Make the most of autumn’s glories

10:20am Friday 10th October 2008

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This delightful walk from Broughton-in-Furness first takes you along pleasing paths and tracks that use, or keep close to, part of the old railway track along which trains travelled to Foxfield from Coniston. Then footpaths carry on through ancient woodlands before some quiet road walking to Woodland church. The route returns through the peaceful valley, a joy to walk at any time of the year. But, just at the moment, with the vegetation and the leaves of the trees still lush after all the rain, they are superb as they begin to reveal their autumn colours. Park in the square at Broughton-in-Furness, grid ref 214876.

1/ Leave the square by New Street, the road for Coniston. At the sharp bend, keep to the left side and walk with care. A short way along, cross, again with care, and take a gate into the parkland around Broughton Tower, the ‘show field’. Go ahead on a narrow path and climb steadily up the hillock with a dwelling to your right. Carry on under a few ancient oaks to reach a stile. Beyond, drop down the pasture, with Broughton Tower to your right, to join a path, coming in on your right. Turn left and walk on a short way to take a tiny path to a gate, on your right, into woodland, with a lake on either side of the continuing path. Follow the path round left to reach the track bed. There is a seat here to take a pause to enjoy the charming lake.

2/ Stroll on for another three-quarters-of-a-mile to the end of the lovely track, and then follow the ‘slip’ path, going off right, taking you down, through two gates, to the Five Arches road, so named because the defunct railway viaduct had five arches. Turn left and walk on to where the narrow road makes a sharp left turn. Here go on ahead to join a hedged track into pasture. Keep beside the wall on the left and then pass into Buttress Wood, to pass though ancient woodland, much of it coppiced many years ago. Stride on past a delightful small waterfall and then out of the trees on the continuing grassy track, with fine views across the pastures. Go through another gate onto a narrow lane and walk on.

3/ In a short distance, the lane bears right and here take, on the left, the signed access track to High Rosthwaite farmhouse. Wind round between the house and the outbuildings to pass through a gate. Stroll on the pleasing grassy way, with a wall to your right. The route soon curves round left, on a wide grassy flat track to arrive at a signposted gate onto another narrow lane. Cross and take the metal barred stile into more woodland. Carry on ahead on a faint path, very slightly drifting right to go through a gap in an old wall. Continue on as the way drops to a little stream, step across and, a few steps further on, you see your first and only waymark, directing you right. There is no obvious path but walk ahead to step across two more streams, side by side, and then begin to descend on a clearer wider trod still deep in the woodland. At the bottom of the slope, walk on parallel with fenced Steers Pool, to your right, over the rough pathless tussocky ground until you reach a fence ahead.

4/ From here you can see the footbridge over the Pool. To reach the latter, walk a few steps left up beside the fence, cross the narrow tributary stream, where it is shallow, and climb the stile opposite. Turn right and descend to pass through a kissing gate onto the wooden bridge. This continues over the hurrying Pool, as a delightful clapper bridge, before joining a woodland track, where you turn right. Walk on the delectable way through forest trees to pass Bridge End farmhouse, on your right, and go on along the access track to the road. Turn left and walk on for just under a quarter-of-a-mile to a road junction, Here take a stile on your left. Strike across the pasture, winding round a wet area to climb a stile in the bottom left corner. Walk on through scattered trees and climb a little slope to a very narrow lane. Turn right and walk on to a Y-junction. Keep left and then left again and stroll the pleasing lane to Woodland church, which you can soon see ahead.

5/ Beyond the church, turn right to walk a track towards Ringhouse Farm. Just before the first building, on the left, take the stile beside a waymarked gate. Go on, bearing very slightly left, keeping to high ground, aiming for the stile over a wire fence up ahead. Beyond, stride on to an obvious gate gap in the wall ahead. Pass a large ‘stranded’ post, and follow the hawthorn hedge (laden with berries) to your left to an easy-to-miss stile, on the left, over a fence. From the stile look, right, up the hill to see the next gate and head for it. Then continue over the pasture, on a curving grassy track to a gate between the farmhouse and its outbuildings.

6/ Walk ahead, take the first right and walk on through the next gate. Turn left and continue up the slope until you reach a waymark directing you right along a grassy trod. From here look for the cairn high on Thornthwaite Latter Rigg. Head on along the grassy way towards it. Pass through the wall, and where the trod divides, ignore the left branch and go on the winding track as it passes through gorse. Ascend the slope ahead to reach the ridge and then bear left to walk to the cairn, where you will want to enjoy the superb view.

7/ Retrace your steps for about ten yards to descend, now on your left, a good grassy track steadily winding in and out small hillocks and then down to a waymark. From here look in the opposite direction to the arrow to see, across the pastures, the long wooden footbridge you need to take to continue the walk. Head towards it, right, descending a steepish path beside a deer fence. The surface is muddy and fairly steep – walking poles help here. At the foot of the slope, go through a wide gap on your right and go ahead across the pasture to cross the Kirkby Pool by the long footbridge. Walk on ahead across the pasture (a bit wet in the middle) to a gated footbridge across Galloper Pool. Proceed ahead, beside the wall, on the left, over the long rough pasture to climb a stile onto Five Arches Road.

8/ Walk left and, a few yards further on, take a track going off right. This passes through delightful woodland and can be wet before it climbs the slope. Where it divides, take the short right branch. Cross the access track and climb the stile. Ascend the slope and carry on over the fell, keeping close to the wall on your right. After about 250 yards, look for the squeeze stile in the wall, on your right. Beyond, walk ahead, along the side of the pasture, avoiding a large wet patch by a gate, to go over a stile in the wall corner and then strike across the next pasture and walk left, with the old railway track deep down on your right. Go through a gap in the wall and continue to take a stile in the right corner onto the railway track. Turn left and, at the road, walk right, uphill to Broughton square.

Information

Distance: 8 miles Time: 5 hours Terrain: Much easy walking on paths and tracks. Very little lane walking. Two shallow streams to wade. A little easy climbing. Few signposts and waymarks so mark out your route on your map before you start.

Map: OS Explorer OL 6 NB: Restrictions on space mean that this article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable for anyone who plans to follow the walk to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map.