The Ullswater Way
With now less than 30 Wainwright summits to reach, and a glorious long Easter weekend just around the corner I made plans to hit the Ullswater Way on Good Friday & Easter Saturday.
The Way itself is a 20-mile route circumnavigating Ullswater - the second largest Lake in England. This can be broken up into four stages using the historical Ullswater Steamers ferry service, or it could be tackled in one go. I decided to extend my route to take in four Wainwrights on the southern edge of the lake, with the now 26 mile expedition split over two days, with a wild-camp half way round...
Stage One - Aira Force to Pooley Bridge - 7.25 mi
Start Time: 10:00
I arrived at Aira Force car park at 09:50am Good Friday morning. My recent sign up to become a National Trust member meant I had free parking. I was expecting it to be busy for the Bank Holiday weekend, but managed to find a parking spot straight away. I booted up & hoisted my rucksack onto my back and headed north east.
The way starts this stage by splitting in two - giving different options for the initial part of the walk. The 'Panorama Path' headed up past Aira Force waterfall, then up and over Gowbarrow Fell summit. I had summited Gowbarrow by this route last year, so took the alternative - the 'Terrace Path' - which was a gentler ascent towards Yew Crag, although this route bypassed visiting the actual waterfall.
It was a bright sunny day - fantastic weather for undertaking the walk - and there were a few other people also out enjoying the morning. From Yew Crag, the path headed northwards, the lake now behind me, until it joined up with the Panorama Path where the Ullswater Way continued into the forested Swinburn's Park.
The path was heading quite a distance way from the lake now. The woods obscured any views of the lake, but every now and then there was a clearing over a large grassland, the lake just visible in the distance, glistening in the sunshine. Exiting the other side of Swinburn's Park, the path followed above a number of field enclosures on the southern edge, and open fell-side to the north, which was covered in flowering Gorse bushes. The path weaved its way along, and through the Gorse and turned east. Watermillock Church appeared ahead through the Gorse.
The path descended towards the church, but rounded it to the north. There was a stand of trees near the church, and the unmistakable tapping noise of a woodpecker knocking on a tree. I reached a gate, and crossed a tarmac road (which leads towards Little Mell Fell), and through a gate on the other side which lead into open pastures, crossing a few fields heading towards the hamlet of Bennethead.
The path through the fields came out onto a road which lead to Bennethead. There were a collection of cottages & farmhouses, some with fabulous displays of Daffodils in their gardens.
Following the road to a junction, the Way took the left fork above another small hamlet of Wreay. Continuing on the road, I reached the turn off which lead through a farm that had free range chickens roaming around, a shed full of cows, and fields full of sheep - some of which were with young lambs.
A farm track headed up between fields before reaching a stone building at the top of one enclosure, where the track headed into an open field full of cattle. Higher up on the field was Maiden Castle, I turned off the track and headed up the grassy slopes - keeping my distance from the cattle herd - until I reached the top.
Maiden Castle is the earthwork remains of an Iron Age farmstead - characterised by a large circular ditch some 260 feet in diameter. A couple of walkers were sat on the earthen embankment having their lunch. I said hello, before heading back down to the bottom of the fields, continuing to head east until the path reached another road.
The Way then made its way through the holiday caravan park of Waterfoot Park where it headed south east. The lake reappeared as I passed the house towards the lake shore. I headed through a metal access gate which came out at the lay-by near the Duke of Portland Boathouse.
Looking out across the lake I could see it was very busy. Plenty of people were on the water in canoes, kayaks & yachts. The Ullswater Steamer from Howtown was heading this way too, and a couple were fishing from the small pier at the boathouse. Pooley Bridge wasn't far away now.
I headed along the main road for a short while before picking up a footpath through some woods. I paused at a bench for a few minutes to watch the Steamer arrive at Pooley Bridge landing stage, before I joined the crowd heading across the bridge over the River Eamont & into the bustling Pooley Bridge.
End Time: 13:30
Stage Two - Pooley Bridge to Bonscale Pike (Upper Path) - 4.75 mi
Start Time: 14:30
Dozens of people were enjoying cooling off in the river as I crossed the temporary bridge that was installed after Storm Desmond destroyed the previous 300 year old stone bridge in 2015. The village itself was buzzing with the Bank Holiday crowds. Beers gardens, tea rooms & shops were jam-packed. I crossed the road to the Pooley Bridge Inn, where I found a free table to sit outside in the shade. A welcome spot to rest my legs & grab some food and refreshment.
