Unique Places in Cumbria

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I have already mentioned “The La’l Ratty" (Ravenglass and Eskdale Steam Railway) in my Things to do tips.
However you can combine several walks on the Lakeland Fells with a trip on this delightful little train thus making a full and varied day out.
The next few tips are to give you some ideas of which walks that you can do !!

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Walking over Muncaster Fell by the Old Road

Starting Point - Irton Road Station in Eskdale
Distance, approximately 6 ½ miles
Walking time 3 / 3 ½ hours + ½ hour return to Eskdale on the train
Height gain approximately 650 feet
Highest point - Trig-Point on the summit of Muncaster Fell. Elevation: 231 M (699 FT)

Leave your car at Irton Road Station in Eskdale, Walk back up to the lane and cross the train tracks on the bridge, follow the lane until it ends at a cottage, go through the gate and onto the fell, the path soon swings around to the right and you start to gain height. After about 1 /1½ hours walking you come to the Trig-Point on the summit of Muncaster Fell.
From here you follow the path down past the tarn (to the right) and onto a lane that descends to the A595, follow the road north for about ¼ of a mile, past the entrance to Muncaster Castle and then take the next left through the farm, swing left, then right on a lane, past the back entrance to the castle and follow the lane to the right. Down through a wooded valley to a T-junction, here turn right and walk past the Old Roman Bath-House, after about another ¼ of a mile there is another path to the left, take this and it brings you directly into the Ratty Railway station at Ravenglass.
There is an excellent café in at the Station, buy your tickets at the ticket office, then order yourselves something to eat whilst awaiting your train.
Then let the scenery rush past you for a very pleasant ½ hour trip back to Irton Road Station in Eskdale to retrieve your car

An Excellent choice for a family day out in Lakeland !!

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Ennerdale Water is one of the most secluded but beautiful of the western lakes. There are many walks nearby, a circular walk around the lake takes around two hours. There are also other walks suitable for pushchair access and people with young children, on a track/road (with no public vehicle access) which runs from Bowness Knott to the end of the lake.
Ennerdale is fairly quiet, as it's away from the main Lake District tourist areas around Keswick, Windermere etc.
The nearby village has a great children's playground and two pubs serving food.

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There are several easy and beautiful circular walks around Ulverston. Visit Tourist Infomation on County Square, inside the Coronation Hall. Ask for the "Country Walks in South Lakeland". Ulverston is No. 4 in a 4 part series covering Grange, Kirby Lonsdale and Kendal.

Each walk has its own glossy sheet with a map on one side and detailed instructions on the other. Ulverston Canal to Next Ness is a flat, easy 4.5 mile walk and has an optional detour over Hoad Hill. Rosside and Swarthmoor takes you out into the countryside and past Swarthmoor Hall, home of Quakerism. Newland Bottom and the Cumbria Way is a lovely walk through farm land, though I have sometimes turned back when faced with a field full of cows! The walk over Birkgrigg Common to Great Urswick is 6 miles and passes a stone circle. It's the longest walk, made even more pleasant by taking a break at one of the Urswick village pubs about half way.

If you don't want to walk too far, but are fed up of the shops, take any of the little streets and ginnells off King Street and Market Street. The oldest part of Ulverston stretches out behind Market Street on the side with the Co-op and The Piel Castle pub.

You can wander up and down the curious little alleys, seemingly lost, but never far from the centre. The size and layout of the streets will remind you that this is really a 16th Century market town, designed for horses and carts, not cars, and the some of the tiny cottages are postcard pretty.

Once you pass Pooley Bridge, keep alert & on the lookout for lay-bys where you can slip your car in to enjoy the views.

There is a waterfall (Aira Force) on the right, further up. If you look in your Guidebook, you can track yourself, that way you can park up in the right lay-by.

Though the Aira-Force site has a car park, it is usually jam-packed, & reversing/getting out can be a absolute nightmare.

The deepest lake in England is Wastwater, set on the western side of the Lake District National Park and quite difficult to get to because of the distance from the M6 Motorway ( approximately 50 miles either coming from the north. south or east !! )
Never-the-less for those who put in the effort to get there will be rewarded with some of the Best views in the entire Lake District and also will have the advantage of getting away from the more popular and therefor crowded tourist stops of Keswick and Windermere.