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Lake District Valley and
Low-level Walks
More walks around Ambleside
Click here for the first page of walks around Ambleside
Stock Ghyll Waterfall Round
Hill
2.5 miles [4 km]
This is a modest climb, but it makes a very pleasant walk. The best time
to view any waterfall is after heavy rain. The walk goes by the well-known
force (local-name for waterfall), climbs beyond it, and returns through
farm fields. (If dogs are taken they should be kept firmly under control.)
Start at Ambleside and cross in the square, after having parked your car
in one of the village car parks. On the eastern side of the square is the
Salutation Hotel Ambleside. Next to this is a bank. Between this bank
and the old market hall is a passageway. Go up this. Turn left up the
hill, and along an access road. There is an old mill beyond the ghyll
left, now converted into holiday flats. Bear left through gateway and
along the track which follows the ghyll. This land is managed by the local
council as a public access area. When track forks, continue right on
higher level. After ascending rock steps, on another few yards, then,
ascending two steps of oak roots, turn left over the rock to the iron
fence. Go through the iron arches to the viewpoints. Return the same way
through the arches, then turn left to another viewpoint. Return to path
and continue to climb. Follow the iron fence. There are good views at the
fence corners. Go up rough stone steps and onto footbridge, for the down
views.
Follow the path back. When it divides after slate bridges take left fork,
and follow this track to a turnstile. Turn left at the track beyond and go up the hill and through
the gate. You are now out of the wood. The Kirkstone Road via the
'Struggle' can be seen on the left, and the heights of Red Screes, above
Kirkstone, are at the head of the valley. Wansfell is the fell on the
right. Go through the gate. The track is crossed by a beck and a second
beck is crossed by a little footbridge with stiles. Turn left after the
barn and go down to the plank bridge at the ghyll below, Turn left. Track
turns with the wall, but instead of continuing right, up the hill, go
through the stile in the wall, alongside the gate. Make towards the barn
forward and right. Go over the stone step-stile beside the gate near this
barn. Path follows the
wall and an old hedge. Go through gateway. (Close gate if you find it
closed on approach.) Continue following old hedge and then a wall. View
ahead from Wetherlam left. Langdale Pikes are off to the right. Go through
the stile by the cottage. There is another stile by the gate just beyond
it. Continue down a good hard-surfaced track. The Langdale Pikes
are ahead.
The track meets the public road. Join it and go left down the
hill. A pavement is picked up lower down. It ends by a road into
an estate. Beyond this is the entrance to the Kirkstone Foot Hotel. Bear
left past this entrance and go down the hill with the church on the right.
At the square turn left down Peggy Hill which brings you to the cross
again.
Ambleside to Todd Crag and Clappersgate
3 miles [5 km]
This is a very minor fell walk onto the south-eastern crags of
Loughrigg. Given time, it can be managed by grannnies and children. It is
however, not a bad-weather walk.. The walk offers airy views; so little
satisfaction is gained if rain or mist restricts visibility. Completely
smooth-soled footwear is dangerous on the damp rock that is found on the
walk, or on dry sloping grass.
Park the car in an Ambleside car park. Go to the spired parish church of
St Mary to start the walk. Go through the churchyard main gate and at the
far end turn left and go through the iron gate and into the park (Rothay
Park). Go straight ahead down the path. This ends in a small footbridge
which is followed by a large arched bridge called Miller Bridge, typical
of
the Lake District. Cross it to join road and turn right for a few yards,
go through the gate alongside the cattle grid, then turn left it the
drive and go through the gate alongside that cattle grid. Go right up the
curving drive. Note the old slate fence on the left. These are commoner
in the Hawkshead area. At the top of the drive, after going through the
gate, bear left for the wall corner surmounted by the iron ladderstile.
From the stile the path turns left by a fence under a handsome Scots Pine.
