OVER THE HILL HIKES LAKELAND #5

This is the third of three memorable, low-level walks we completed during a stay at our Keswick cabin in March 2024.

From Rosthwaite in Borrowdale we climb continuously uphill for around a mile and a half to the picturesque hamlet of Watendlath and it’s idyllically situated tarn. After a very pleasant walk down Watendlath Beck, a steeper descent takes us to the valley floor. After crossing the head of Derwentwater we finish with a delightful ramble alongside the River Derwent, passing through the beautiful village of Grange.

START/ FINISH	National Trust car park at OS Grid Ref NY258149 or the adjacent village hall car park. Alternatively, the bus from Keswick will drop you at the start of the route on the B 5289 at 258149.
DISTANCE	7.6 miles
ASCENT	1,268ft
TERRAIN	Good paths or roads throughout. A steep climb to Watendlath and the descent to the valley road (B 5289) from Watendlath Beck can be a little slippy when wet.
PUB	There is a walkers’ bar at The Scafell Hotel, near the car park, at 259148.

We walk back down the lane to the B5289 and turn left for a few yards, passing the bus stop, before crossing the road and joining a path down Howe Lane. After crossing Stonethwaite Beck we turn left at the gates of Hazel Bank and follow the footpath, wending our way relentlessly upwards to Watendlath.

On the climb it is no hardship – indeed for us it’s a necessity – to pause and admire the view while catching our breath. Not to do so would be a crime, as the ascent slowly reveals a breathtaking vista towards the head of Borrowdale and an assembled cast of Lakeland superstars, including Glaramara, the Scafells and Great Gable.

By the time you cross the highest point on the path, at the delightfully named Puddington Bank (which to me sounds like a stop on Thomas The Tank Engine’s timetable) and descend to Watendlath we’re ready for a break at this popular, picture-postcard hamlet.

By walking here we’ve saved ourself a tortuous drive from the B5289: this drive is particularly harrowing in summer, when you’re forever stopping and starting as folk perhaps not used to driving on such narrow roads hit the panic button and forge ahead regardless, rather than take a deep breath and give way nicely. Hunter Davies, in his excellent “Lakeland – a personal journey” mirrors my assessment, describing Watendlath as “a magnet for tourists … best avoided on summer bank holidays” and describing the access road as “a menace in the high season and it is better to leave the car and walk”.

It’s no surprise that so many people visit Watendlath and its large tarn: where fly fishermen try to catch trout of both the Brown and Rainbow variety. The farm buildings and tarn – given to the National Trust by Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise in memory of her brother King Edward VII – are set in exceptionally beautiful surroundings.

Many visitors to Watendlath are drawn to the Caffle House tea room, situated in a farmhouse next to the car park. We have enjoyed tea and very tasty cake there in the past, but on this occasion it was closed. If you are cream tea aficionados, you’d be advised to try and check opening hours before setting off on a fruit(scone)less journey. As well as housing a world class tea room, the farmhouse was also the setting for one-time bestselling author Sir Hugh Walpole’s novel “Judith Paris”.

Leaving this wonderland (at 268181), we take a path to the left, just before a bridge crosses the beck.

Here the terrain changes from valley pasture to wooded slope as we descend steeply into Borrowdale, passing a photogenic waterfall along the way.

When we reach the B5289, we turn left for a short walk along the road and just after passing the Borrowdale Hotel (260182) cross the road and follow a path across fields to join the River Derwent, which we follow for a short distance before turning sharp left across a bridge (at 261187).

At the bridge we pause (and pose) to admire the fabulous view down the lake towards Skiddaw and its satellites. We then join the Cumbria Way (at 257187) and head in a south westerly direction across more fields to hit a minor road (at 251183) where, still on the “Way”, we turn left and follow the road to Grange.

If you were to turn right here, after around half a mile you would reach Brackenburn, the house where the aforementioned novelist Sir Hugh Walpole lived from 1924 until his death in 1941. Walpole was hugely popular in the 20’s and 30’s but is now little read. He had the misfortune to be a gay man in those benighted times when being gay was a criminal offence, but happily he met a metropolitan policeman who he called his “perfect friend” and lived a contented life with him for many years at Brackenburn. 

Grange is a chocolate box village dating back to medieval times, when the monks of Furness Abbey built a monastic “grange” (or outlying farm) on the site. Its highlights are Holy Trinity church, with its imitation dogtooth decoration in stone and wood and an attractive bridge dating back to 1675.

Just before the coffee shop (at 253175) we take a minor road to the right and follow this until a left turn (at 250171) takes us past a campsite where I misspent some of my youth. The road eventually peters out and becomes a trail – and a fine one it is too.

We follow this trail, along the river and through adjacent woodlands, for 1.2 miles until we reach a picturesque bridge (at 252151). Crossing over the bridge and following the well-trodden path back to Rosthwaite we soon reach the car park.

I have suggested the Scafell Hotel for refreshment, but there are two other alternatives: The Glaramara Hotel at Seatoller (248137) and the Mary Mount Hotel nearer Keswick (267191). Both provide good beer and offer pleasant views of the fells from outdoor seating areas.  

DISCLAIMER

I can take no responsibility for any loss or injury caused by following the above walk. The description is an accurate outline of the route and should enable you to follow the walk on an OS map, but the walk should not be attempted without a map, compass and the ability to use them!