Lake District: Ashness Bridge, Watendlath & Bowder Stone

Date: Wednesday 16^th April

Route: Ashness Bridge, Watendlath and Bowder Stone

Distance: 8.5 miles

A great companion piece to yesterday’s Borrowdale walk, this “more challenging” route from the Pathfinder Guide to Lake District Walks proved to be very straightforward to follow, full of fantastic views and actually not all that challenging at all, relative to our mountain-walking earlier in the week.

The route begins and ends at the south-eastern end of Derwent Water, with views over the lake, the river Derwent and many of the hills and mountains visited on the Borrowdale, Skiddaw and Cat Bells walks. The first stretch (and the biggest climb) includes a great view back over the lake, with Skiddaw in the background, from Ashness Bridge, a single-track packhorse bridge. Next up is Surprise View (hint: less of a surprise when described as such in advance!); luckily this panoramic viewpoint survives its own hyperbole by offering great views in multiple directions from a precarious ledge at the top of the hill. The trails through moss-strewn woodland also provide a break from some of the more exposed paths encountered elsewhere in the Lakes.

The next section of the route follows the stony (but never too steep) path alongside Watendlath Beck to the hamlet of Watendlath, a few remote houses around a tarn, with yet more beautiful views and the backdrop of imposing hillsides. From Watendlath comes a climb up the hillside which is rewarded with great views across the valley and down into Borrowdale, a steep downhill descent which requires concentration, a detour to see (and climb up) the 2,000 ton Bowder Stone, a gigantic piece of Ice Age era geology sitting incongruously in the middle of a wood, more walking alongside the River Derwent (on the opposite bank to the Borrowdale walk) and yet more tea and cake in the village of Grange.

Once fortified, you are ready for the final stretch – a great path along duckboards amongst the reeds and marshes of the southern end of Derwent Water, emerging to reveal the whole lake before you. A couple of lake-side stretches, a little more woodland walking and you are back to your starting point. A highly recommended walk, with lots of interesting views and plenty to keep you engaged, without necessarily wearing you out.