Latterbarrow and Tarn Howes

Wednesday 31st December 2025

I have been coming to the Lake District at Christmas and the New Year for several years and I will usually include a walk between Ambleside and Coniston, so I feel like I’ve done all the possible paths between the two hostels which made picking my route last New Year’s Eve difficult to plan. Eventually I came up with two different walks for this day, though both covered familiar ground: a low level option over small hills and a high level option that climbs Swirl How and Great Carrs, but I left the choice to the weather. The day started with overcast skies and a frost, and while it was forecast to clear it would then worsen in the afternoon. Ultimately, I decided to do the low level route because the high level route would cover very familiar, tedious ground in the morning and I just wanted to relax on this holiday, so I didn’t want to do a strenuous walk up high fells. Therefore my first goal was the outlying fell of Latterbarrow, taking the road out of Ambleside, crossing the River Brathay and walking along the cyclepath that runs alongside the road to Hawkshead. This is, of course, also a familiar path for me but it is such a good route I was more than happy to take it again.  It was a very cold morning and soon my hands began to feel it, but, rather than countering this with extra gloves, I knew from experience that the first thing to do was to put extra clothing around my core and soon my hands felt warmer. Another tip for keeping warm in such cold weather is from a flask of hot tea which I often took a sip from on this walk and this kept going as I followed the path into Pull Woods while admiring the views produced by the frosty ground conditions. 

The alternative high level route would have taken me across farmer’s fields whereas this was much more interesting as it took me mostly through woodland, and as the cloud began to clear I had stunning views that included towards Wansfell and Red Screes. The morning frost soon began to burn off in the sunshine and when I came off the cyclepath I began to climb quiet country lanes that brought me into High Wray and soon I was stripping off the extra layers that I had put on earlier. My ascent took me past the National Trust’s High Wray Basecamp and with the views improving with every step I continued to climb, through woodland and out onto the bare top of Latterbarrow where I immediately stopped to take in the view, but I was disappointed to see that clouds had covered the sky again. Eventually I reached the stone column or obelisk that sits proudly at the top of Latterbarrow which I had previously visited ten years ago when the weather was much better, but sadly not on this occasion. Despite the overcast skies, when I turned towards Coniston to begin my descent, I had great views before me with the high fells on the horizon across the valley of Hawkshead.

I came down this way on my first visit to Latterbarrow thirteen years ago, but in twilight, so perhaps I wasn’t able to appreciate it then, but now I loved it and all too soon I reached a road and after a short walk along that I turned right onto a path that would let me bypass Hawkshead. However, when I reached Black Beck I turned left to head into the village and stop there for lunch including buying some extra food. Back out of the village, I returned to Black Beck and followed it to Hawkshead Hall, continuing up Skinner How Lane to Knipe Fold where a rough byway continued my ascent. At the highest point on the lane I turned left onto a footpath that took me to the ever popular lakes at Tarn Hows. As the forecast high winds and deterioration in the weather began to make itself felt I walked around the Tarns, avoiding the crowds as much as possible until I had reached the other side. After crossing the outflow I branched off the encircling path to head into the hills that are west of the lake and is known as Tom Heights, but is little visited and I had certainly never explored this area before. Faint paths took me through the complex terrain that provided me with an interesting walk and good views in all directions including towards Coniston Water.

The path beyond the highest point was difficult for me to follow because the ground was very wet and churned up by cattle, so it took me a while to find the correct route down the steep ground until I eventually managed to return to the byway where I turned left heading to Oxen Fell High Cross. I stayed on the track, crossing the main road and the northern slopes of Holme Fell to take a course that would delay my reaching Coniston for a long as possible. I could have headed straight towards Coniston a long time ago, but then I would have reached the hostel long before it opened and before it got dark. Instead I took an interesting route past old quarry workings, including the enormous Hodge Close Quarry, and through gorgeous woodland. I enjoyed walking along these paths and while it attempted to rain it didn’t last very long and eventually the long walk brought me into Coniston. It is always very enjoyable walking in the Lake District even if I didn’t climb any Wainwrights, and I even got to take some paths and climb a hill that I’d never done before.