After lunch, I set off through the village down the High Street past St Paul's Church until I reached a cross-roads. Turning right would be the road to Howtown & Martindale. Instead, I went straight ahead, following the road past Hillcroft Holiday & Caravan Park until it came to a small parking area where the road terminated at a gate. After the gate, the road turned into a stone track onto the open fellside. I past a family of cyclists who had stopped for a breather on some rocks - their mountain bikes lying on the ground.
The track steadily headed up the flanks of Askham fell where a major path turned southwards. There were quite a few people heading towards me along this path - which I can only assume they had walked the stage of the Ullswater Way from Howtown and were heading to Pooley Bridge.
The major path then hit a T-junction at The Cockpit.
This was another ancient stone circle. Although not as old as Castlerigg near Keswick, and the stones not as large, the 90 foot wide circle, was still an impressive sight to behold on the otherwise flat grass uplands of Askham Fell. It is believed The Cockpit was both the crossroads of a number of Bronze Age trade routes, as well as being a religious site. It's name also suggests some illicit activity - maybe locals once used to gather here to participate in Cock Fighting?
From The Cockpit, my route headed southwest on a pretty good stony path. The family of cyclists came riding past, and soon disappeared in front. It was still a hot, sunny day, and I was rationing my water. Luckily, not too far along the track it crossed Aik Beck, and just upstream from the path was a perfect stopping point to filter some fresh water & replenish my stock.
On the other side of the beck, the path split in two. The right fork was the 'official' Ullswater way route to Howtown. However this is where I would go 'off-piste' and start my extended route. About a mile ahead was the summit of Arthur's Pike. I lifted my rucksack on my back, and set off. My legs & feet were starting to ache slightly now. Carrying a 15kg rucksack for just over 10 mile in total was starting to take its toll, and my pace slowed as I faced my first mountain ascent of the day.
At last, I arrived at a summit - unfortunately it wasn't Arthur's Pike but White Knott, a lower 'false summit' en route. Even so, I took another rest, had a quick snack & gulp of water and set off. At least it was a steady grass path. All of a sudden a fell runner came jogging past me. He nodded, and continued on, where I followed him (albeit at a much slower speed), and watched him run on ahead up to Arthur's Pike. He then turned around and started heading back down. I must have done about half the distance he had in the same amount of time. (Although he wasn't carrying a large rucksack!) We let on again as we past.
Finally, the summit cairn of Arthur's Pike came into view. I tapped it, marking my 186th Wainwright - 1,747 ft. Looking back, I could see Pooley Bridge at the northern end of the lake, and the distance I had travelled since lunchtime. My Wainwright guidebook advised the summit affords fabulous views east to the northern Pennines, although it was a little too hazy to make out any of those hills today.
I wasn't there long before two more walkers arrived from the western approach. We had a brief chat before going our separate ways. Picking up a path heading south west from the summit, I could see Bonscale Pike - my final destination of the day - straight ahead, with its towers silhouetted by the late afternoon sun. However between myself & it there was the large steep-banked ravine of Swarth Beck.
I crossed paths with another group of walkers who were ascending towards me. They advised to stick with my current path, which turns south, then crosses the beck before it drops into the top of the ravine near a ruined shepherds hut.
Soon enough, I spotted some stone ruins peeking up between long grass, and with it, the sound of running water from the beck. Once again I took the opportunity to refill my water supplies, as this would be the last water stop before pitching camp for the night. It was still relatively early - around 17:30, so I sat a while on the ruined wall, listening to the trickle of the water & taking in the landscape.
It came time for the final push of the day. I headed up the grassy path towards Bonscale Pike. The top of the hill was 'crowned' with a number of grassy hillocks - which meant there were plenty of good camping spots to choose from. I explored round, and found the Bonscale Towers. These are two, immaculately built stone cairns approx 6 foot tall overlooking Ullswater. It was a fabulous view, and I could trace the route I had walked earlier in the day, from the fellside covered in yellow gorse bushes to Watermillock Church, across to Bennethead, Maiden Castle & Pooley Bridge beyond.
There were still a handful of vessels sailing on the otherwise mirror-like lake, their wakes rippling out behind them. I sat down on the summit for a while, when I spotted something moving on the summit cairn. Then I realised it was a Skylark - a small yellow-brown speckled bird with a small crest of feathers on its head. I watched it as it bobbed around the rocks, letting of a little chirp every now and then. I could here other birds nearby chirping also, and a minute or so later, it flew off the cairn to join its friends.
I then decided it was time to set up camp. A southerly breeze had picked up on the summit, so I found a flat pitch in a cove just down off the top - out of the wind - and set to cooking my dinner.
#187 - Bonscale Pike - 1,718 ft.
