Western Lakeland Getaway - Part 4: Loweswater Gold

 Hidden away behind the hedgerows & woodland at the end of the Buttermere / Crummock Water valley sits the tiny hamlet of Loweswater, and its nearby lake namesake. There might not be much there, but what is there is full of history & an ideal location to spend my last night on my Western Lakeland Getaway.

It was around 6pm when I pulled up in the Kirkstile Inn car park, named for the original name of the village. As soon as I entered the building you could feel the history of the place - how many pints had been drank, and how many conversations had been had over the four hundreds of years the Inn had stood here.

I made my way into the bar and checked in.

I was led through narrow twisting corridors, up stairs and through a door into my room. I was instantly struck, firstly as it was the first room I had had with its own hallway and its own (decommissioned) coal fire! There was a huge bathroom, and the bedroom itself had a vast double bed, and two windows set into the thick stone walls - a smaller one looking over towards the church of St Bartholomew's across the narrow country lane & the Grasmoor fells beyond the sheep fields, and the main window, looking directly out across the small lane at the back of the hotel, overlooking the wooded beck behind, and the towering peak of Mellbreak dominating the scene!

I'd booked a table for dinner at 7:30pm, so after a quick shower & change I headed down to the bar. It was packed out!

The Kirkstile Inn is another inn which brews its own beers. They used to be brewed on site, but due to popularity the brewery - 'Cumbrian Legendary Ales' - is now located in Hawkshead.

And if you're wondering - it's not Hawkshead Brewery - as that is located in Staveley! (Just to keep things simple!)

I ordered a pint of 'Buttermere Beauty' lager, grabbed a menu & settled down at my table.

I was sat next to a hatch in between the two rooms of the bar, and on the bottom of the hatch was a large round display table which was covered with hundreds of old coins mounted on its tabletop.

I ordered the slow-roasted lamb shoulder, which came served on a bed of mashed potato and a redcurrant & rosemary gravy, along with a side of vegetables.

It was a lovely meal, & the lamb just fell off the bone! However I needed another drink to cleanse the palette.

To the bar!

This time I opted for the signature ale - Loweswater Gold - and whilst at the bar also ordered a dessert of Bakewell Tart.

After a lovely meal & drinks, I retired back to my room for the night.

The next morning at breakfast, I checked the weather forecast - it was due to be another dry dry, but quite overcast & especially windy on the tops. I checked out for the Kirkstile Inn, packed my car and headed to a layby a mile or so down the road by the shore of Loweswater. From here I would tackle the two smallest hills in the area - Low Fell & Fellbarrow.

Back-tracking along the lakeside path following the road for about half a mile, I reached a sign-post pointing to a forest track turn-off heading up through the woodland & onto the fellside.

As the forest track steadily climbed up out of the forest, after another half mile I reached a stile onto the open fellside. The path from then on was on grassy and quite level as it circled the lower slopes of the fell, but steadily climbing in part. The were quite a few sheep about as well, no doubt because this side of the fell was sheltered from the wind.

The path then turned uphill on reaching Crabtree beck, and continued to follow the beck further up onto the hill until it eventually reaching a wire fence.

Crabtree Beck has a bit of tragic history behind it. In the late 1820's there was a dam on Crabtree beck which turned the beck into a reservoir to help supply water to a nearby lead mine. During a particularly heavy storm in the summer of 1828, the dam burst sending a torrent of water and debris raging down the fellside & right into the house at the bottom of the hill.The occupant of the house, Joseph Turrell, and his 2 year old son were consumed by the torrent as washed out into Loweswater lake, their bodies being found a few days later & subsequently buried at Loweswater church, St Bartholomew's.

Today, it was a short hop to cross the quietly babbling beck to continue on the path which turned to follow the fence straight up a steep slope. It was quite a shock to the system after the relative ease of the walk so far, and it got my heart pumping.

The path flattened out with two hillocks either side. I headed up the one on the right first, that being the closest to Loweswater, and should afford the best views over the vale. As I wasn't disappointed...

From the viewpoint cairn, the view dropped off down the valley. I could see the Kirkstile Inn where I started the day, & looking down Crummock Water to Buttermere & its surrounding fells in the distance. It may have been an overcast day, and a bit too windy for comfort, but it was a view worth getting out there for.

After getting a few shots, and once I'd had enough of being blasted by the wind, I turned tail and headed north to the main summit cairn. (#114 - Low Fell - 1,352 ft).

Continuing north, the path descended and wound its way between some smaller fells and crags for a mile or so before my final fell of the trip appeared before me. Once again, the relatively level path had a change of heart and went straight up a steep grassy slope of Fellbarrow, following yet another wire fence.

The path levelled out on approach to the summit, which was a pretty plain affair. Crossing the fence at a stile the summit was a wide grassy expanse, marked by an Ordnance Survey trig point and a small cairn. (#115 - Fellbarrow - 1,363 ft)

The were some great views though, looking north east, over the Firth of Solway I could make out the Scottish Hills & to the east were the northern edge of the north western fells, Hopegill Head & Grisedale Pike, with the bulk of Skiddaw in the distance.

On consulting my map & Wainwright guide, the best route off the fell & back to the car would be to retrace my steps, so I headed back the way I came.

On reaching the grassy, level path on the other side of Crabtree Beck I saw too animals that looked a bit too big to be sheep, and on closer inspection they were in fact miniature ponies! The last thing I would have expected to see!

The wind was picking up & ruffling their manes, so they looked like they were rocking mullets from an 80's hair metal band! Haha!

On reaching the car, I set my sat-nav for my penultimate destination - Rannerdale Knotts. I was hoping the bluebells would be just about reaching their peak, and that the wind wouldn't cause too much of an issue.

I parked up at the (free) car park at Cinderdale Common. Its quite an open area looking directly out over Crummock Water, so the wind was blowing quite fiercely here. There are some car parking areas a bit closer, but they usually fill up very quickly, so I playing it safe grabbing a space here while I could. I put my head down and walked the level path for just shy of a mile into the hidden valley of Rannerdale.

It is a shame that the National Trust are having to put up more blatant signs warning visitors not to walk into the bluebells, as once trampled, the flowers struggle to recover. These are one of England's wonders and should be protected - by sticking to walking on the designated paths.

Passing through the gate into the valley, I saw the bluebells were out, although some were not fully opened, they were still carpeting the hillside in all their glory with, for contrast, yellow gorse bushes also in bloom.

Epilogue

I would have stayed for a few more hours in Rannerdale, but the wind was just whipping up into fierce gusts, channelled by the narrow valley. I returned to the car & headed over the Newlands Pass into Keswick.

It was Friday, and anyone from the North of England knows you only have one thing for dinner on a Friday - Chippy tea!

And there's really only one place to visit for Fish & Chips in Keswick - The Old Keswickian - behind the Moot Hall at the top end of the town square. I headed inside, sat down & had my fish supper whilst reminiscing on the past few days: the places I'd stayed, the hills I'd climbed & when I would be next heading out west.

Mark