Coastal Walk from Silverdale to Arnside

One of the good things about being your own boss is that you can decide how to organise your workload. The weather forecast for the bank holiday weekend was not so clever but it was expected that last Thursday would be a fine day, particularly in the north, so as there was nothing that needed finishing urgently I decided to put on my boots and head out for a walk.

I didn’t want to go too far, and didn’t feel like driving, so I hopped on the train and set off for a relatively little known corner of north west Lancashire and south west Cumbria on the coast of Morecambe Bay – Arnside and Silverdale. The area isn’t far from the M6, but most people tend to zoom past heading for the Lake District or Scotland. With no through roads to anywhere,  it’s a place you have to deliberately go to as there’s no reason to pass through – unless you’re taking the train to Barrow, Workington or Whitehaven. And compared to the nearby Lake District and Fylde coast, it has relatively few visitors. Consequently, it’s one of the quietest and most peaceful rural areas in the North West of England. 

I’ve visited the area quite a few times during the last 6 or 7 years. It’s easily accessible by train meaning I don’t have to drive if I don’t want too. I’ve normally taken a circular route, starting and finishing at Arnside station, but this time I decided to start at Silverdale and follow the coast up to Arnside.

Map of route

After a short walk on the narrow road from the station towards Silverdale (it can be a little hairy at times as the road is narrow and bendy without a footpath and cars come racing round the bends) I came to a footpath which leads down to the coast.

It was very peaceful – being mid week there were very few other people about.

After 10 minutes or so I hit the coast of Morecambe Bay.  The tall tower in the picture below isn’t a lighthouse. It’s believed to have been part of a copper smelting furnace dating back to the 1790s.

Just beyond were a few isolated houses – “Jenny Brown’s Cottages”

The tide was receding fast leaving behind a vast expanse of sand.

This section of the coast is owned by the National Trust. It’s rural and picturesque now, but at one time it would have been more industrial. The Trust have recreated a lime kiln at “Jack Scout”. Kilns like this were used to make slaked lime from limestone for agricultural and building use. There’s a display board that explains how it worked.

Coming back off the coastal path onto the road I headed towards Silverdale village, passing Lindeth Tower which, was used by the author, Elizabeth Gaskell who wrote one of her novels, Ruth, there.

I stopped off at Wolf House gallery and Cafe for a brew and a bite to eat, then set off again, passing through the village back to the coast, walking along the rocky shore as far as “the Cove”.

I cut in land, taking the path up to Arnside Tower. It’s a pele tower, a defensive structure to protect the local population from marauding Scots, built in the late 14 or early 15th century. It’s in ruins and isn’t accessible as it’s too dangerous.

From here the modest hill of Arnside Knott, which is owned by the National Trust, was clearly visible.

Well, I can never resist a hill so it had to be climbed.

As it’s the highest point for many miles, from the top there are tremendous views over Morecambe Bay, The Kent Estuary beyond which the Lakeland mountains are spread out in a magnificent panorama (well, on a good day) and over to the Howgill Fells and the Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Dales.

The view was good but it was a little hazy, so although I could make out the Lakeland Fells they were a little indistinct and didn’t come out on my photos (which I was taking on my mobile phone as I’d neglected to take my camera with me). However, I’d managed to get some good shots during previous visits.

I now had the option of heading down into Arnside, but I decided I’d re-join the coastal path a little north of where I’d left it. The tide was well out by now so I was able to walk along the beach. Care has to be taken as Morecambe Bay is notorious for it’s quick sands and fast incoming tide that can easily cut off careless walkers.

With it’s vast expanse of sand, the Bay looked like a damper version of the Sahara Desert.

Eventually the Kent railway viaduct came into view,

and not long after that I arrived at Arnside

where it was time for a strong cup of coffee to recharge the batteries before catching the train back home.

There’s a good free leaflet showing suggested walks in the area here. My walk was an approximate combination of two of them. A circular walk around Silverdale also featured in the Guardian “Top 10 winter walks” in December 2010.

Walk to Worthington Lakes

It was pleasant and sunny, if a little cold, last Sunday morning, so I decided to get out for a walk.  In Wigan we’re quite lucky in that the River Douglas cuts through the town and on the north side of the town effectively forms a green corridor up to Haigh Hall Country Park. So its possible to start a country walk almost from the centre of town.

