TOUR

21

114

Leave the soft red sandstones of Carlisle and the Eden Valley to

weave through hills of volcanic rocks and lakes carved out during

the last Ice Age, before heading into the Pennines, with their

different, gentler beauty.

3

87

6

5

9

4

2

1

10

11

B5299

A591

A66

B6318

A69

A69

A6071A74

A595

A6

M6

M6

A6

A66

A689

A6

A689

A66

A591

B5305

B5291

A66

A66B5292

B5289

B532

2

A591

A593

B5285

A592

A686

A689

A69

B529

9

A592

Jct 43

E N G L A N D

KirkstonePass

950mHelvellyn

HonisterPass

Borr

owdale

931mSkiddaw

WhinlatterPass

Irthin

g

S Tyne

Ullswater

Haweswater

WindermereConistonWater

Thirlmere

DerwentWater

Buttermere

CrummockWater

BassenthwaiteLake

Eden

Eden

Petteril

Cald

ew

Lowth

er

GLASGOW

HOUSESTEADS

Brampton

Greenhead

Langwathby

Melmerby

Alston

SlaggyfordKnarsdale

Glenridding

Hawkshead

LowLorton

Cockermouth

Uldale

Welton

Dalston

NearSawrey

Haltwhistle

Penrith

Patterdale

WindermereConiston

Ambleside

Grasmere

Keswick

Buttermere

Caldbeck

Bassenthwaite

Bowness-on-Windermere

CARLISLE

Hadrian'sWall

Birdoswald

Brougham Castle

Eden OstrichWorld

AiraForce

StagshawLake District NationalPark Visitor Centre

RydalMount

South TynedaleRailway

0

0 16 km

10 miles

The Heart ofLakeland

GRASMERE � Ambleside (4m-6.5km)

AMBLESIDE � Coniston (7m-11km)

CONISTON � Bowness (10m-16km)

BOWNESS � Patterdale (13m-21km)

PATTERDALE � Penrith (14m-23km)

PENRITH � Haltwhistle (34m-55km)

HALTWHISTLE � Carlisle (23m-37km)

ITINERARY

CARLISLE � Caldbeck (13m-21km)

CALDBECK � Bassenthwaite

(9m-14.5km)

BASSENTHWAITE � Buttermere

(20m-32km)

BUTTERMERE � Keswick (13m-21km)

KESWICK � Grasmere (15m-24km)

2 DAYS � 175 MILES � 282KM

_ Carlisle Visitor Centre, Old TownHall, Green Market, Carlisle

� Take the B5299 south fromCarlisle to Caldbeck.

B Caldbeck, CumbriaThis stone-built village is set inundulating countryside with theLake District hills to the south.In the churchyard is the grave ofJohn Peel, who was buried herein 1854. The famous huntsmaninspired his friend, JohnWoodcock Graves, to write thesong ‘D’ye ken John Peel’. Thereis a plaque outside the housewhere Graves composed thesong.

� Continue on the B5299before branching left on tounclassified roads throughUldale to Bassenthwaite.

C Bassenthwaite, CumbriaBassenthwaite is situated off theA591. ‘Thwaite’ is a Norse wordfor a clearing in the forest, and isfound in many village names inthe area. Bassenthwaite Church,3 miles (5km) south, wasfounded in the 12th or 13thcentury and retains its Normanchancel arch and many EarlyEnglish features. Nearby LakeBassenthwaite is a large ice-cutlake, and towering above itswestern shore is Skiddaw, one ofonly three Lake District hillshigher than 3,000 feet (915m).

� Leave Bassenthwaite onunclassified roads towards theB5291 round the northernshores of the lake, then takethe A66 south to Braithwaite.Continue on the B5292 andover Whinlatter Pass to LowLorton then left on to theB5289 to Buttermere.

