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Lake District
Valley and Low-level Walks
Ennerdale walks
Ennerdale - 7.5 miles
Ennerdale is the least visited of the major lakes, yet it is superb. The
view up the lake to the rugged valley head on a clear day cannot be bettered.
But Ennerdale is out on a limb
away from the major roads and tourist routes.
The walk starts at the car park made by the Forestry Commission near
Bowness Point. To reach this you need to get to Croasdale. Approaching
from the west via Cleator Moor follow the signs for Ennerdale Bridge. From
here you drive eastwards still (the sign at Ennerdale Bridge directs you
to 'Crossdale').
Ignore the sign for Ennerdale Lake and you will reach the
crossroads which is practically all there is at Croasdale. (The ring above
the signpost here also spells it 'Crossdale'.) Take the sign for 'Roughton',
going south-east towards the lake. The road is narrow and as you follow it
on you cross a cattle-grid onto a Forestry Commission road. The car park
is on the left before you get to the Commission's gate by a sign saying
that the road is private.
Croasdale is reached from the Cockermouth direction from the Cockermouth
to Cleator Moor road (A5086); take the sign for 'Lamplugh' and then 'Croasdale'
(spelt correctly from this direction). Then follow the directions as in
previous paragraph.
Between the car park and the lake is a knoll, Bowness Point. This is a
public access area and is a good place to start the walk from. From the
summit across the lake can be seen Anglers' Crag. To the right of that
crag and to the right of where you stand the terrain is tamer. This is
because at the foot of the lake the land is Skiddaw slate - a fairly hard
slate hereabouts but the glacier that carved out the dale had less
resistance from it and it was more easily swept away.
To the left of where
you stand is the harder volcanic rock, granophyre, and well over to the
left in the high valley head are the hard Borrowdale volcanics. Walk left
and forward to the lake shore side and walk with the shore on one of the
paths. That is, left, up the lake. After a while the way leads you onto
the forestry road. Continue on.
As you near the head of the lake a beck crosses under the road and through
a promontory. The beck is Smith Beck and as the name might suggest there
was once an ancient rural industry here.
You reach the head of the lake, but carry on along the forest road. The
river which feeds Ennerdale Water is the Liza, and it snakes along on its
relatively flat gravel beds on the right. Pillar Fell dominates the
forward view (2,927 feet). To its right is the peak of Steeple (2,687
feet) and then right again the rounded summit of Haycock (2,618 feet).
Shortly a footbridge will be seen across the river below. This is just
after the road rises. A steep track will be seen leading down to a gate
near the bridge. Take this track, go over the stile alongside the gate and
go over the footbridge. Bear left and go through the large gap in the
wall, and follow the fence which is on your left.
The going is fairly easy here. You are walking on a bed of silt deposited
by the Liza over the centuries. Looking over to your right to the fells on
the northern side of the lake is Great Borne and Starling Dodd, a hump of
fell just over 2,000 feet, which separates Ennerdale from Crummock. At the
fence end follow the wall on. You come to a corner of a Forestry
plantation. Go through the gate into the plantation. Go right on to
where a branch path leaves on the right. This is the route. The path which
you leave rises steeply beyond this junction, so if you find yourself
climbing you have gone too far!
Having turned right go on through the gap between the trees. After about
fifty yards there is a more open area. The path appears to go right on
across wet ground, but there is a fainter path branching off on drier
ground to the right. Take this. The path descends and the lake can be
glimpsed ahead over the tree tops. At the end of this path a gate is
reached : go through this and close the gate after you.
You must now walk on more difficult ground, with lumpy rocks and wet turf.
Go through the wall gap and along the path which you can see faintly in
the bracken. This path keeps to the left of a wet area and close to rising
ground. Keep on this path and do not be tempted to the lake shore too
soon. The going is rough, but eventually you come to a mountain ash tree,
keep to the bracken below this and make for the lake shore path, going
over the muddy sections as best you can on stepping stones. The going gets
a little drier further on and the path more easily seen. Cross a beck, go
through a wall gap, and keep to the left to avoid the worst of a wet patch
straight ahead. Cross two more becks, and you are into a wood.
As you continue there are several little becks to cross. Eventually you
reach a wall. Go through the wicket gate and continue on. Ford a beck. The
way continues on very rough ground.
You eventually leave the wood, and you are among heather patches. You are
now more than halfway on your walk. The ground steepens to the lake here
and the path rises a little. Keep to the upper path and you eventually see
a wall in front. There is a gap through it and if you are too low you will
have to move up to the left towards it. Go on along the path beyond the
gap. You are now more or less opposite Bowness Point, behind which your
car is parked. Now a crag can be seen on the path ahead.. Before tackling
it look back at the beautiful head of the lake. On the other side of the
valley on the extreme right is the back of Red Pike and High Stile which
wall in Buttermere.
The path climbs towards the crag (Anglers' Crag) to go over scree. It
looks more difficult than it is! The path then falls to go below a spur of
rock, then climbs again for a short section. It again descends and climbs
to go over a rough step. The path then bends left between a boulder and
the fellside, and you go down a rock step. The path then descends to the
lake shore, and the worst is over.
Watch your feet, though, because the way continues rough. This eases after
a while and there are only boulder patches. The beach here is very
attractive if you need a rest. You reach a wall and cross it by a wooden
ladder stile. A beck is crossed by a stone slab.
Go through a gate on the path, then through a second gate and over the
bridge. The waterworks weir is to the right. Go through the gate at the
other side of the bridge and over a wet section. Make your way to a stone
causeway which has been built over a muddy section on your right. A
reasonable path is picked up on the lake shore. There is another fine view
up lake. If you look at the lake gravel here you will see that it is now
largely composed of grey shale - Skiddaw slate. Boggy sections can be
avoided by a wettish path to the left. You reach a gate. Go through it and
continue by the lake shore on a green track.
A hard lane joins the track from the left and you approach a spare ground
now used as a car park.
Continue on now on easier walking. Go through the gate. Continue on the
lake shore pebbles if you have a mind to do so, but you will have to move
back to the track at a wall farther on, for there is a gate here. Go
through this gate and turn immediately right down the stony track back to
the lake. Continue on the pleasant dry green path. Cross a footbridge then
avoid the wetness by walking on the concrete wall. There is another
footbridge.
A bridge is crossed. The track then reaches a broken wall which is
the boundary of Bowness Point from which you started. A path starts off
between stone walls on the left. But avoid the first wet section of it by
going above it on the bank on the right. Take a last look at the lake
which looks great from here if there is a colourful sunset. Rejoin the
path further on and continue on to the car park.
Eastern Lake
District Walks: Easy low level and valley walks in the Eastern Lakes and
Ullswater
Elterwater,
Grasmere, Blea Tarn, Silver Howe and Lingmoor walks in The English Lake
District
Elterwater,Langdale, walks in The English Lake District
Easy walks
around Grasmere in The English Lake District: Low level and valley walks
in the Lakes
Walks around
Ambleside, Rydal, Troutbeck in The English Lake District
Easy low lying
walks near Windermere
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