I decided to follow “the Dougie” to the Lower Plantations an then cut up through the woods to the Leeds-Liverpool canal, taking the towpath up as far as Arley Wood.

 

Cutting through the woods I crossed over the Dougie and along the path to Worthington Lakes.

The three small “lakes” are reservoirs built to supply Wigan with drinking water. Today they are part of a 50 acre country park, with a nature reserve at the northern end.

Image produced from Ordnance Survey’s Get-a-map service.
www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getamap

Although the time of year meant that there were very few waterfowl on the lakes, I spotted a couple of nesting swans and a heron in the nature reserve.

After circumnavigating the lakes, I cut back through the woods up to the canal and then retraced my steps back to Wigan.

It was a relatively easy walk, but at about 7 or 8 miles in total, provided some good exercise.

Mam Tor and Peveril Castle

Mam Tor from the Vale of Edale

It was a beautiful sunny day on Saturday so although there’s loads of work needs doing on the house, it was too nice to stay indoors working so I took the opportunity to get out for a walk. I talked my son into coming out with me, by promising him he’d see an Iron Age hill fort and a Norman castle. So we set off and caught the train over to Edale in the Peak District.

Alighting from the train we were welcomed by a brilliant view sky and clear views of the Castleton Ridge to the south and Kinder Plateau to the north. Our plan was to climb Mam Tor – the “Mother hill” – at the western end of the ridge. We made our way along the road for a short while until we hit the path that would take us over the fields towards Hollins Cross where the path between Edale and Castleton is crossed by the path that traverses the length of the ridge. Reaching the top we stopped to take in the views and grab a bite to eat.

We followed the path along the ridge towards the summit of Mam Tor. The route along the ridge from Lose Hill to Mam Tor  (which I’ve walked before) is one of the most popular in the Peak District and there were plenty of other walkers heading in both directions.

Looking along the Ridge towards Lose Hill

The summit of Mam Tor is 517 metres high. and it was pretty windy at the top. Formed of shale which is unstable, it is also known as the Shivering Mountain. A large landslide, which it is believed started 4,00 years ago is clearly visible on it’s southern flank and the road below this, which was built in the early 1800’s was closed in 1979 when the Local Authority finally decided they’d had enough of continually repairing it due to damage caused by the landslip.

Mam Tor from the south west

Mam Tor is also the site of a prehistoric hill fort, and remnants of the fortifications – ditches and ramparts – are clearly visible running around the summit. There are also remains of two gateways on the paths leading from Mam Nick and from Hollins Cross.

The remains of a ditch and ramparts from the hill fort

We descended down to Mam Nick and then took the path heading south west across the fields until we eventually hit the Limestone way. We followed the path towards Castleton, which took us down Cave Dale.

Cave Dale

This dry limestone dale,was probably originally created by glacial meltwater, being deepened later due to the collapse of underground caverns.

Peveril Castle from Cave Dale

The lower reaches of the Dale are dominated by Peveril castle, which is perched on the cliffs on the northern side. Accessed via the small village of Castleton, which today is one of the Peak District’s “honeypots”, it has a commanding view over the Dale and Hope Valley. It was built soon after the Norman invasion by William Peveril, a Norman knight who was gifted lands in Nottinghamshire and northern Derbyshire. Unusually, it was constructed from stone, probably due to the scarcity of other building materials in the vicinity.

Due to bad decisions on who to support during the various squabbles amongst the feudal ruling class, the Peveril family lost control of their estates and the castle was restored to the Crown under Henry II. He strengthened the castle and was responsible for the construction of the impressive keep

Castleton and the Hope Valley are not in a strategic position from a national perspective. This part of Derbyshire was (and still is, to be honest) something of a backwater. The main purpose of the castle would have been to dominate and intimidate the local population and to act as an administrative centre, controlling revenues from mining and hunting rights in the Peak Forest.

Today it’s main feature is the keep. It’s been largely stripped of the smooth outer stone facing, but it still looks impressive, particularly when viewed from Cave Dale. There are stunning views across the Hope Valley over to the Mam Tor, Black Tor, Lose Hill and Win Hill, which were all clearly visible on a sunny afternoon.

Having looked round the castle, although I could have done with a cup of tea, we decided to head on to Hope so that we could catch the 16:39 train to manchester. Otherwise it would have been after 8 p.m. before we’d have got home. We made our way along the pleasant path over the fields beside the little river towards Hope. It was an easy, pleasant walk in the afternoon sunshine and we made it to Hope station in good time  for the train.

