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LILY POND - HODSON'S TARN - NORMOSS TARN - BLELHAM TARN
Scroll down to view the photographs after the report or click here We decided to start today's walk directly from the front door of our bed and breakfast accommodation at Low Loanthwaite Farmhouse. The route actually passes to the rear of the farmhouse to join the lane a little further up. Alternatively, a start can be made from Hawkshead village. From the B&B we followed Loanthwaite Lane heading towards High Loanthwaite Farm where we joined a footpath to our right via a wooden stile into a field. Continuing over the fields we arrived at a finger post at a gate where we joined the path coming up from Hawkshead. Following the sign across further fields to Colthouse we eventually came to a little lane at Crofts Head where we turned right to join a road at Colthouse. Following the road to our left for a short distance we reached the gates of Gillbank, where a bridleway on our right doubled back uphill towards Claife Heights. As we gained height we glimpsed sight of Colthouse below where William Wordsworth once lodged with Ann Tyson whilst attending Hawkshead School, then a little further along the path, views also opened up over Hawkshead village. Eventually we passed through a gate where the adjacent wall was made-up of stone slabs set on end. There was also a rather tall wire fence running along its length and this type of high fence was to be seen a number of times during the walk. I believe they were deer fences to either keep them in or out. Not quite sure! Continuing on up through the trees we soon arrived at out first tarn of the day, Lily Pond (SD 367983) Set back off the bridleway to our right on the other side of a stone wall and amongst trees, it could, if you are not paying attention, easily be missed. Once I realised it was there I was off for a closer look although Annette decided to sit and wait for me at the side of the path. Access is possible through a gate further back along the path although I hadn't realised that until after I had cautiously scaled the wall and barbed wire fence. Could it be that I wasn't supposed to be able to get a closer look? This might have been so as I later found a sign on the gate saying 'Private'. Oops! Anyway, the tarn is fairly accessible, once the wall and barbed wire have been scaled, but the edges are very marshy underfoot. There seems to be a pattern emerging here! Not a huge tarn but there were small water-lilies floating on the waters surface after which the tarn is named, and there were rhododendron shrubs on the far shore but neither the lilies nor the rhododendrons were in flower unfortunately. Apparently a dam is just visible at the far end of the tarn although I must admit I couldn't see one. There did seem to be a small mound of sorts so maybe it was hidden beneath the undergrowth. According to the map our next tarn was only a short distance from Lily Pond, a little further on and to the right to use the correct terminology! I couldn't find it! After a little searching I rejoined Annette back on the path to double check. According to the OS map it should be within spitting distance! Trying to work this out a couple of options came to mind; either the tarn I had just visited wasn't the one I thought it was and I had passed Lily Pond further back along the track or, the tarn I was looking for might have dried-up. Having checked back down the track I was sure this was Lily Pond and so it was back over the wall and barbed wire fence to hunt down the missing tarn. I was determined to find it! I noticed a little high ground close to Lily Pond and made my way up to it in the hope that the extra height gained would give me a better view of the whole area. Eureka! There it was, Hodson's Tarn (SD 369982), on the other side of the high ground in a hollow below me! I made my way down through head-high bracken tripping over roots and whatever else was hidden below the vegetation, until I got to a point where I could at least take a couple of photographs. I didn't explore the tarn as much as I would have liked for a couple of reasons. Firstly because of the amount of time that I had spent scrambling through the undergrowth trying to locate it and the fact that we still had most of the walk to do, and secondly, Annette had been sat waiting for me back on the path and was probably wondering where I was! So, looking from a distance the tarn is of a fair size flanked by trees on two sides. Access, once the tarn is found, seems easy enough. The water is visible and not covered in plant growth. The area I did manage to get to was again very marshy underfoot and which, looking at the map, I believe was the area around the Rough Hows Intake. I could also see what looked like a stone dam at the far end of the tarn and possibly a path leading up to it and I believe it was dammed in 1955 by the Freshwater Biological Association. There are also several more tarns amongst these trees but there is no public access to them. These tarns were also a favourite destination of Beatrix Potter. I eventually made my way back to Annette who informed me that I had been away for 15 minutes. She knew this because she had made a note of when I left just in case I got lost and she had to tell any rescuers how long I had been gone. Thoughtful :o) The path continues on, up through the forest where we joined the 'White Post Route' at junction 11. This is a route we are familiar with as we had followed some of it on our previous walks. It is a waymarked walk from the ferry at Windermere to Hawkshead. We followed the route ahead towards Far Sawrey to reach junction 10 of the White Post Route. It was here that Annette's mobile phone rang and it was my daughter, Vikki, wishing me a happy birthday. Tia-Rose, my 20 month old granddaughter also sang happy birthday to me which was great. It made my day. We now left the White Post Route and continued straight on along the bridleway heading for Belle Grange. The path descended through the trees, and at times was flanked on either side by head-high bracken, until we came to a five-way junction of paths. Turning left at this junction we followed the forest road until we met a bridleway heading off to our right and from here our next objective of the day, Normoss Tarn (SD 378992), came in to view down to our right. There was little water to be seen as we made our way along the bridleway to reach the edge of the tarn. The path had led us down to a slightly elevated position overlooking the tarn where we had better views of the area that it covered. The majority of water was covered with plant growth of some sort but we could see that it was a fair sized area of water. It is set amongst the wooded slopes of Nor Moss and is surrounded on three sides by trees. It looked to be a very boggy area around the tarn so we didn't venture down to the waters edge or to the far side, as this might have taken more time