Lake District

Dorothy Wordsworth walking trail

Children dressed as William and his sister Dorothy at the National Trust's Wordsworth House and Garden in Cumbria — Follow in the footsteps of Dorothy Wordsworth and her brother William in the Lake District | © National Trust Images

Mark the life of Dorothy Wordsworth by making the journey from her birthplace in Cockermouth to the place where she died in Rydal. Dorothy Wordsworth was a creative force in her own right, just 19 months younger than her famous brother William and they were close all their lives. You can create your own route – this one follows the valleys so that you can use the frequent bus service to join up the sections of the walk.

Near to

Wordsworth House and Garden

Start point

Wordsworth House and Garden, Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9RX

Walk the route in two days

The walking route stays close to the main bus routes between Rydal and Cockermouth so that you can break the walk into sections and catch the bus home. We suggest splitting the walk at Keswick, doing steps 1–8 as Day 1, and steps 9–14 as Day 2. You can also split it into shorter sections and make the journey over more days.

Address
Wordsworth House and Garden, Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9RX
Directions via Google Maps
By train
Nearest train stations are at Penrith (30 miles from start and 28 miles from finish), Workington (9 miles from start and 38 miles from finish) and at Windermere (35 miles from start and 6.5 miles from finish).
By bus
The X4/X5 bus links Cockermouth to Keswick via the A66 (also links to Workington and Penrith train stations), The 555 bus links Rydal to Keswick (also links to Windermere train station).
By road
The start at Wordsworth House and Garden is on the A5086 coming into Cockermouth from the A66 junction. The end at Dora's Field, near St Mary's Church in Rydal, is adjacent to the A591 in Rydal.
This route mostly follows the valleys, but there is one ascent to Grisedale Tarn that is unavoidable as there is no public right of way which avoids the busy A591 over Dunmail Raise. The ascent is 336m, and is steep, but can be taken gradually. The gentler descent reveals wonderful views of Grasmere. The early part of the walk crosses low-lying ground near Bassenthwaite Lake and can be very muddy and waterlogged during wet weather.
Total stages: 14
Total stages: 14
Start point
Wordsworth House and Garden, Main Street, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9RX
Stage 1
Facing Wordsworth House, turn right and head east along Cockermouth Main Street, crossing over the River Cocker and bear left up Castlegate past Cockermouth Castle on the left. Continue along Castlegate Drive past the school until you reach a kissing gate on the left, 1.24 miles (2km) from the start, signposted Isel (grid ref NY 133312).
Dorothy's birthplace
Dorothy was born at Wordsworth House on 25 December 1771. She was sent away to live with relatives after the death of her mother and missed her home and brothers terribly. She only returned to Cockermouth once as an adult to view the house where she'd spent her early childhood. She wrote, 'I was never once at home, was never for a single moment under my father's roof after her death, which I cannot think of without regret... We at the same moment lost a father, a mother, a home.'
Stage 2
Follow the path diagonally uphill towards Watch Hill, passing through four gates. Keep the wall on your left and enter Hill's Wood (grid ref NY 148320). Follow the bridleway downhill, keeping the wall on your left until you reach the road at grid ref NY 162328.
Stage 3
Continue in the same direction on the road for 328 yards (300m). Turn left down the hill signposted to Isel. Cross Isel Bridge and turn right signposted Bewaldeth and Sunderland. Walk along the road for half a mile until a sharp bend to the left, where you continue straight on the bridleway signposted Coalbeck Farm (grid ref NY 175335). At the end of the stock yard bear left to go through the gate and follow the concrete track alongside the fence on your left. Follow the bridleway for 2.17 miles (3.5km) passing Cumbria Wildlife Park on your left. Turn right at the gate onto a metalled road. Continue past the entrance to Armathwaite Hall Hotel to reach the B5291 (bus stop at grid ref NY 209325).
Stage 4
Turn right onto the B5291 (No footpath for 328 yards (300m) then cross the road before the green overhead bridge to a metal gate and public footpath sign to Scarness 1 mile. Follow the footpath keeping the fence to your right through fields, which can be muddy and occasionally flooded. There are several stiles and gates to traverse. After the fifth stile the path changes to a boardwalk through woodland. Then the path crosses rough pasture, bearing left away from the fence to stone slabs across a stream. Continue towards the field boundary, bearing left to cross a wooden bridge, go through the gate towards the footpath sign. Cross a further stream and head diagonally left to two gates. Continue to driveway and turn right, following a footpath sign until a T-junction, turn left for 55 yards (50m). Turn right next to the entrance to a holiday park on a footpath towards Scarness Bay.
Stage 5