Inverness–a walk along the river to the Ness Islands

I visited Inverness last week on a business trip, but went a day early so I could have a look around as I hadn’t been in this part of Scotland before. The town centre is quite small and isn’t particularly attractive – although there were some attractive old buildings, such as the gothic “Town House” and the castle. But it was a lovely day, so I decided to take a walk along the river. There are quiet roads along both banks and its crossed by several bridges, including a number of footbridges. The river is quite wide and fast flowing with some turbulence and on a sunny afternoon looked very attractive.

Crossing over to the north bank I started to head west. Near the Cathedral (a 19th Century gothic revival style church) I spotted a noticeboard that gave some information about walks around the town. One of the routes went west along the river towards the Ness Islands, a group of small islands in the river, so I decided to follow it.

I walked along the north bank, past the cathedral and the Eden Court Theatre – a good sized theatre, cinema and arts venue. Although quite a small town, being the main centre in the Highlands it seems to be quite well served with arts and entertainment.  Shortly afterwards, carrying along the path along the river bank, I came to Bright Park and the start of the islands. There was a fly fisherman standing in the river – I don’t know whether he was managing to catch anything!

I decided to carry on along the river bank past the islands and through another park (Whin Park) where there were children’s playground and sports fields, including rugby pitches where a match was taking place. I stopped to watch if for a short while before doubling back, crossing over the footbridge that took me on to the islands.

There are several small, wooded islands all connected with footbridges. It was a pleasant walk along the paths through the woods. There were strings of lights above the paths and I later found out that they are lit up at night and was told that it is quite safe to walk along the route at night.

Crossing over to the south shore, I followed the path back towards the town centre, passing several large stone houses, probably Victorian, on the road alongside the river. They were solidly built and had a definite Scottish look to them.

Reaching the town centre I climbed up the hill to the Castle. The site dominates the river and is an obvious place for a fortress. The original fortress from 1057 is long gone and was succeeded by other castles.  The current building, from 1836, was constructed as a courthouse and jail and the castle like features are only decorative. Today it houses Sherriff’s Court. Standing on the terrace at the front and north side of the castle provides a good view along the river and over the town towards the sea.

I walked back down the hill and then east along the river, crossing over the next footbridge. Half way across I noticed a distinct wobble!

It was getting close to 5 o’clock and after a very sunny afternoon the sun had gone behind some clouds. So I headed back to the town centre and caught the bus back to my hotel on the outskirts of town.

Castleton Ridge Circular

Another fine day was promised for last Saturday so I decided to get my boots on again and head off into the hills. I get fed up of driving and the hassle of traffic jams and finding somewhere to park. Hope in Derbyshire has a train station an is only a couple of hours away so I decided to take the train and start a walk from here. Hope is at one end of the Castleton ridge so a good option was a circular route walking along the ridge from Lose Hill to Mam Tor, cutting down to Castleton and then walking along the valley floor back to Hope.

Well Dressing, Hope

Hope village is very small and there isn’t much to see there. However, on my way through the village I came across a couple of well dressings. These are clay panels decorated with petals, leaves and other natural elements to form a picture. It’s an old tradition in the Peak District. The whole village will participate in the production of these dressings which are then installed over the local wells. The dressings I saw were beginning to look somewhat worse for wear, but a couple of locals, who’d seen me looking at one of them, told me that they had only been installed the week before. They don’t last too long when exposed to the elements.

The path from the village up to Lose Hill took me, at first, through lush pasture land. As I started to climb the land started to become wilder and more moor like and views over the Hope valley began to open up.  The landscape was quite different to that of the Lake District where I went walking the week before. It was more cultivated, less wild and there was much more evidence of human influence.

The path soon became steeper and remained like that until I reached the summit. It was particularly steep for the last section leading up to the top after going through the fence into the land owned by the National Trust.

On top of Lose Hill I stopped for a while for a bite to eat and a rest. It was busy on the summit (although quiet compared to Mam Tor, as I would find out a little later) The views, in every direction, were magnificent – Win Hill, the Edae valley over to the  Kinder plateau, along the ridge to Mam Tor and down to Castleton.

After a short while I started off along the ridge towards MamTor. It was blustery, but quite warm. As the ridge is easily accessible from Manchester and Sheffield, it’s always busy with walkers and today was no different. I met quite a few walkers coming in the opposite direction, including groups of teenages=rs loaded down with heavy packs, on their Duke of Edinburgh Award expedition.