D Buttermere, CumbriaThe tiny village of Buttermerestands in the heart of spectacularlandscape. A stiff climb toWhinlatter Pass, beyond theForestry Commission’s VisitorCentre, takes you on to wildmoorland. The surroundinghills, Red Pike and High Stile,tower over the flat green valleyfloor, with impressive waterfallssuch as Scale Force. The B5289takes you through Borrowdale, avalley which is reached by cross-ing 1,174-foot (358m) HonisterPass. Dark rocks tower abovethe skyline and quarries scar thelandscape where Borrowdalerock, formed by volcanic activityabout 500 million years ago, isextracted. This famous rock isused in buildings as far away asDallas and Hong Kong, and youcan buy small souvenirs frommany of the local shops. Thesouthern end of the valley isdominated by the summits of2,560-foot (780m) Glaramara and2,986-foot (910m) Great End.

� Take the B5289 to Keswick.

E Keswick, CumbriaThe capital of the northern LakeDistrict now caters for walkers,climbers and holiday-makers,but one of its oldest industries isthe manufacture of colouredpencils, which originally usedlocal graphite. The CumberlandPencil Factory has a museumand among its exhibits is theworld’s largest pencil.

On a hill to the east ofKeswick is Castlerigg StoneCircle, a prehistoric monumentin a setting of magical beauty.Cumbrian folklore claims thatthe famous great stones wereonce men who were turned intoboulders by witches.

_ The Moot Hall, Market Square

� Take the A66 for 4 miles(6.5km), then turn right on tothe B5322 through St John’s inthe Vale and then the A591south to Grasmere.

F Grasmere, CumbriaGrasmere’s hills and lakes are a real tourist magnet. WilliamWordsworth wrote much of hisgreatest verse here, and hisfriends Coleridge, de Quinceyand Southey were inspired bythe location. Dove Cottage,where Wordsworth lived with hissister Dorothy, is open to thepublic and contains relics of his

115

Crummock Water, Buttermere

life and times. A few milesfurther along the A591 is RydalMount, where Wordsworth livedfrom 1813 until his death in1850. It houses many of thefamily’s belongings and has abeautiful view of tranquil RydalWater.

_ Redbank Road

� Continue to Ambleside.

G Ambleside, CumbriaAmbleside is a major LakeDistrict centre at the northernend of Lake Windermere. Its

many stone houses includeBridge House, the smallest inthe Lake District. Built on a tinybridge over the Stock Ghyll, it isnow owned by the NationalTrust and is open to the public.In the town library are the relicsexcavated from the Roman siteof Galava Fort, at Borrans Park,and the woodland gardens ofStagshaw, just south of the town,have superb views of the lake.

_ Central Buildings, Market Cross

� Leave on the A593 to Coniston.

H Coniston, CumbriaConiston Water is famous as theplace where Donald Campbellset a new world record and laterdied in 1967. The Steam YachtGondola, an 1859 steam launch,has been restored, and nowtakes passengers on regularscheduled trips around the lake.

A little further on, at Hawks-head, is the Beatrix PotterGallery; at Hill Top, in NearSawrey, Potter wrote some of herworld-famous children’s stories.The house is open to the public.

_ Ruskin Avenue

� Take the B5285 to theWindermere ferry.

I Bowness andWindermere, CumbriaThe ferry across LakeWindermere to Bowness wasrestored in 1990 and leads to thissmall town with its narrowstreets and fine 15th-centurychurch.

Windermere, just north ofBowness, is a focal point in theLake District for sailing andboating. The SteamboatMuseum, at Rayrigg Road, has acollection of Victorian andEdwardian boats, many of whichstill float and are in workingorder. The lake has 14 islands,including Belle Isle, a privatelyowned estate with a round 18th-century mansion house.

_ Glebe Road, Bowness-on-Windermere; Victoria Street,Windermere

TOUR

21 The Heart of Lakeland

Mysterious Castlerigg Stone Circle

R E C O M M E N D E DWA L K S

For a gentle walk, follow the footpath opposite the rail-way station in Windermere to

the top of Orrest Head,784 feet (239m), where thereare fine views of the lake and

Belle Isle.

S P E C I A L TO. . .

