.

Long Meg and her Daughters are little known and are one of Cumbria's best kept secrets. Long Meg is over 12 feet tall and stands some distance from the rest of the stones, her daughters. Engraved on Long Meg are a cup and ring and spiral, clearly visible.
Originally there were over seventy stones in the circle but today fifty nine are left with twenty-seven of these still standing. The stones are reputed to be uncountable, ie; the number counted is never the same!
The best known tale tells of the circle as being a coven of witches in the 13thc. who fell under a Scottish wizard's spell which turned them all to stone. I like that idea!
The circle is well off the beaten track, on a very minor road, signposted from the A686 and about 6.5 km. north east of Penrith, 0.5 km from Little Salkeld.
We arrived here in the motorhome in the pouring rain and were fortunate to be able to park in one of the two very small parking areas. The grass was extremely wet so we had no intention of going off road. There is room to turn round (as the road is a dead end) if you continue towards the farm.
While we were there, a lone woman, in the torrential rain, went round all the stones, touching each one in turn. I'm not sure of the significance of this. It is an impressive sight though and I would love to see it from the air to get a true idea of it's size.

On our last visit, we shared the site with a couple of young women who seemed over-awed at the place. We noticed a tree had been festooned with offerings, ranging from ribbons to teddy bears. It all looked rather tacky to me, I'm not sure why people do this.

This small shop in Hawkshead has the most delicious jams, marmelades, sauces, chutneys etc. The product is made nearby (read the website), and after tasting the wonderful things at our B&B, we rushed down to buy some for home use. Hawkshead is worth a stop, just for this good shop. Even the Queen has been there!

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This is a disused slate quarry situated some 2 miles north of Coniston in the Tilberthwaite valley. To get there, take the Ambleside (A593) road out of Coniston and in about two miles, turn second left, sign-posted Hodge Close. The narrow road climbs and winds it's way along Yewdale Beck, finally ending at the quarry. The slag heap has been levelled, creating a flat area for parking, but much of this has now been blocked off by huge boulders of slate.

The quarry was worked for roofing slates for nearly two hundred years, ceasing operations in 1964. The sheer open pit drops 300 ft down into the flooded workings.Naturally, the challenge of the sheer rock sides and the flooded tunnels attracts divers and climbers from miles, although diving is not officially permitted by the quarry owners, they can do so at their own risk. Certainly not for the faint hearted, as the entrance to the water is through a tunnel and then a ladder. into 30 odd metres of freezing water... Needless to say, there have been a number of nasty deaths in the quarry, mainly from divers becoming lost in the flooded tunnels.Brrrrhhhhh............

Apart from the unguarded 300ft drop into the quarry, the mammoth spoil heaps where you park are extremely dangerous, also having precipitous drops into the valley below. Watch your children.....

We were amazed that no such activities were in evidence whilst we were there. The area did seem popular with cyclists, walkers and even landrover safaris!

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This delightful packhorse bridge crosses the Duddon, way up the valley, enoute to Lakeland's highest road passes, Harknott and Wrynose and is just off the road, so doesn't involve lots of walking.

Birks Bridge is a special haunt for us, there is something magical about this place and it holds wonderful memories of our earlier days spent swimming in the clear, deep green pools beneath the bridge.As it is further along the valley than Ulpha Bridge, another swimming spot,it is not so well known,so not as popular.As the river flows towards the bridge,,the river narrows right down, forming small waterfalls which tumble into a deep pool under the bridge, creating superb swimming. Apparently there is an underwater cave here. People jump from the high rocks and bridge, here, plummeting into the green pool below.Obviously, the more days of sunshine the water has had, the warmer?? the water. It's a few years since we've been swimming here. I'm sure you'd still get me in though!!

On a very recent visit to the bridge, I could still feel the magic this place held for me and was relieved to find it untouched by man. Perfect nature at it's very best.

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The Newlands Valley is a relatively little visited, yet beautiful part of the Lake District. Only a couple of small roads and an old mining track run through the valley, meaning you can appreciate its beauty all the better without cars passing all the time. The valley contains a few small villages, and a number of scattered farmhouses, making it a great place to hike away from the crowds.

There are two main trails in Newlands. The best known is the ridge walk, a 6-7 hour horseshoe walk, taking in the summits Cat Bells, Maiden Moor, High Spy, and Dale Head before finishing with Hindscarth and/or Robinson. In my opinion, this is one of the best (if not the best) walks in the Lake District: the summits are nicely spread out at 1.5 mile intervals; in addition to great views of Newlands Valley, you also get great panoramas of Derwent Water, Buttermere, Borrowdale Valley, not to mention Skiddaw & Blencathra to the north.

An easier, lower level walk in the valley is the 5 mile walk from the Car Park below Cat Bells to the village (or hamlet) of Little Town. And after all that walking, there is a great pub called Swinside Inn where you can sit back, relax and enjoy great food and beer.