Along the ridge

Black Tor - between Lose Hill and Mam Tor

It was busy when I reached Hollins Cross, a meeting point for several paths. A lot of people had obviously come up from Castleton. Many probably didn’t make it much further. Some day trippers were wearing inappropriate footwear (as is always the case) but, fortunately, it was dry underfoot today.

I went on to climb up to the summit of Mam Tor. The path became steeper (but not as hard going as up to Lose Hill). It was very busy at the top Mam Tor is a popular destination as it’s quite easily accessible from Castleton, which is a “honeypot”. So a lot of day trippers will make their way up there. The views are excellent.It’s also a historic spot, having been the site of an iron age hill fort and there is evidence of the ditches which formed its fortifications on the side of the hill.

The summit of Mam Tor

I stopped for a while to get my bearings for the rest of my walk. I ended up taking a slightly longer route than originally intended. After descending from the summit I took a path cutting over farmland until I reached a path which forms part of the “Limestone Trail” which I followed down into Castleton. This took me through Cave Dale – a narrow, dry gorge descending (quite steeply at one point) between limestone cliffs. The view down the dale was magnificent (I seem to be overusing that word!) particularly at the top of the steepest section where Peveril Castle could be seen looming over and dominating the dale.

Cave Dale

I stopped in Castleton, which was heaving with walkers and day trippers. I stopped for a while for some refreshments and a bite to eat. I had intended to visit the castle but by extending my route I didn’t really have enough time to look at it properly so instead I headed back towards Hope along a very pleasant, flat, riverside path.

Castleton, looking up to Peveril Castle

A map of the route I took can be viewed here.

Far Easedale, Calf Crag, Gibson Knott and Helm Crag

Helm Crag - View from the path from Grasmere

The weather forecast for last Saturday promised that it was going to be a hot sunny day, so I decided to make the most of it and go out for a walk. I visited Grasmere a couple of weeks before and had a short walk along the lake, but at the time was really tempted by the hills. So that’s where I decided to go. I left home fairly early to miss the traffic (I was sure plenty of other people would have the same idea) and make sure I could get a parking space.

Helm Crag is a small, but, according to Wainwright, “perfectly formed” fell only  a short walk from Grasmere village, but involving a fairly steep climb. It stands at one end of a ridge which has another 2 peaks mentioned in Wainwright’s “Central Fells”. I decided to tackle the ridge, combining it with Far Easedale to make it a circular walk.  My research beforehand suggested that this is a fairly popular route and that most people seemed to tackle it anti-clockwise, starting by climbing up Helm Crag. However, Wainwright recommends going the other way round due to the views of Grasmere obtained during the descent of Helm Crag. This is also an easier route as height is gained more gradually up Far Easedale, with a steep descent down Helm Crag at the end. I think that was the right decision.

There was quite a bit of cloud around when I set off but there were signs of the sun breaking through. The cloud cleared during the walk, but there was quite a bit of haze and humidity in the air which meant visibility was restricted to some extent.

Going up Far Easedale involved a gradual climb over some rough ground. Although there has been little rainfall for a few weeks, there were some sections that were quite wet underfoot. Wainwright comments on this – “Far Easedale is wet underfoot in many places – always” – he wasn’t wrong.  The landscape soon became very wild and it was very quiet. During my ascent of the valley I only saw 6 people coming towards me from the opposite direction. Two of these were mountain bikers. Although the path is marked as a bridleway, it was too rocky and uneven to ride a bike down, so they were carrying their bikes, and would probably have to do so all the way down.

Starting off down Far Easedale

The country got more rugged – dramatic rocks and crags loomed up ahead and on both sides of the valley. The steeper part of the climb didn’t last too long before I reached the point where I needed to turn right toward Calf Crag and the start of the ridge walk. If I’d continued straight on the path continues to rise for a while, eventually dropping down into Borrowdale.

Far Easedale

My route continued up hill until I reached the summit of Calf Crag and I stopped for a while. It was still a little misty and hazy but the view was worth the climb. I had a good view of the valley I’d just walked up and the surrounding cliffs, crags and fells.

I carried on along the ridge and now started to see more people, all walking in the opposite direction from Helm Crag.