For over a hundred years,Grasmere gingerbread has

been made in the village.Therecipe is such a closely guardedsecret it has to be kept in the

vaults of a local bank! The rush-bearing ceremony,held every year, involves the

carrying of elaboratelydecorated bundles of rushes to the church, after which

the bearers are rewarded witha piece of delicious

gingerbread.

� Take the A592 north toPatterdale.

J Patterdale, CumbriaPatterdale was named after St Patrick, who is said to havewalked here after being ship-wrecked on Duddon Sands in AD 540. St Patrick’s Church,built in 1853, is notable for itstapestries by embroidress AnnMacbeth, who lived here untilher death in 1948. This attrac-tive village is at the head ofUllswater, a popular boatinglake. A steamer plies from thepier at Glenridding to the oppo-site end of the lake, and thescenery is dominated by 3,117-foot (950m) Helvellyn. At thefoot of the sheer eastern slopes is

Red Tarn, a corrie lake in ahollow scooped out of solid rockduring the Ice Age. Two miles(3km) from Glenridding is AiraForce, and it was here thatWordsworth was inspired towrite of his ‘host of goldendaffodils’.

_ Main Car Park, Glenridding

� Take the A592 alongsideUllswater to Penrith.

K Penrith, CumbriaPenrith was the capital of OldCumbria, and there are remainsof buildings suggesting its formerimportance. The 12th-centuryruins of Brougham Castle are justoutside the town, and remnantsof a Roman fort built by Agricolaare near by. The GloucesterArms, dating from 1477, is one ofthe oldest inns in England, andthe Duke of Gloucester, laterRichard III, is said to have livedhere. Three miles (5km) north atLangwathby is Eden OstrichWorld, with rare farm animals,tractor rides and feedingprogrammes. The wild, openspaces round Penrith may bebleak, even in summer, andcrossing the Pennines can provedifficult in winter.

_ Robinson’s School, Middlegate

� Follow the A686 throughLangwathby towards Alston.Turn left on to the A689 then

right along an unclassifiedroad to Haltwhistle.

L Haltwhistle,NorthumbriaThis small, grey market town isa good starting point forHadrian’s Wall, built in the 2ndcentury AD to ward off Scottishtribes. Holy Cross Church,founded in 1178, is a fine exam-ple of Early English architec-ture. There is no tower, and thesanctuary preserves three carvedcoffin lids, thought to date fromthe 14th century. The SouthTynedale Railway, England’shighest narrow-gauge railway,runs from Alston towardsHaltwhistle. Further along theA69, at Greenhead, the Romanwall, turret, fort and museumrecall life 2,000 years ago.

_ Railway Station, Station Road

� From Greenhead take theB6318 and unclassified roadsto rejoin the A69. Continuethrough Brampton to Carlisle.

TOUR

21The Heart of Lakeland

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Dove Cottage, Grasmere

F O R C H I L D R E N

The Lake District NationalPark Visitor Centre is on the

eastern shore of LakeWindermere at Brockhole,

northwest of Windermere. Aswell as providing information

about the park, it offers a widevariety of attractions, including

special family events duringschool holidays, lake trips insummer, garden tours fromMay to September,Teddy

Bears’ Picnics in spring andsummer and a children’s

Squirrel Nutkin Trail.

R E C O M M E N D E D WA L K

A popular walk leads upHelvellyn from Patterdale, viaStriding Edge, to the summitand returns by way of Swirral

Edge. On a clear day the wholecircle of Lake District summits

can be seen.

F O R H I S TO RY B U F F S

Housesteads, to the east ofHaltwhistle, just off the B6318,is the best preserved Roman

fort on Hadrian’s Wall.Excavations have revealed gra-naries, a commandant’s house,military headquarters, a hospi-tal, baths, latrines and barracks.In the opposite direction, on

the way back to Carlisle is theruined fort of Camboglanna,

occupying a ridge-top site nearBirdoswald. It was built to

guard the Roman bridge carry-ing Hadrian’s Wall over the

river at Willowford.