Westmorland Way 7

The Westmorland Way 7

By the River Kent in Kendal

Kendal to Arnside (17 miles) 

This was our longest day on the Westmorland Way, more by necessity than anything else.  Most of the day was to be flat, as for much of it we would be walking along the old Lancaster Canal.

Leaving the town behind

It was a later start than we intended, meaning that we would be pushed for light towards the end of the day.  We wandered down to the River Kent, and despite the cold, grey morning (at least it was dry), it was a pleasant enough walk out of the town.  Just before we turned down a lane past a shoe factory, the way briefly touched  the canal, or certainly what was the canal.  It more resembled a railway track bed than an old waterway as this section had been in filled.  More about the canal later…

Looking back towards Kendal

The path dropped back down to the River Kent and, once again, we were treated to a delightful riverside walk.  Even on a gloomy morning this was a pleasure to walk, leaving me dreaming of what it would be like on a balmy summers day.  The only annoyance came where the path crossed a minor road.  The gate to the fishermen’s carpark was locked.  The only access was a tiny gap between the gate and an overhanging tree, making progress with a large backpack impossible.  In the end, rather than taking the pack off and throwing it over, it was quicker just to climb the gate.

Sedgwick House

Eventually we emerged at a bridge just below the impressive Sedgewick House, where our route left the river.  There was a little climbing here, up towards the West Coast Main Line.  First we crossed the canal by way of a completely redundant bridge, a rather odd and sad sight over the in filled canal.  Soon there were fine views north, back over Kendal, complete with patches of blue sky, rainbow, and in the near distance, rain.

Climbing to cross the dry canal

We were lucky though as the wet stuff passed us by, and gradually the sun was attempting to make an appearance at the crossing of the railway (by way of a new footbridge).

A few fields later we were back with the canal, this time for quite a distance down to Greystone, around 7 or 8 km away.  The canal here had not been filled in, and once again this was really enjoyable walking – not to mention that it was a complete contrast to anything else on the route.  We could have been forgiven for thinking that this would have been easier going, but the grassy towpath was wet, muddy and slick making things surprisingly tiring.  It was with great delight then, that a pub appeared at Crooklands, the temptation too strong to miss.

At the top – looking towards Kendal

The rain came down for a while as we lingered a little too long in the pub before setting off again.   From here the act of 1960’s vandalism becomes all too obvious.  Not only had the northern reaches of the canal been filled in from Kendal, but here the canal had been blocked off no less than three times.  Twice by the M6 and once by the A65.  Really, would it have cost that much more to install tunnels instead of culverts?  Apparently there were strenuous objections at the time, but as with many developments from that era, the projects were pressed ahead regardless.  It is a real pity as this section of canal was quite simply one of the prettiest.  As an aside, the great hulk that is Farleton Knott was looming over us – a familiar sight and shape to anyone who has regularly travelled on the M6.

First sight of the canal – this time with water in it

The M6 was crossed for the last time, by way of a road bridge diversion and soon we were in Greystone.  It was here we left the canal, returning to field walking.  The railway was recrossed, and after a muddy scramble across a ploughed field, we reached the A6 which took us into the lovely little village of Beetham (with a very inviting pub).

Farleton Knott from the canal

I must admit to giving the pub a longing look as we passed, but time was against us so it was a case of pressing on regardless.  The generally flat walk of the day gave way to a stiff climb into some quite outstanding woodland (obviously a local shoot, with many “Keep Out, Private Property” signs and Pheasant feeders around) as we worked our way to the Fairy Steps, a narrow cleft in Limestone Cliffs.  The views were outstanding from here, Arnside Knott and the town itself visible just a few km away.  The cleft itself, to quote the guidebook, is something of a “fat man’s agony”.

The Lancaster Canal

It’s tight.  Having a full pack on made it interesting (nothing to do with the size of my gut…honest) and eventually I spewed forth from the bottom and settled down for the entertainment as my father tried to negotiate it!  This was a special section of the walk and a marvellous spot on the route.

Church in Beetham

A couple of horrifically muddy fields later, we crossed underneath the railway taking the line into Arnside and began our ascent up the Knott.  Unfortunately the light was fading fast, and we only managed to get lost in the woodland on the slopes, missing the path to the top.

Approaching the Fairy Steps

With head torches on we decided just to make for the hostel and call it a day, rather than blunder about on the Knott in the dark.

It wasn’t long before we reached the hostel, and settled in for the night.

The view from the Fairy Steps

Day Rating 9/10

A really fine, and different days walk, with plenty of variety and interest.  The Fairy Steps was a special place, and we were lucky to get there in good weather as the sun began to set.  It was a popular place with quite a few families up there enjoying it.  A nice way to end what had been a top quality trail.

Breathe in!

We finished the trail the next morning, walking down to the pier on the waterfront on the way to the station.  It was safe to say it was freezing, a light fog out over the water with the viaduct carrying the railway over the bay shrouded in fog.