The ridge undulates and beside Calf Crag there are two other high points – Gibson Knott and Helm Crag. The view constantly changes with different mountains popping into view as I progressed along the route.

View from Calf Crag along the ridge

View back along the ridge

Eventually I reached the summit of Helm Crag and stopped to enjoy the views and take a bite to eat and top up my sunscreen. The sun had broken through and it was beginning to get hot and sunny, although it was still quite blustery on the exposed summit. Helm Crag is well known for its jumble of rocks and rock formations – “The Howitzer” and “The Lion and the Lamb”.

"The Howitzer" - the summit of Helm Crag

On top of Helm Crag

Descending the Crag there was a fantastic view of Grasmere, just as Wainwright had promised, even if it was a little hazy. The path soon begins to descend very steeply and I lost height quite quickly. it was hard going underfoot in places. It didn’t take long to get back down into the valley. The path took me through the grounds of Lancrigg (where we’d stayed nearly 20 years ago) right by the hotel building. I followed the road back to Grasmere. Arriving back at the car park, I dumped my rucksack and headed into the village in search of a cup of tea.

Looking down towards Grasmere

Anglezarke, Great Hill and White Coppice

The weather has been too good this week to stay in the office, so I decided to take a few hours off Tuesday afternoon and get up on the moors to clear my head. When I was a teenager I used to spend hours up on the West Lancashire Moors and knew them like the back of my hand. Although they’re surrounded by industrial towns they’re wild and isolated and a good place to find some solitude. I didn’t go up there for a long time, but over the last few years have started to rediscover them. This walk is one of my favourites taking in different types of terrain, wild moors, farmland and a lakeside path, a picturesque hamlet and  one of the most dramatic locations for a cricket pitch in England.

I parked up at the viewpoint above the reservoir. I walked along the road as far as Jepson’s gate and climbed over the stile on to the open access land and headed over the rough ground towards “Pike Stones”. The ground was dry – quite different to the last time I visited the Neolithic monument in the early Spring when it was sodden underfoot.

Jepson's Gate

Pike Stones

Pikestones is a collection of stones that used to be a Neolithic burial mound. There are several large slabs of millstone grit which at one time would have stood upright to form a burial chamber. It’s a scheduled Ancient Monument. There’s an information board about the site with an artist’s impression of what the burial mound may have looked like when it was built.

Leaving the site I took the path at the back of a plantation of fir trees and then cut across the moor towards “Round Loaf”,  a Neolithic or Bronze age Tumulus, or burial mound, which dominates the flat moorland. It’s situated on open access land and the peaty ground going can be really difficult after wet weather – but this time  it was dry underfoot. Nevertheless, it was still hard going at first as the ground is rough and there was no distinct path until I got nearer to the tumulus. There were extensive areas of blackened grass on the moors and even part of the western side of the mound itself was scorched. Standing on top, I could see that the grass over to the east was still on fire but, fortunately it was smouldering rather than properly ablaze.

"Round Loaf"

Standing on top of the mound I had a good view of Great Hill ,Winter Hill and the surrounding moors, but the atmosphere was very hazy. It wasn’t even possible to make out the coast at Southport. The tumulus is in such a dominant position high on the moor that on a good day most of the Lancashire coast is visible and it’s possible to see as far as the mountains in three National Parks – the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Snowdonia.

Looking towards Great Hill from the Round Loaf

After a short break I set off again across the moor towards Great Hill and then climbed to the summit. which is the highest point on this part of the moors. Again there were great views of the surrounding hills and moorland, but long range visibility was poor. Although it can get busy on nice weekends, mid-week, even on a nice day, it was fairly quiet. It can be windy on the exposed top, and a shelter has been built to protect walkers who reach the summit on blustery days. I stopped for a while to take in the view and some refreshments before setting off down the hill towards White Coppice.

On the way down I could hear the bubbling sound of a curlew and looking up could see it circling over the moor.

On the summit of Great Hill

White Coppice is a picturesque hamlet with a cricket pitch nestled at the foot of the hill. It has an industrial past though, owing it’s existence to lead mining and quarrying in the nearby hills.

White Coppice

From White Coppice I took the path over the fields and along the river to Waterman’s cottage at the bottom of Anglezarke reservoir – one of a string of reservoirs created to supply water to Liverpool.

Waterman's Cottage

Anglezarke reservoir

I made my way along the east side of the reservoir and then climbed the hill back to my car.

Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

I’ve saved a map of the route here.

