This is a nice loop walk that takes in a number of interesting things to see. It’s a decent length but is all very easy going.
From Aberford we set off on a small road along Becca Bank, which eventually splits off to become just a bridlepath. We wander through a farm (where we had a very impressive view of a red kit hovering above us) before leaving the easy track to follow a footpath that yomps across some ploughed fields. We follow a very unused looking road down into Potterton, where snowdrops and early daffodils are everywhere! We trudge along Potterton lane, a fairly unpleasant bit of road walking - no paths, fast cars - and uphill into Barwick in Elmet. We have a look at the Tower Hill (castle! sort of) and Jubilee gardens (so many crocuses!) before stopping for a pint at the Black Swan.
We walk South West out of Barwick and back into the fields (and spot a deer!). Our route cuts across Garforth golf club and heads off down another farm track, Parlington lane. There are a couple more bits of interest here: the path follows a tunnel (the ‘dark arch’) that has sadly collapsed a bit, and goes past Nellie’s tree, two distinct plants fused into the shape of an N. For love! From here it’s just a straightforward walk into Aberford to finish the walk.
Easy on street parking in Aberford
Pretty easy. There’s no steep hills or very difficult terrain - although the muddy fields might have been more tricky if it had been wetter. There’s a chunk of road-walking in the middle which is a bit of a shame, but hard to route around.
This was a pleasant loop walk. It feels a little perverse to drive all the way to Brimham rocks and then just promptly ignore them, but that’s what you do.
There’s an interesting litle church at Hartwith (St Jude’s). Further round, we were sad to discover the only on-route pub has closed. What a shame.
Brimham Rocks car park. It’ll get busy on a nice summer’s day but was fairly empty in January. £10 parking fee if you’re not a National Trust member.
It’s mostly fairly clearly marked paths and never really gets too hard - although there are some uphill bits.
A loop walk taking in two lakes, with nice views of Coniston Water too.
Set off from Coniston and follow the Cumbria way uphill. A fork in the path leads you up into the woods, still climbing uphill, with good views back over Coniston water once you emerge.
Snake back and forth up the hillside and then follow the ridge along. We leave footpaths and follow a single-track road up through the ferns to the National Trust car park at Tarn Hows. Get coffee. It’s good.
Tarn Hows has an accessible loop path, so its easy walking for a while. Loop around very nearly the whole lake. Stop to say hello to the ducks.
Just before completing the loop, turn off and follow the water downhill (Tom Gill). There’s some good waterfalls here.
Just before hitting the road, turn and walk parallel to it. Soon there’s a crossing, follow through and emerge by Yew Tree tarn. We follow alongside it for nearly its whole length before turning to walk uphill. Skirt the edges of the woodland, looking up at the imposing Long Crag above.
From here it’s all fairly easy. Nice wide path that meanders through the valley, eventually being joined by the Cumbria way. We follow it up and over the hill, meeting the place we forked off from it at the start and then dropping down into Coniston.
Time for a beer.
We were staying in Coniston so no need, but there’s a public car park in the middle too.
14k. Quite a lot of ascent but never too much in one go. Terrain was mostly very easy.
This is a lovely lake district loop walk that takes in a good bit of variety.
We start off riverside, walking through a close canopy of trees, making our way slowly up a hill. Eventually this gives us a good view of Skelwith Force waterfall.
Coming out of the woods, the walk cuts along the edges of hillsides, drops down to cross the valley and then works its way up to Little Langdale. There’s a nice looking pub here (The Three Shires Inn) but it was a bit early in the walk for us to stop.
We cross over into the next valley and drop down into Elterwater. Here we do stop. The Britannia serves up cool, pale beer on a hot day. And scampi fries.
From here it’s a simple, gentle stroll along Great Langdale Beck, passing Elter Water lake and then on to Skelwith bridge.
Skelwith Bridge. All the off-road parking was for customers of the various places to stay, but we had no problem parking on the side of the road.
10k over some hilly ground but never particularly steep or challenging.
A nice round trip from the middle of Malton down to Westow and back. The first good stretch follows the course of the river Derwent Southwards. We’ve had some miserably wet weather and then some very cold weather afterwards. It’s a good thing we did - if the lakes of mud weren’t frozen this might have been really difficult.
Eventually we part from the river and cross a couple of fields to go past St Mary’s, which is a fascinating little church in the absolute middle of nowhere. It’s sadly kept locked, but we had a look at the graveyard, which had stones dating back to the 18th century.
We stopped for a pint in the Blacksmith’s Arms in Westow (Ossett Blonde). It looks a nice pub, but was more restaurant focussed than we were going for.
The walk back was fairly straightforward - we climbed up the hill and just took a fairly straight line back to Malton. It crosses a farm or two, some fields of (very excitable!) horses and through the middle of a golf course.
Not sure! We stayed in Malton so didn’t need to park
It’s a good long way, with a lot of it along a muddy riverbank.