Overall Rating 59/70 (84%)

An outstanding trail that just about has it all.  River walking, moorland, mountainous sections, waterfalls, lakes and canals just to mention a few items of interest.  It got off to a slow start, but just got better and better as the days went on.  After day one it could quite easily have taken the “easy” option of heading over the hills, but instead took a lovely low level route past Shap Abbey.  The section through the lakes was just sublime (but when has it been anything other than sublime!), with they day through to Windemere really being the highlight of the walk.  Scout Scar and the Fairly Steps were two special additions to the route.

The railway viaduct across the bay in the morning mist

This is up there as one of the best long distance routes I think I’ve walked (especially as it doesn’t officially exist!), and it probably deserves a little more recognition – possibly even being way marked (we did go wrong several times – not badly enough to get hopelessly lost, but occasionally way marking would really have helped).  We were lucky, for the most part with the weather, but there were some very wet moments, which does change your experience of a walk.  In fine weather this would probably have rated even higher!

Highly recommended as a LDP.

 

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Westmorland Way 6

The Westmorland Way 6

The bridge over Trout Beck

Troutbeck (Windemere YHA) to Kendal (15 miles) 

The fine day and crowds of the day before were left behind on what was a strange old days trail walking through to Kendal.  We had to retrace our steps from the busy hostel, back down the road to Troutbeck.  The morning was overcast, cold and grey.  Fortunately it was calm as we reached the village and regained the path, dropping down an old track to cross the Trout beck before an early stiff climb up to the road on the other side to warm us up.  We followed the road for a short distance before taking to a green track, passing by a lovely old Larch and some more fine views over Windermere.

Looking back over the village of Troutbeck

The tracks here were obviously much quieter as we were heading away from the honey pot sites, although there were still one or two others out and about.  The route was now much more like the first couple of days, back to a pleasant meander through fields, skirting a number of farms, some with the typical chimney stacks that seem to be peculiar to this part of the country.

A green track and Larch

It wasn’t long before the tranquillity of the morning was broken on the approach to the main Kendal to Windermere road.  It took a few minutes to get across the road, having to wait for a suitable break in the endless flow of traffic as the rain started to fall from the unchanging grey sky.  The waterproofs came on, it was the steady persistent rain that soaks everything, and we left the road behind, passing through a very muddy community woodland.

A last look at Windermere

The branch line into Windermere was crossed, next to what looked like an old, and rather attractive mill race.  The climb up to School Knot began, first through a housing estate, then up an old lane.  Down came the rain still, and to make matters worse the wind was picking up as well.  By the time we reached School Knot and reacquainted ourselves with the Dales Way, it was pouring, and not to put too fine a point on it – horrible.

A Typical farm

The walkers cafe in the farm at Hag End seemed to have long gone, dashing our slim hopes that it may have been open for a cup of tea.  As we passed the place was in darkness, all signs that it had once been a cafe gone, and even had an angry dog inside that had a good bark at us.

We said goodbye to the Dales Way and continued down a muddy track which petered out in a large damp area.  Eventually we found the exit and continued along miserably over rough ground, which turned into a track.  It soon crossed a quiet B road, then turned into a green lane alongside what looked like a fishery.

The Mill Race

At Brow Head we turned onto a narrow lane and took refuge in a convenient tractor shed next to the road as the rain came down with a vengeance for about 10 minutes.  Suddenly it stopped, and we continued on up a lane then through some fields which were now giving fine but very moody views, especially of Scout Scar in the distance.

Between showers

This was a lovely little section as we gradually descended towards Underbarrow, the transition from moorland to pastureland a marked one.  Once again the rain came down and we were forced to take shelter in another open shed by the path.  With no sign of the weather abating we swiftly covered the kilometre or so to the local pub (the Punchbowl) – this time it was open.  Fortunately they had a stone floor as we were a tad soggy, pools of water forming under the table we were sitting at!

The high point of the day and a first glimpse of Scout Scar

We stayed put until the rain stopped and for a while things started to clear and started our assault on Scout Scar, passing through some lovely estate grounds, including shooting butts, populated by a huge number of Pheasant.

It was a stiff climb up onto the Scar which was nothing short of spectacular.  The views were stunning in the now fading light, and the collection of stunted trees and shrubs gave it an otherworldly feel.  It was a delight to walk along the Scar, along with a surprising number of dog walkers and runners.  We soon turned off and began the walk into Kendal as darkness was falling.  Behind us, to round off the day, lightning was flashing but eerily without any thunder.

On the Scar in the fading light

At least it started off like that!

As we crossed the Kendal bypass a huge flash of lightning was followed by a loud bang and accompanying hailstones.  Soon the road was like a river and we were crunching through about a half inch of hailstones on the ground and some flash flooding.

Walking along the Scar

We couldn’t help but find the situation funny, after a quite bizarre weather day, finally reaching the hostel in Kendal completely soaked through.

Day Rating 8/10

The day was a walk of three parts.  The early part was lovely, the middle section was a little uninteresting and the finale was just superb over Scout Scar.  On a balmy summer evening this would be a special place to linger.

The (rather blurry) hail in Kendal

We spent the night at Kendal Hostel, no longer a YHA but an independent.  The building has bags of character but has certainly seen better days.  In fact, the place was a little bit of a mess.  Still, we made up for it with a few decent pints in the Wetherspoons round the corner.  Cracking day!

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