Walking trail
Seathwaite to Sty Head and Grains Gill walk
This invigorating walk takes you into the heart of the Lake District hills on an ancient pack horse route.
Good boots and waterproofs needed for a challenging walk
Renowned peaks like Great Gable loom large as you follow the trail through Sty Head Pass, visiting Sty Head Tarn and Sprinkling Tarn (great picnic spots), before returning alongside Grains Gill stream. Enjoy fantastic views on paths restored and maintained as part of the ‘Fix the Fells’ project.
Map
Start:
Seathwaite farmyard, grid ref: NY235121
1
Cross Seathwaite farmyard, going through a series of gates. Walk along a streamside gravel track over a small footbridge.
2
On reaching Stockley Bridge, continue straight ahead and begin climbing up Sty Head Pass on cobbled and stone-pitched paths.
History of Stockley Bridge
This historic packhorse bridge was constructed in 1540, but partially demolished after floods in 1969. It's actually designated as a grade I listed building because there are so few such old bridges in the area. Goods like salt, wool and charcoal were transported by pack animals through the Lakeland valleys on mountain passes like this for centuries.
3
Follow this route, which after a short distance becomes a narrow gravel track on more level but still uneven ground. The footbridge over Sty Head Gill appears in front of you.
4
Cross the bridge then bear left, ascending gently towards Sty Head Tarn. Great Gable rises up to your right.
Great Gable
Enjoy the majestic view of Great Gable, a favourite Lakeland mountain with walkers, painters and photographers alike.
5
Just above the Tarn you will see a mountain rescue stretcher box. From here walk left across stepping stones and on to another stone-pitched path with some sections of gravel and bedrock. Follow this to Sprinkling Tarn, a pleasant spot to rest for a bite to eat.
Sprinkling Tarn
This beautiful tarn below Great End is a nursery for the vendace; Britain's rarest freshwater fish. The vendace is a small fish with a bluish green back and silvery flanks. Its a relic from the last glacial period which only survives in the watercourses that flow into Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake.
6
Leave Sprinkling Tarn and follow the same path as it skirts around the bottom of Great End until meeting Ruddy Gill, a fairly steep stream.
Great End
The sheer rock face of Great End rises up beyond the Two Tarns at the head of the Borrowdale Valley. Man has lived in this landscape for thousands of years. The remains of Neolithic stone axe factories have been found dotted across the slopes around here.
7
At Ruddy Gill turn left and cross the stream. Continue straight ahead and you will soon get back onto the path on Grains Gill again. On a clear day there are great views of the Borrowdale valley and Derwent Water from here.
8
Follow this path downhill, crossing a footbridge on the way. Eventually you'll reach a drystone wall. Go through a gate in the wall and look out again for Stockley Bridge ahead. Return to it and then to your start point by the same streamside route you came up.
End:
Seathwaite farmyard car park, grid ref: NY235121
