Lanthwaite Wood and Crummock Water walk
This walk is dominated by two spectacular views: the famous vista of the Buttermere fells seen over Crummock Water, and the dramatic rocky buttress of Grasmoor End, looming over the northern end of the lake.
Map
Start:
Lanthwaite Wood National Trust car park, grid ref: NY149215
1
Leave the car park through the small gate at the far end from the road, turn right onto the footpath that runs alongside the River Cocker and follow it all the way to Crummock Water. After heavy rain this path can be quite wet - if this is the case, follow the forest track instead.
2
The path brings you to the source of the Cocker, and one of the district's best viewpoints. From here, follow the track running along the left-hand side of the lake through Lanthwaite Wood, followed by the very different High Wood.
Early industry
Although they look peaceful now, the shores of Crummock Water were once the site of early industry. On this route you'll pass the site of one kiln, now under a bench, and a bloomery site, the earliest form of iron production, found where the path actually runs along the beach. Look for fragments of waste iron slag amongst the rocks on the beach (but please leave them here).
3
The lakeside path passes through two large fields after leaving High Wood, then enters a long narrow field filled with gorse bushes. Follow the path along the lake shore to the far end of this field, then turn left and follow the grassy path that climbs up to the higher side of the field. Turn left, staying inside the field, and follow the path that runs along the upper edge of all three fields back to High Wood.
4
At High Wood a gate leads onto a road. Cross this road, then head straight across the hillside, towards Grasmoor End (look for a suitable path through the bracken).
5
This brings you to a major path running across the hillside. Turn left onto this path and follow it all the way to Liza Beck where it emerges from Gasgale Gill, between Grasmoor and Whiteside.
6
Turn left at the beck, and head down the line of an old drainage ditch towards the Iron Age homestead (X marks the spot on the map), a series of sunken platforms between the ditch and Liza Beck. After exploring the homestead continue on in the same direction towards the road you crossed earlier.
Iron Age homestead
Note the depth of the sunken platforms that once held the buildings of an Iron Age or Roman village on Lanthwaite Common. These platforms were dug out to make some level space for a house, and the spare soil was used for banks around the village.
7
Turn right onto the road, then left onto the next signposted footpath running along a narrow lane between stone walls. Follow this to the edge of Lanthwaite Wood.
8
Just inside the woods, turn right onto a narrow footpath. This follows the edge of the wood, then climbs up onto Brackenthwaite Hows, once a famous 'viewing station'.
The Lanthwaite 'Station'
The view from Brackenthwaite Hows was a fixture for Victorian tourists, and was mentioned in an 1879 guide as 'The Station', a viewpoint attached to the old Scale Hill Hotel. You will see both views on your walk: from the lakeshore, dominated by the water, or from the hilltop, with many more fells visible.
9
Brackenthwaite Hows has two summits. Follow the path from the first to the second, then curve away to the left to follow a ridge that leads towards a stile leading into the woods. Follow the path as it drops down Dick Robins' Steps, and then onto a forestry track. Turn left onto this track, then right at the next junction to return to our starting point.
Dick Robins' Steps
The stone steps between the hotel and the viewpoint are known as Dick Robins' Steps and and were probably cut by the hotels owners. They were possibly named in memory of Richard Robinson, a 16th-century landowner who purchased land here after the dissolution of the monasteries.
End:
Lanthwaite Wood National Trust car park, grid ref: NY149215