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Planning

Back in 2007 i decided my summer would not be complete if i didnt organise an adventure! Something challenging and demanding! With this in mind i roped my best friend into walking the Coast 2 Coast route from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay. A total of around 190miles depending on where you finish. Neither of us had done anything like the distance involved in a continuous trip. We both had outdoor moutaineering experience as well as both being members of Air cadets and later on the UOTC. Map reading didnt phase us. Walking long distances with a back back was quite daunting. We decided backpacking the route was the best way because it allowed us flexibilty...and plus i have to admit we're both very competitive and thought it would make the challenge harder! Needless to say we started the planning in March 07 and aimed to start the walk at the end of July. That gave us just over 4 months to organise everything. At this point id like to mention that we live 400 miles apart. Myself in Stirling at the time studing a degree in nursing, and my friend down south in Essex! Due to this slight distance problem we met up once, devised a list, and set about planning each section alone. I was in charge of accomadation, transport to and from the route, and Lianne was in charge of getting hold of the maps and splitting the route up! (i think i had the easier job!) When June came around, we had managed to sort out route planning (even down to compiling route cards!) with different locations we could stop at, transport to and from Kirkby Stephens ( where i planned to park my car for the duration of the trip) and transport to the start of the route (packhorse) All that was left to do was sort out our kit, and ponder on taking a GPS! In regards to maps we didnt take every single map for each section of the route, we somehow printed the route off, and highlighted our waypoints. In hind sight the map reading was a big downfall of our trip!

July

By the time July came around the corner we were all ready to go! Our packs were complete, nicely balanced and stocked up with ceral bars and now all we needed to do was travel the 5 hours up to the lake district to start the walk. I wont bore you with all the details of our route, needless to say i never wrote a diary and i feel i would be making things up if i tried to account for every day!. What i will do is make a list of do's and dont's for anyone planning on walking this fabulous route across Engalnd! There are also some pictures to follow for anyone interested in the scenery we saw!

Tips

For anyone considering doing the coast to coast i would urge you to ensure you have well fitting, well worn in boots....with different pairs of thickness socks! Some days a good pair of thick walking socks makes the difference betweeen a good days walk and a bad one!

If your prone to blisters, like i discovered, a good selection of compeed type blister pads as well as zinc oxzide tape and foam padding (cut to shape) is fantastic! The only place my feet suffered was the soles just under my toes! I didnt even know you could get blisters there!

This walk is demanding, physically, and mentally. Be prepared! The biggest advantage you can give yourself is ensuring you are at your fittest! It really does make all the difference.

100% invest in walking poles! I took one to save on weight and wished i had taken two! They are brilliant, and really good at taking some much needed pack weight of your knees! especially on downhill stretches!

Take suncream if ur planning your walk in the summer! We had glorious days of intense sunshine. I think it only rained up in the lakes! typical!

Take as much food as you can carry! My biggest regret is underestimating how much energy i would need! We both became very ill on the 3rd day due to lack of food and water! It affected us for the rest of the trip!

If your planning on camping, allow yourself a day or two every few days for a treat in a nice YHA or B+B. The bed is well worth the extra bit of money!

I never used gaiters on this trip! Waste of space for much needed chocolate!

Wedid however practically live in our waterproofs in the lakes, even on sunny days we kept them on to minimise effort for short sharp downpours! My advice is to have waterproof trousers you can roll up without cutting of ur leg supply and which dont promptly fall down after a few strides! Also take a thin shell waterproof with breathing vents. Fantastic

I have to say i had a fantastic time and im now in the process of planning my next big adventure.....The Southern upland way! needless to say there is a few things id choose to do differently!

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I climbed Helvellyn when I was about 11 or 12 and went the most popular route, from the eastern side. This time we thought we'd have a look at the western side. We started at Swirls carpark on Thirlmere. We didn't intend on climbing the whole mountain with a 10-month-old, but went about a third of the way.

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One clear, bright morning Michael and I headed for High Dam at Finsthwaite. We were desperate for some fresh air and a little gentle excercise.

I had walked this tarn many years ago with Nick and thought it time for a return, especially as the weather was right for some good photos.

To walk from the car-park all the way round the tarn probably doesn't take forty minutes and once you've coped with the first steep part up to it, the walk is mainly level although some parts are not easy walking. Wear decent shoes as parts can be boggy.

There are actually two dams, the lower retaining a smaller, murky tarn and the higher opening onto a pretty tarn with superb reflections from the trees and some great picnic spots. We thought it would be a wonderful place to camp but I don't suppose such activities are allowed. Certainly fires weren't.

The dams were created to supply the nearby Bobbin Mill at Finsthwaite, which is open to the public and a fascinating place to visit.

This walk is signposted from the minor road at Finsthwaite. Carry on up the steep hill and there is a free carpark.

We passed a grand total of four people whilst walking. It was mid Sepember but I was suprised on such a lovely morning that we had the place almost to ourselves. And only just off the A590.