than we could really spare. The route around here has been planted over and the original path diverted. Because of this we had decided to retrace our steps back to the forest road rather than trying to fight our way through the bracken and possibly boggy area below and set-off back along the route we had just followed. Back on the forest road we walked alongside a stone wall passing a lovely little waterfall on our left where Annette took a refreshing drink. We came to a gap in the wall where we left it and followed a path, through a rather large gate and fence, possibly a deer fence, and into the woods. It was a pleasant enough walk descending through the woods and the stone wall we had been following earlier was still visible for most of the way, through the trees and on our left. We eventually met-up again with the wall and continued to follow it down through the trees to join a forest road at Baseamp, a National Trust base for groups undertaking voluntary conservation work for the Trust. It was just after 1.00pm on reaching Basecamp so, after locating a suitably placed tree stump along side a small running stream, we decided to have a bite to eat. We had a little wander round the area and found a gate with what seemed like a metal bolt attached but the 'bolt' had ten padlocks fastened to it! There was a small access gate along side it which was unlocked so I couldn't quite work out what it was all about! Before continuing on our way two cyclists approached us, male and female, not quite sure which route they had to follow to reach High Wray. They had a booklet with the cycle route listed but not very detailed. A quick survey of our OS map and double checking with the GPS for our exact position, we had soon pointed them in the right direction, or at least we hoped it was the right direction because we were heading the same way! Continuing along the forest road heading down to High Wray, hazy but still impressive views opened up ahead of us of Lake Windermere. It was only a short distance before we reached the road opposite High Wray Farm where we turned right heading for Wray Castle, passing through the village and the village hall before turning right along the footpath. The path then turns sharp left through a very narrow gap behind some houses and across fields to the shore of Lake Windermere alongside a castellated boathouse. There were great views across the lake as we made our way through the Wray Castle Estate following the shore line before climbing through the trees and reaching the little rocky outcrop of Watbarrow Point. Again the views up and down the lake were superb and we just had to stop to take in the surroundings. I believe we had travelled a little too far on reaching Watbarrow Point but it was worth it for the views. Heading back into the woods and not being able to locate the path leading up to Wray Castle, we just climbed straight up the hillside until the 'turrets' and 'battlements' of the mock castle came into view. Wray Castle is an imposing building and not what you expect to find in the middles of a forest overlooking Lake Windermere. It caused a bit of an outcry when built in the 1840's. The castle was rented as a holiday home during Victorian times and Beatrix Potter herself, along with her parents, stayed here in 1882 when she was just 16 years of age. The castle was bought by The National Trust for £60,000 but I bet its worth a lot more than that now! More recently it has been used by the Youth Hostel Association and today as a nautical electronics training school. We left Wray Castle by the tarmac drive to pass by the Dower House B&B and down to St. Margaret's church and on to join the road at a rather large and impressive pair of stone gate posts. Turning right we followed the road past the entrance to Low Wray campsite on our right, and joined a bridleway on our left heading towards Outgate. Crossing the fields our fourth and final tarn of the day, Blelham Tarn (NY 366005), came into view ahead of us. It looked an impressive tarn and indeed on closer inspection it was! We only had a brief view of the tarn because the bridleway, having passed through a kissing gate, continued on through the trees. I obviously wanted to get a closer look but glimpsing through the trees I could see a wire fence and a lot of reedy ground leading up to the tarn. I didn't fancy taking that route. However, the further along the path we went, the further away the tarn seemed to be getting. Having checked the OS map I could see the path eventually re-joins the tarn at its far end and I was hoping I would be able to get a closer and better look from there. I needn't have worried about getting a better view. After a pleasant walk through the trees crossing a small stream via stone stepping stones along the way, we came to a clearing giving good access to the tarn. Leaving the footpath we made our way to a grassy hillock which offered great views. Splendid. Its a large tarn and in fact could even be classed as a lake. Maybe a missing 'lake' of the Lake District? Most of the edges of the tarn seem to be covered in reed beds so how easy it would be to get close to the waters edge is any ones guess. We didn't even try but instead just sat and took in the atmosphere. There was a large flock of birds on and around the tarn making quite a bit of noise. Apparently the tarn if frequented by a number of bird species and in particular the great-crested grebe, although I wasn't expert enough to identify the birds that we seen! The swampy land adjacent to the tarn known as Blelham Bog is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) so I suppose its just as well we didn't go wandering about the area. Having visited the last of the tarns on this walk we now rejoined the path and passed through another kissing gate heading for the village of Outgate, climbing up through the trees of Spicka Coppice which we found hard going, to eventually join the B5286 road leading to Outgate. Turning left at the road we soon arrived at The Outgate Inn where we had visited during our stay at the B&B, and where the path to Hawkshead was joined directly behind and between the Inn and the houses. Following the grassy walled enclosure through a kissing gate, across a field and into a wood, we emerged again at a clearing where our B&B came into view ahead of us. It was now just a case of continuing across the field to emerge back onto Loanthwaite Lane at High Loanthwaite Farm, turning right and a short walk back to the B&B at Low Loanthwaite and the end of the walk. We were met by Lassie, the working sheepdog belonging to Susan and Pip from our B&B who, as always, was waiting for any leftover food from our walks. I gave him the last of my cheese sandwiches before saying farewell to Susan and Pip and heading off home after a great four day stay in Low Loanthwaite. What a Birthday treat :o)
Two additional shots of Lake Windermere:
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