Sunshine And Showers

In Blue Hill wood I admired the waterfall tumbling down into the old quarry. Normally it is only a trickle, but after the recent rain it looked quite impressive. The ground became saturated as I departed the wood and I was glad that I'd put my gaiters on. At this elevated position I could see across Ambleside to the Coniston, Langdale and Fairfield fells. It all looked rather grey, misty and miserable. As if to confirm my assessment, it started to drizzle too. By the time I reached Skelghyll Wood the sun had come out. I guess the weather forecasters had been correct with their prediction for sunshine and showers. 

I joined the walker's motorway between Ambleside and Troutbeck. There were plenty of other walkers out, making the most of this dry spell. I diverted off the track and started heading down towards the Low Wood Hotel. The wonderful view opened up to Lake Windermere and Wray Castle on the other side of the lake. From here to Middlerigg Tarn, my route would meander quite a bit. This was really due to the footpaths that were available rather than personal choice.

Nice Tarmac

A sign warned me that the Low Wood Hotel was out of bounds to the likes of me. I wondered what would happen if I ventured into their grounds; would sirens go off and warning shots fired? I headed off towards Holbeck Ghyll. Hol Beck was really rather pretty, or at least it would have been on a sunny day.  I joined Holbeck Lane and wandered among the rather posh establishments leading off it. As I've found in most parts of the country, the posher the houses, the better the tarmac on the surrounding roads. I didn't see one pot hole on the road passing these houses. I wonder why that is? I had intended taking a footpath from the road just after Briery Close, but I missed the fingerpost... or else it had been taken down. Later research on Google maps showed that it had definitely been there in the past. It didn't present a problem though; I just continued up the road and then doubled back along Mirk Lane. This detour included additional distance and elevation, but it was pleasant enough.

Middlerigg Tarn

After walking along the quiet lanes, it was a bit of a shock when I reached the busy A592. I only needed to walk a 100 metres or so along it to reach Wain Lane, but I decided it was safer to cross the road to the pavement, rather than walk along the grassy verge. That did mean crossing the A592 twice though, which took some patience and an ability to sprint, since the traffic was constant in both directions.

The muddy Wain Lane delivered me to the pretty Middlerigg Tarn. The wall had fallen down in places along its side and this revealed a good view of this sizeable tarn. I noticed some spent shotgun cartridges on the track. I hoped these hadn't been used to take pot shots at the wild fowl and Heron that I spotted on the tarn. I continued along the lane and the higher I got, the drier the path became. After a decent spell of climbing I came to the familiar stone track of Robin Lane.

Return

Robin Lane seemed busier than ever as I made my way back to Ambleside. Muddy runners bounded their way along it. It was approaching 3pm and the light was fading. The crags of the Langdales held a light orange glow from the setting sun. Lights were starting to spring to life in the houses and along the roads of Ambleside. I got back to the holiday let just before it got dark and the commencement of a heavy shower.

The exploration of the Ambleside-Troutbeck-Lake Windermere Triangle has much to offer. It has an interesting mixture of trails and has superb views across Lake Windermere and to the surrounding fells. It does meander and undulate a bit, but not enough to detract from the pleasure of walking in the countryside.