Wednesday 21st December 2022
On my second walk in the Lake District at Christmas I was traveling from the Holly How Youth Hostel in Coniston to the Ambleside Youth Hostel in Waterhead, at the northern end of Windermere, which is not a huge distance as according to Google Maps it should take two and a half hours to walk it. So, to extend the route into a full day I poured over maps trying to come up with a good walk, however the start was dictated by my need to initially head back into the village of Coniston to get something for my lunch. From there I joined the route of the Cumbria Way over Shepherd Bridge and into the Monk Coniston estate, now owned by the National Trust. A fabulous path took me through lovely parkland slowly climbing with a view behind me towards Coniston Water until after passing over the top of the low hill I beheld picturesque views north across the estate as I descended to a bridge over the Yewdale Beck. The weather was poor with thick, grey, overcast skies overhead, which marred the view towards Holme Fell and Tom Heights, but at least it wasn’t raining. At the bridge beside Low Yewdale I left the Cumbria Way and crossed the valley to the path that runs alongside the main road. I previously walked along this path in 2008 and in 2018, which are also the only previous times that I have stayed at the Holly How Youth Hostel. It is a lovely path through woodland at the foot of the steep slopes up to the Yewdale Fells and is particularly delightful in spring when it is decorated with many wildflowers including bluebells and wild garlic.
Keeping to my 2018 route I turned left onto the road that climbs above the Yewdale Beck and branched off onto a very wet path that contoured around the hillside to the disused quarries south of Tilberthwaite Gill. Before I reached there, however, on a whim I turned left onto a path that is marked as a right-of-way on maps and climbs steeply around Goat’s Crag into the Yewdale Fells. I hadn’t planned on doing this and I made the turning without really even thinking about it, my legs just took over, unable to resist the temptation of a good path that climbs steeply into the hills. I guess my main motivation was the fact that I had never been that way before, which had also been my motivation to take the Cumbria Way out of Coniston. Unfortunately this path soon dwindled into the complex undulating terrain of the Yewdale Fells which has little of interest but boggy ground. Therefore after wandering around for a while I found a clear path that took me north to Tilberthwaite Gill where a line of hills ahead of me was a barrier that had to be crossed. Rather than climbing straight up from this point I decided to turn right onto the fabulous path that descends across the gloriously craggy terrain above the awesome ravine of Tilberthwaite Gill. I had planned on crossing the stream over the bridge at the foot of the ravine but signs warned me that the bridge was damaged and therefore closed so I kept to the path past old quarry workings and down to the road and car park.
After a short walk along the road I climbed up past some cottages and onto an old quarry road. Rather than going all the way around the hills, I thought I’d take the right-of-way that climbs up over the hills from this point but when I checked my location I realised that I was not the path I wanted to be on but still on the quarry road that climbs up to Betsy Crag. When I reached a wall I turned left along a good path that follows the wall and brought me to the right of way that I’d intended on taking where there seemed to be little trace of an actual path on the ground. The terrain in this area was interesting in its complexity and I noticed that attempts had been made to prevent drainage by erecting small dams in the streams. I remember walking through this area in 2012 past Betsy Crag and up over Birk Fell, but now I passed quickly over the ridge and down the steep, grassy hill into the Greenburn valley while ahead of me were views all the way to the Langdale Pikes with Pike o’ Blisco to my left, but it was all very grey and miserable. Once in the valley I turned right to walk along the path into Little Langdale while rain fell briefly. On passing the beautiful, yet simple, Slater Bridge, I was reminded of a walk through this area in 2002 on my first ever visit to the Lake District when I discovered a large cathedral-like cave, but when I returned in 2012 I was unable to locate it, so now I was determined to find it.
At a sign for Little Langdale Quarries I turned up the path and found a board that proudly proclaimed, and warned about, Cathedral Cave with a small opening to the right. The geology in the Lake District doesn’t produce natural caves so this is actually the result of mining and after passing through a dark passage I emerged into a vast area with an opening in the roof that let the light in. Clapping my hands produced a mesmerising and long-lasting echo so I did this often as I wandered around the old quarry exploring wherever it was safe to do so. Eventually I emerged from the mouth of the cave, happy to have found this awe-inspiring place and mystified that I had failed to find it ten years ago. Back on the track I followed it through Little Langdale, eventually rejoining the route of the Cumbria Way and the walk that I did through this area in 2012, though this time I ignored the lure of Colwith Force and when I reached Skelwith Bridge I also ignored Skelwith Force. The Cumbria Way turns to head up Great Langdale at this point but I crossed the main road up a narrow lane. I could have followed the main road into Ambleside, but a much better route passes over the southern shoulder of Loughrigg Fell, however before then I wanted to visit the rarely seen Loughrigg Tarn. So, I kept to the road until I had passed by the lake and then took the path that passes by the shores of the lake where the Langdale Pikes were visible far in the misty distance.
From Loughrigg Tarn I took a stony lane such as the Lake District rejoices in around the edge of Loughrigg Fell and across the southern shoulder. Previous times that I have taken this path I have not resisted the temptation to branch right to Todd Crag, but this time I managed to keep to the bridleway over the top and down into Ambleside. Even though this walk didn’t reach the top of any fell it was still a fabulous walk that even light showers failed to ruin. It was a very enjoyable walk through stunning, complex Lakeland scenery.
No comments:
Post a Comment