End Time: 18:00
Route Extention - Bonscale Pike to Howtown - 5 mi
Start Time: 08:30
I had a great nights sleep in my tent. I had set my alarm for 05:40am to try and catch the sunrise. I peeked my head out of the tent, and saw some colours starting to appear in the sky, but the mass of Arthur's Pike was blocking the view. I decided I would check again at 6am. It was 7:30 when I re-woke, and the sun was now brightly shining in the sky. I made a start packing everything away, whilst I boiled some water on my Jetboil stove. After munching down a couple of breakfast bars, washing them down with a coffee I packed away the tent, and set off on the 1½ mile trek south along the ridge to Loadpot Hill.
Between Bonscale Pike and Loatpot Hill there was a large expanse of grassland - but one which had some hidden secrets. I followed what looked like quad-bike tracks for a short distance, before turning off the path across the grassland. I was one the look out for another stone circle...
I did wander across three standing stones however. They were stood in a line with flat stones in between - and it almost felt as if its was a gateway of some sort. There were no other ruins around - so I ruled out that it was from part of a building. However this was on the course of the Roman Road that ran over the fells from Penrith to Ambleside - could this have been some sort of checkpoint?
I continued on across the grassland aiming in the direction of the stone circle. I kept checking my OS Maps app on my phone, which showed my location until I saw myself on top of the stone circle. Lifting my head from my phone however, I was just surrounded by grass, with no stone circle to be seen. Maybe it had just overgrown, or the stones had been moved.
I turned my attention to the slopes of Loadpot Hill that lay ahead of me. As with the other fells of the area, Loatpot Hill was characterised with a large sweeping grass dome. I plodded on.
Looking back, I saw the first other person of the day - a fell runner heading on the path from Arthur's Pike to Loadpot Hill. No doubt they would catch me up soon.
...and the did, shortly before I reached Loadpot Hill summit. The top of the hill was flat, grassy and otherwise featureless, apart from a stone Trig Pillar marking the high point. The views around - especially west to the Helvellyn range - were spectacular, if somewhat hazy. #188 - Loadpot Hill - 2,201 ft.
Moving south along the path away from the summit my next hill of the day was just a mile away. Again this was a straight-foward route to navigate - the path leading down the grassy slopes to a col, before climbing the smooth slopes of Wether Hill.
As I was walking up Wether Hill, I noticed a recurring pattern in the earth - tightly packed parallel lines. There were two strips of them - separated by a foot or two of undisturbed earth between. I wondered if this was some natural phenomenon - before it dawned on me - they were vehicle tracks - more specifically, caterpillar tracks like what would be left by a JCB Excavator.
I had encountered a JCB on the fells previously, doing restoration work on the path down from Keppel Cove near Helvellyn. It still amazes me how these large machines have got onto these fells. In this case however, the machine itself was nowhere to be seen.
I reached the top of Wether Hill. Very similar to Loadpot, it was a large flat grassy expanse, however there was no Trig Point here, just a small stone cairn. #189 - Wether Hill - 2,210 ft. This would be my highest point & last summit of the day. "It's all downhill from here!" I jokingly thought to myself.
My OS Map identified a right of way heading down off the hills from the col between Wether & Loadpot Hills, so I back-tracked slightly. I couldn't find a path turning off, but the slopes were grassy and easy to descend steadily. I spotted the ruins of a shepherds hut at the bottom of the slope, which I recalled I had visited once previously when walking the Martindale Round in March 2018. I knew there was a path heading down the valley from there, so I headed towards the hut.
Before reaching the hut, I reached the path. Turning right took me into the valley of Fusedale. A short while after the path crossed a beck. The water was very inviting, & I had a quick wash in the fresh running water, and also topped up my water supplies. I continued to follow the path for a further hour. As it reached the bottom of the valley, the wild grassland became rural farmland, farm houses began to appear, and the path turned into a concrete farm road - eventually joining a tarmac road before arriving in Howtown.
Although I wouldn't consider it large enough to be called a town - Howtown is a small and picturesque community of farmhouses, houses, a Tea Room and the Howtown Hotel as well as a landing stage for the Ullswater Steamers. I followed the path from the village, which then ran through a field to the shoreline. Thats right - I was back at the lake, and back on the official Ullswater Way route.
End Time: 11:30
Stage Three - Howtown to Glenridding - 6.8 mi
Start Time: 11:45
After a few minutes sat up again a tree on the shingle beach, watching an Ullswater Steamer head away from the jetty, I picked up the Ullswater Way heading towards Glenridding. There were alot of people on this stretch of the Way - and a load more had just disembarked from the Steamer that had just left - my rest at the beach was giving them a bit of a head start!
