Walk Summary
A great mixture of wildlife, waterfalls and wonderful landscape. Completes a circuit of Gowbarrow Fell. Delightful bird's-eye views of Ullswater. Rolls around the hillside of the delightful Glencoyne valley.
Date: 03/05/2023
Length: 10.19 miles
Height Gain: 756 m
Terrain: Stone tracks, muddy tracks, stone steps, grass tracks
Navigation: Map, compass and gps required. The tracks are well defined. Navigation hints are on the map.
Start: National Trust Aira Force Carpark
Route: National Trust Aira Force Carpark, Aira Force, Yew Crag, Gowbarrow Fell, Glencoyne Brow, Glencoyne Head, Glencoyne Bridge
Map: OL5 North Eastern Lake District
Weather: Hazy sun in morning, blue skies in afternoon
Walkers: Nun, Cabin Boy, Kapitan Mo
Captain's Log
Aira Force
A flash of yellow and brown caught my eye as we walked through the woodland near to Aira Force. It was a Yellowhammer and we'd see another pair later on in the walk. The trails along Aira Beck really are a delight, with wildlife and ancient woodland accompanying the dramatic views of the waterfalls and cascades. A sign said that the lower Aira Force bridge had been blocked off due to damage caused by falling trees. A photo showed a massive tree laying on the top of the bridge. We continued up to the higher bridge. There wasn't much water coming down the beck but the waterfall was still impressive. After crossing the bridge we headed back down the eastern side of the beck. The National Trust have erected walking platforms along parts of the trail allowing better views of the trees and beck. Due to the elevated position, it is a bit like walking in the canopy of the trees in places. At a junction a fingerpost headed back to the carpark and another finger pointed in the direction of Gowbarrow; we chose to follow the latter.
Four Typhoons came screeching over Ullswater just as we escaped the trees. Quite a change after the tranquillity of the Aira Force trails. The track climbed gradually along the southern flank of Gowbarrow offering superb views along the length of Ullswater. At the highest point of the track we reached a fine stone seat that had the inscription 'A Thank Offering Oct 1905.' It would be a fine place to sit down and soak in the Ullswater panorama, but there was a strong wind blowing that had a definite chill, and so we continued onwards. Nearby was a gate that led to a crag giving an even better view along Ullswater. That wind was more freezinig than chilly and so we made a quick departure to the continuation of the track along the eastern side of Gowbarrow.
Aira Force
Ullswater
Tree Troublers In Action
Tree Troublers
The sun was out now, and in the lee of Gowbarrow, the day was heating up. Kapitan Mo decided to put on his sunhat. I watched in interest as he opened the rucksack's main compartment at the top and took out the entire rucksack's contents, before reaching his sunhat at the very bottom. I did think about asking why he didn't put things that he'll probably need on the walk in the rucksack's easy access top compartment. It was also puzzling why he'd not used the zip allowing easy access to the bottom of his rucksack's main compartment. In the end I kept silent as I watched him return his stuff strewn across the grass, back into his rucksack.
The Tree Troublers were active in the nearby plantations. A machine grabbed trees at their base, cut through them, toppled them over, and then stripped off the branches along their length. Finally it cut them into manageable sized logs. I agreed with the Kapitan that it would be fun to have a go with the machine but I'm sure it would have got repetitive and boring after cutting down half a dozen or so.
A sign said that there would be helicopter dumping of stones on the next section of the trail today. We could see people coming down from Gowbarrow and so figured it would be okay to proceed. There was nobody else on Gowbarrow's summit. It offered an excellent view over to Great Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell. Our route was westwards though and we started heading back down towards Aira Beck.
Ullswater From Glencoyne Brow
North Of Ullswater
We had a short break basking on the sun soaked stones of Aira Beck. The trails were busy now with other walkers. After our break we continued westwards towards the carpark at Brunt Crag. Four young Asian girls approached from the carpark. Two of them were in traditional dress and every ten yards are so they would stop and take selfies. One of them asked me if the waterfalls were close. 'Five minutes walk' I informed them although I did think that it might take them five hours if they stop for selfies every few yards.
A track on the right side of the carpark led to the fell. We'd be following a stone wall that runs along the fell and parallel to Ullswater. In the past I've used the track on the north side of the wall, but this sometimes restricts the view of Ullswater. I decided to follow the fell on the south side of the wall. Ultimately we'd need to be on the north side and I wasn't a 100% sure whether there was a stile that would allow us to get over the wall. I decided to give it a try anyway. The south side of the wall did provide better views although a lot of it was trackless and so hard going. I did find an easy spot to get to the north side of the wall, where a stream breaches the wall, although this wasn't an official stile. If I do this walk again I'd probably stick to the easy walking on the north side of the wall. The views down on to Ullswater were magnificent. We stopped on a crag near Glencoyne Brow to have our lunch and admire the views.
Aira Beck
Ullswater From Glencoyne
Head Of The Glencoyne Valley
Glencoyne
Glencoyne is a gem a valley. It is less frequented than the nearby Glenridding valley and feels better for it. The track contoured halfway up the hillside, around the head of the valley and to the col between White Stones and Sheffield Pike. If felt easy walking on the good, level track. Some mountain bikers reached the Sheffield Pike col a few minutes before us. They'd ridden up from the Glenridding valley and now disappeared down the path on Bleakbank Side. We followed them but at a much slower pace.
The views of Ullswater just seemed to get better as we progressed further down the valley. We diverted left off the path and headed to a row of old miner's cottages. Some of these appear to be holiday lets now. Footpath markers disappeared after the cottages, but I followed a vague track that took us directly to Glencoyne Farm. The track seemed to drop down into their back garden and I thought I might have gone astray. Once down to the farm though, some footpath markers led us past the houses, ancient barn and to the drive that leads to the Ullswater road.
Tree On The Ullswater Trail Between Glencoyne And Aira Force
Return To Aira Force
There were lambs in abundance in an adjoining field to Glencoyne Farm. One of them chewed on a small piece of wood; it was either that or she was smoking a cheroot. There is a well made trail that runs parallel to the Ullswater Road, that leads all the way back to the Aira Force carpark. Views are restricted somewhat because of the surrounding trees and road, but it is still a pleasant walk. We came across three people stood on the trail with their dog. They said that one of the cows further up ahead had become a bit too curious with their dog, forcing them to retreat. This made the Cabin Boy a little nervous as we approached the herd. The cattle gave us a cursory glance as we past but didn't seem that bothered with us.
It had been a cracking walk with a good mixture of wildlife, waterfalls and wonderful landscape. I think that you get the best views of Ullswater along this route...there again the views from Hallin Fell, on the other side of the lake, aren't that bad either.
Smoking Is A Bad Habit At Such An Early Age