Go through the slate stile, (cross the small stream and go directly upwards
on the path. Looking back at first level of this path
by the oak trees over our pine tree, there is a fine view over Rydal
which runs up to the head of Fairfield (2,863 feet high). The valley to
its right is Scandale, and b the right of that is the Stock Ghyll ascent
to Kirkstone Pass, the Like District's highest road pass - the 'Struggle'
being near the top of it.
Continue straight on across another beck, joining the path that comes up
from the left. Continue up to a cairn. There is now a good view of
Ambleside, looking like a toy village, and there is a view of the upper
reaches of Windermere. Continue on past the cairn, down the dip and up
the rise to the crags. Now here is a good view down the lake. The river
Rothay flows in from the left by Ambleside. The tarn in the hills, right
front, is Blelham Tan, a nature reserve. Beyond the point where the
river flows into the lake, the square foundations of the Roman fort known
as Qalava can be seen in the field.
Continue on along the path to a wooden ladder stile, and up the next
crag. Leave this crag by descending it to its lake side, then bearing
right. Below, the river Brathay can be seen coming from the right from the
Langdales, to join the Rothay before entering
Windermere. Go onto the next crag. And here is the place to relax and
enjoy the scene. Looking at the high fells on view to the right, the first
from the left is the large hump of Wetherlam, then Swirl How and Grey
Friar, all these on the Coniston Old Man range. The nearer fell then is
Lingmoor, with the pack just over its left shoulder - Pike o' Blisco. The
distant peak then is the point of Bowfell, which looks like a mountain
from any angle. To the right again, but nearer, are the unmistakable
Langdale Pikes with the great crag
of Pavey Ark attached to the right. (You may see climbers on this if you
have binoculars.) To right again are the Wythbum Fells, the dip of Dunmail
Raise, then Seat Sandal stands before the Helvellyn range. Then to right
of that the Fairfield Horseshoe in its
impressive folds.
Are we standing on Todd Crag? Some say that this is in fact Todd Crag,
including Wainwright who wrote the famous Fell Guides. But the gentlemen
of the Ordnance Survey put it further west. The point on which you stand
offers the best view, in my
opinion, but to settle the argument it is only a few minutes to the
'official' Todd Crag.
Turn your back on the Lake view and below you will see a pond. Descend to
it, and continue on the path which leads beyond it on its left. This
brings you to Lily Tarn. This indeed bears water lilies in their season. Take the path to its right and go round the tarn to its far side to a path
going slightly left, and on slightly left of two small ponds.
When this joins a wall running on its left, go forward until there is a
gap in the wall and go through it. Of the two crags before you the one on
the right has been officially labelled as Todd Crag. It looks a feeble
little crag in a grassy area, but the crag proper is before and below you,
invisible from this point, and clothed with trees. The better view point
is from the crag on the left. Looking back one can see that Loughrigg has
many peaks, and though the highest point is only 1,100 feet it is a very
large mass. It is the easiest thing in the world to get lost on Loughrigg.
But not for us! Retrace steps down the way of arrival, to the wall gap,
and right, then bearing slightly left to the little ponds and Lily Tarn.
Remember that we have to go right round the Tarn and down to the first
pond, but then, having reached it, bear right by the path towards a cairn
at the foot of our earlier viewpoint crag, then continue right by the
footpath which begins the descent. There is another cairn on the site of a
ruined hut, and a path from the right joins. Descend. The zig-zag
towards the wall is easier going; then keep on descending along an airy
path by gorse and mountain ash, under an oak and birch-clad crag. Go
through gate and bear down right. The path soon brings us on to the roadside (the Ambleside to Langdale and
Coniston road, with the branch road ahead to Hawkshead).
To return to our starting point, turn left past the few buildings
that make up this tiny hamlet of Clappersgate. At the end of the few
cottages, cross over the road to the far sidewalk. Continue
towards Ambleside, but just before the bridge (Rothay Bridge) cross the
road again, and go up the narrow road opposite. Follow
this for about a third of a mile and we are back to Miller Bridge, which
we cross again to go through the park to the church.
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