The path pulled no punches, as just a short distance from the beach, I was met with some steep steps heading up away from the fields through a woodland. At the bottom of the steps was a chap with a mountain bike - contemplating on the best way to get up, and near the top of the steps I passed a mother with a young toddler, gently guiding them on the best way down.
At the top of the steps, the path headed through a gate onto the open fellside. Turning right, the path headed along a terrace above the north eastern shoreline of Hallin Fell. Rounding Geordie's Crag, the path entered Hallinhag Wood. Heading up and down over rocky crags and over tree roots, it was a path that really required concentration - it wasn't a place to get a twisted ankle.
There were plenty of other people on the trail as well of all ages, both heading in my direction, and also those who were heading to Howtown. Coming to the end of the Hallinhag Wood trail, the path dropped down to the shoreline to a shingle beach at Sandwick Bay. A few families, and other groups had chosen this spot to rest and have a bite to eat, but I headed on through a couple of fields before reaching the road that lead to the hamlet of Sandwick.
After passing the handful of cottages that made up the hamlet, the path turned up a grassy bank, which again this was a resting point for a few people - but I carried on. According the my Ullswater Way guide, the Lowther Barn tea-room wasn't far ahead.
I felt quite entrenched on this stretch of path. A tall dry-stone wall was on my right, and a steep grass embankment was to my left - I kept plodding on. It was getting hot, and I was looking forward to getting a cold drink from the tearoom. I saw a stone farm building appear up ahead. It was the tea-room.
Unfortunately I was out of luck. The door was shut, and there was a sign stating the tea-room was permanently closed. Oh well. I still had my water reserves & half a bottle of diet coke in my rucksack. Not far after the barn, the path dropped down to a small beck and once again, it was a popular resting place & picnic stop. I found a patch of grass on the opposite embankment and rested for a few minutes, taking a well deserved drink of water.
After my break, I hauled my rucksack back on, and set off - next stop: Glenridding. The path headed north west round Roscombe Rigg and back to the Ullswater shoreline. On the opposite side of the lake was Gowbarrow Fell, and I could see the Aira Force car park below it - less than 2,000 feet away- so close yet so far. The path headed into woodland covering the steep north-western slopes of Place Fell. It was like a roller-coaster - heading up and down along the undulating crags. The path exited the woodland much higher above the lake at Silver Point. A group of kayaks were lined up on the shingle beach below.
Rounding Silver point was when I saw my first view of Glenridding, like a mirage appearing on the other side of the lake. The path turned southwards and picked up a farm track which lead through Side Farm, and onto flatter ground, bringing me out on the outskirts of Patterdale. From here, I followed the path beside the A592 north and after a few minutes, walked into a bustling Glenridding.
I headed to the Ullswater Information Centre right next to the main car park, and picked up a 'I Walked The Ullswater Way' pin badge, before heading over the road to Fellbites cafe for an ice-cold drink.
End Time: 14:30
Stage Four - Glenridding to Aira Force - 3 mi
Start Time: 15:00
This was it - the final stretch. Just 3 miles to go, over familiar ground - on a route I had done the majority of once before. Initially heading on the main road north out of Glenridding, a path soon turned off into woodland above the lake shore. This headed through the wood for a short distance before heading onto the road again at Stybarrow Crag. There's a good sized layby here which was completely packed with cars - opposite the layby, on the lake-side, theres a nice little beach area, which was filled with people of all ages, sat having picnic's, paddling in the water, and enjoying the glorious weather.
Just north of Stybarrow Crag, a path again turned away from the road into woodland that was now heading up onto crags above the lake above Mossdale Bay. The path undulated as it went up & over a few crags along the way. It was surprising how steeply the cliffs dropped from the top of the crags down to the lake some 30 feet below. The wooded path then reached the main road once again, and crossing the road, continued on the opposite side running behind a drystone wall, away from the lake on a path just below the road, running past the verdant fields and pastures of Glencoyne.
North of the farmstead, the path exited out to Glencoyne National Trust Car Park - which, again was packed with cars. People were crossing the road to the large pebble beach on the opposite side, from where I saw people launching canoes & having barbecues on the beach.
At the top end of the car park, the path then headed into Glencoyne Park. This is quite a well maintained stone chipped level path linking Glencoyne to Aira Force. Heading through woodland, between fields and crossing a number of becks, this was the last stretch of the route, and provided a lovely view across the southern end of the lake, from Glenridding over as far as Hallin Fell.
Finally a gate appeared up ahead, which came out onto a road. On the other side of the junctions was the unmistakable meadow of Daffodils marking the pedestrian entrance to the Aira Force estate. A short distance later I reached the car park welcome sign - I had arrived at the finish line.
End Time: 17:00
Check out my Ullswater Way video here:
Some stats from the route:
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