Follow the footpath south-east to Bowness Bay and on to reach the minor road (grid ref NY 225299). Turn right and after 219 yards (200m) bear right through a gate following a footpath sign towards Mirehouse. Crossing the first field, bear left to exit by a small gate, then cross four fields and a wood until you see St Bega's church off to the right. Cross the stream and turn left on the footpath, keeping the woodland and Mirehouse on your left until you reach the A591 (bus stop).
Stage 6
Cross the A591 into Dodd Wood and walk through the car park with the tea-room and bridge on your left and toilets on the right. Follow the path uphill with Skillbeck on your left and continue straight on past a wide turning on your left, opposite a clearing on your right, until you reach a T-junction after a slight rise. Turn left away from the osprey viewing station. Follow the track as it bends to the right uphill through an open gate. Continue on this track past the second osprey viewing station, out of the woods.
Stage 7
Bear right on a wide downhill track, eventually crossing Scalebeck Gill. The wide track ends in a loop. Look for the path on your right heading downhill with Scalebeck Gill on your right. At a junction of paths keep left, crossing a small beck and up over a stile. Turn right to follow the path steeply downhill to a stile and a beck down to the road at Millbeck.
Stage 8
Turn left through the village and take the right turn opposite the village hall, and shortly turn left onto a farm track with a footpath sign. Bear left between the farm buildings and follow the footpath between two walls to reach a gate. Bear right below the barn and continue through a gate to a field. Bear left to another gate. Continue across the field to another gate, over a beck and pass close to the house on your right. Head towards a house on your left, through a gate onto a drive and turn right onto a minor road. Continue on the road through the village, turn right at the junction and then immediately left following the footpath sign over Applethwaite Gill. Keep left at the first gate and at the second gate bear right diagonally across the field towards Ormathwaite Hall. At the road, turn right and after 273 yards (250m) take the footpath on your left. Follow the footpath crossing three fields to join the Cumbria Way track, turning right towards Keswick over the A66 bridge. At the road at Briar Rigg turn right, and after passing the remains of a railway bridge turn left through a metal gate into Fitz Park. Follow the path through the park towards the river, cross the river at the footbridge and turn left and then right to arrive at Bank Street. Turn right and after 100m turn left into the marketplace and the tourist information centre (Moot Hall).
Stage 9
From Keswick tourist information centre walk south-east past the Royal Oak pub towards St John Street, past the cinema and St John's Church along Ambleside Road. Turn right into Springs Road and at the end of the road follow the path through the woods signposted Castlerigg Stone Circle and Rakefoot. Keep the beck on your left and follow the path, turning right before a bridge. Continue uphill on the path until you cross a footbridge followed shortly by a gate onto a minor road. Turn left and then immediately right at a footpath signposted Castlerigg Stone Circle. Follow the wall on your left through two gates, then follow the footpath signs until you reach the A591.
Walking out of Keswick
Dorothy's journal entry for 29 December 1801 describes walking out of Keswick after a stay with Coleridge: 'A fine morning. A thin fog upon the hills which soon disappeared. The sun shone... We turned out of the road at the second mile stone, and passed a pretty cluster of houses at the foot of St. John's Vale. The houses were among tall trees, partly of Scotch fir, and some naked forest trees. We crossed a bridge just below these houses, and the river winded sweetly along the meadows. Our road soon led us along the sides of dreary bare hills, but we had a glorious prospect to the left of Saddleback, half-way covered with snow, and underneath the comfortable white houses and the village of Threlkeld... Skiddaw was behind us, and dear Coleridge's desert home. As we ascended the hills it grew very cold and slippery. Luckily, the wind was at our backs, and helped us on. A sharp hail shower gathered at the head of Martindale, and the view upwards was very grand‚ wild cottages, seen through the hurrying hail-shower. The wind drove, and eddied about and about, and the hills looked large and swelling through the storm.'
Stage 10
Turn right for 415 yards (380m), crossing the road at the third footpath sign on the left. Cross the field downhill to climb over a wall with a stone stile. Turn left following a footpath sign to a gate and then cross the track to another gate. Carry on downhill, keeping the wall and fence on your left to pass through another gate at the bottom of the field. Follow the path to cross a concrete bridge. Turn left through the gate or over the stile following the sign for St John's in the Vale Church. Go through the next gate and head for a bridge. Then head for a gate in front of you to the right of Sykes Farm. Once through, head uphill over rocks to a gate onto a farm track. Turn right and follow the minor road that becomes a bridleway that skirts the foot of the fell, before heading towards the A591. Cross a narrow field before crossing the A591.
Stage 11
