Bill's Coast to Coast Diary

Day 5: Glenridding to Bampton Grange

(N.B. Hover your mouse over the pictures for captions)

The original plan for this day was to walk over Kidsty Pike to Burnbanks at the end of Haweswater. There we were to telephone the Crown and Mitre in Bampton Grange, and get them to pick us up. Because of the bad weather, we had already decided that the low level route over Moor Divock would be prudent.

Farm at Patterdale

We therefore set off and walked to Patterdale, and from there traced the route round Ullswater to Howtown.

The head of Ullswater at Patterdale

Another not-so-flat lake!

Walking round Ullswater

Cloud was hanging round the peaks of the hills as we walked round, but the scenery was still lovely.

Unfortunately, the rain was not so lovely, and we were hoping that there would be a pub at Howtown to shelter for a while, have a drink, and refresh our spirits. This there was, and a couple of pints of beer went down very well! Not so well received, however was the advice from fellow walkers about how bad it was on the moor. In fact we were told to expect bogs and steepness, and were advised to walk to Howtown on the road. In fact we met Howard and Lynda on the way in who were setting out to do just that. Also, I could see a ford on the path near the summit. Would it be a raging torrent? Would there be stepping stones or would we have to get wet feet? If we had to turn back it would be one hell of a long way back.

Halin Fell

None of us like road walking, so we took the decision to risk the moor. After all, it is shorter as well. We set off from the pub and onto the bridleway which crosses the moor, expecting bogs and running water at any point. In fact the path turned out to be delightful, rising gently over the moor with great views over Ullswater and firm conditions under foot throughout. I would definitely recommend this path over Moor Divock to anyone. The ford turned out to be nothing too. Even the rain held off for us!

Climbing up to Moor Divock

Soon, we turned across the moor, heading towards Bampton. It was amazing how quickly the scenery changed. Within an hour, we had gone from lakes and mountains to moor land. I really enjoyed this part of the walk.

Descending from Moor Divock

Soon, we descended onto the road and had to walk for a few miles to Bampton Grange. This seemed endless. By this time my feet were really sore and I was so glad to find the Crown and Mitre. They took our wet coats and boots off us, and we went upstairs for a shower, followed later in the evening by a hearty meal in the bar. Unfortunately all of the landlord's three real ales were off so we had to make do with keg beer!

The Crown and mitre, Bampton Grange