A walk along Grasmere

Grasmere

On Friday, driving back from West Cumbria where I’d been working, I stopped off at Grasmere. It was a pleasant day, reasonably warm and sunny, so I decided to take a walk along the Lake. It’s a long time since I’d visited the village and I’d never been up to the lake, and as it’s only a short distance it was a good opportunity to stretch my legs while I broke my journey.

Grasmere village, with its picturesque location close to the main route through the Lake District and with its close association with Wordsworth, is a real honeypot, but June is early in the tourist season so I had no trouble finding a parking space in the village. I donned my boots and walked through the village, not quite sure of how to get to the lake as I didn’t have the appropriate map with me. I used the sat nav on my phone to navigate myself to the road that runs alongside the west shore. At first I thought I was going to be out of luck as the lake was lined with private properties meaning access to the lake wasn’t possible. However, there were a number of people wearing walking boots and gear heading in the opposite direction to me so I guessed there was a good chance I’d be able to get onto the shore and this proved to be the case. After about 10 minutes I came to a stile and going through there was a path leading to the water. The land from here on  belonged to the National Trust and I was able to follow the shoreline to the far end of the lake. An easy walk, but pleasant on a fine day.

View from the south end of Grasmere

The view along the lake was very picturesque. The nearby hills are relatively small, but rugged, and the peak of Helvelyn was visible in the distance.  Although there were a few other walkers around, it was relatively peaceful (it would be much busier in July and August). However, the main road runs along the east side of the lake and a distance rumble could be heard from time to time. The road also meant that circumnavigation was not going to be so pleasant, so on reaching the south end I reluctantly turned back and retraced my steps. I’d have liked to carry on further , following some walkers heading up the small fell at the end of the lake towards Rydal Water, but, unfortunately, time was pressing.

Heading back towards Grasmere village

Returning to the village I decided to pay my homage to Wordsworth by visiting the village church yard where he is buried, together with his wife, sister Dorothy and various other relatives. He might have been an old reactionary towards the end of his life, but he was radical in his youth, supporting the French Revolution, and he did write some good poems.

Wordsworth's grave

Coming out of the churchyard I made a final stop at the gingerbread shop to pick up a treat for the family and then it was back to the car for the journey home.

A walk along the Calder

This week, I’m working in West Cumbria and on Monday I finished work reasonably early. The weather forecast for the week wasn’t so promising, but when I arrived back at my hotel it was reasonably sunny and although I could see some clouds gathering over the fells in the distance I decided I’d risk it and go out for a walk. Checking the OS map I reckoned that there might be a decent walk to be had following the River Calder. I wasn’t wrong.

I headed up the road from my hotel up to Calder Bridge. It’s only a small place and not exactly picturesque but there a number of paths that take you out into the fields. I took the path that follows the northern bank of the river passing a group of sheep shearers still busy at work.  After about half a mile I reached a group of houses built around the ruins of Calder Abbey. This is a former Cistercian Abbey founded in 1134 for a group of monks from Furness Abbey. The ruins are on private land and, unfortunately, it’s not possible to visit them, but they can be glimpsed from the footpath, although the view is obscured by mature trees.

Calder Abbey - just visible from the footpath

Leaving the Abbey behind, I took the path up through the woods which climbed up the hill but ran more or less parallel to the course of the river. As I headed up-stream I came out of the woods and the distant fells started to come into view.

I kept heading upstream over farmland where sheep and cows were grazing. It was incredibly peaceful. The only sounds I could hear were the birds, sheet bleating and the babbling of the river. bout four miles upstream of Calder Bridge the path descended down to the river at a confluence with another stream.

Crossing over two wooden footbridges  to the far bank I had a few options but as time was drawing on I decided to head back to the village along the other side of the river. There wasn’t a footpath, but the single track road but it wasn’t a through road, and I had it to myself all the way down to Calder Bridge. I got back off road and walked along the path through the fields from the Abbey to the village and then headed back down the road to my hotel.

Looking back towards Cold Fell

I’d walked about 10 kilometres, taking about 3 hours. There was no rush and taking it easy I was able to appreciate the peace and quiet and solitude. From leaving Calder Bridge and arriving back at the village I only saw a single person, a woman working on one of the farms I passed on the return leg.

Walk in the Plantations

A lovely Spring morning. Took a walk through the Plantations for a coffee at the Orchid Rooms.