Head along the track towards Shoulthwaite Farm caravan site. Through the gate turn left between the barns and through another gate heading south-east on a footpath that becomes a track passing Shoulthwaite Moss on the left, and then a disused quarry on the right. Turn right onto a minor road for 22 yards (20m) and then cross to follow a footpath to Bridge End Farm. At Bridge End Farm turn right onto the road towards Thirlmere Dam. After 547 yards (500m), before the dam, look out for steep steps on your left signposted Permissive Path. Ascend steps and follow the path around the western side of Great How.
The drowned valley of Wytheburn
Before the dam was built in 1894 that flooded the valley, the villages and farms of Armboth and Wytheburn were here. Dorothy's journal entry for 4 May 1802 records: 'We saw Coleridge on the Wytheburn side of the water; he crossed the beck to us...William and I ate luncheon, and then went on towards the waterfall. It is a glorious wild solitude under that lofty purple crag. It stood upright by itself; its own self, and its shadow below, one mass; all else was sunshine. We went on further. A bird at the top of the crag was flying round and round, and looked in thinness and transparency, shape and motion like a moth.... We climbed the hill, but looked in vain for a shade, except at the foot of the great waterfall. We came down, and rested upon a moss-covered rock rising out of the bed of the river. There we lay, ate our dinner, and stayed there till about four o'clock or later. William and Coleridge repeated and read verses. I drank a little brandy and water, and was in heaven.'
Stage 12
After 850m turn right onto a wide track and walk south with Thirlmere on your right for 1.24 miles (2km), eventually turning east uphill away from Thirlmere to pass under the A591 into Swirls car park (bus stop and public toilets). Turn right back towards the A591 and look for the signpost 'Squirrel trail /Thirlmere loop' for the forest track on your left before the gates to the main road. Follow the forest track south for 3 miles (5km). At the edge of the forest where the track turns right, continue straight on over two bridges on a footpath across the open fell, keeping the wall on your right. Cross Raise Beck (take care after heavy rain) to the path on the southern side to turn left up Raise Beck valley.
The Rock of Names
The Wordsworths created landmarks for themselves on their walks. One was the Rock of Names, where they would often meet, or leave Coleridge when he visited them on foot from Keswick. It was a rock where they had carved their initials. Dorothy's journal extract for 4 May 1802: 'We parted from Coleridge at Sara's Crag after having looked for the Letters which C carved in the morning. I kissed them all. William deepened the T with C.'s pen-knife. We sate afterwards on the wall, seeing the sun go down, and the reflections in the still water.'
Stage 13
Follow the path towards a wall on your left and continue with the beck on your left. The path gets rougher as it ascends before levelling off and eventually Grisedale Tarn appears below you. Turn right and follow the path south to a gap in the wall at Hause Gap. Descend to where the path divides and bear left downhill with Tongue Gill below on your right. On reaching woodland bear right to cross the gill. Turn left to join the path descending to Mill Bridge at the A591.
Stage 14
Cross over the A591 onto a minor road to cross Low Mill Bridge and then turn left to follow the road past Underhelm, bearing left again to Goody Bridge. Turn left at the T-junction onto the Easdale road and continue to Grasmere. Cross over the B5287, cutting through the village before turning left to join the B5287 past the church, heading out of Grasmere to the roundabout. Cross the A591 and bear left onto the minor road passing Dove Cottage and Town End. Continue on the road uphill taking the second left signposted Alcock Tarn and Coffin Route to Rydal. The road becomes a track and then a path continuing east with Rydal Water below on your right, eventually leading to a lane beside Rydal Mount.
Allan Bank, St Oswald's Church, Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount
Grasmere is full of places significant to Dorothy's life – the houses where she lived, the church where she worshipped. This is from her journal entry for 3 September 1800: 'When we got out of the dark house the sun was shining, and the prospect looked as divinely beautiful as I ever saw it. It seemed more sacred than I had ever seen it, and yet more allied to human life. The green fields, in the neighbourhood of the churchyard, were as green as possible; and, with the brightness of the sunshine, looked quite gay.'
End point
Dora's Field, Rydal Church, Rydal, LA22 9LX
Trail map
Map of the Dorothy Wordsworth walking trail, Lake District | © Crown copyright and database rights 2013 Ordnance Survey
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01900824805

wordsworthhouse@nationaltrust.org.uk

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Near to

Start point

Trail information

Difficulty*

Accessibility**

Full trail

Walk the route in two days

Getting here

Facilities

Terrain and elevation

Trail route

Total stages: 14

Total stages: 14

Start point

Stage 1

Point of interest

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

Point of interest

Stage 5

Point of interest

Stage 6

Stage 7

Point of interest

Stage 8

Point of interest

Stage 9

Point of interest

Stage 10

Stage 11

Point of interest

Stage 12

Point of interest

Stage 13

Point of interest

Stage 14

Point of interest

End point

Trail map

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