During the lockdown, it is important that everyone does their bit to protect the NHS by avoiding non-essential trips. We hope you enjoy planning new activities and holidays for after the lockdown ends with us.
The route to Blelham tarn is perfect for a family looking for a fantastic day out. This route starts at the illustrious Wray Castle, which is a fabulous day out by itself, and twists around the local landscape until you arrive at your destination.
This our latest addition to our blog series about the Wainwright walks, which are a number of well-travelled and much-loved walks which were completed and documented by a man called Alfred Wainwright. He fell in love with the Lakes at an early age in Windermere as he ascended Orrest Head and dedicated the rest of his life to exploring Cumbria and sharing his findings with others.
The route to Blelham Tarn is quite close to Orrest Head and could even be completed in the same day if you wanted more of a challenge.
Blelham Tarn is situated close to Low and High Wray and is also close to the settlement of Outgate. The tarn is linked to the majestic Lake Windermere, into which it drains via a tributary called Blelham Beck.
If you are thinking about visiting Wray Castle before or after your walk, you might choose to pay for parking at the castle. Alternatively, you might be able to find a spot on the roadside parking near the castle, but please bear in mind that these spaces are limited. If you are hoping to park on the roadside, make sure you bring some cash with you just in case there are no spaces left and you need to change your plan and park at the castle instead.
Remember to bring some walking shoes! Part of the path on this route is typically quite marshy, so it is sensible to bring some shoes to change into if you want to keep your car clean.
You will begin your walk outside Wray Castle. This walk is circular, so you’ll return to this place at the end, too. You need to leave the castle and head towards Low Wray Campsite. Once you’ve passed the campsite, head towards the Blelham Beck bridge and the kissing gate.
Next, you will need to follow the hedge by the road until you come to a metal field gate which leads towards Outgate. When the path forks take the left, marked by a blue arrow.
Soon, you should come to be able to see a tarn. You can take a small detour when the path splits to the left if you want to get closer to the tarn, but your walking route should keep the tarn 100 yards to your left as you continue onwards. You know you’re on the right path if your travels bring you to a gate that leads into some woods.
The track breaks into some marshy ground here, you’ll also need to take the stepping-stones across the stream. Keep the wall on your right and continue towards a nearby stile. You should be approaching the far end of the tarn now.
From this point onwards, you’ll be completing the second half of the walk around the tarn, back to Wray castle.
Keep your eye out for a fingerpost that shows the way to High Tock How at a fork in the path. You need to follow this path. You know you are on the right path when you pass through a gate with a small stream. The tarn should still be to your left.
Eventually, you’ll come to Tock How farm, it should be on your left. You should be about to turn right at a T-junction and continue the finger post signage towards Wray Castle. Head through the gate and ignore the stony track. Continue until you reach a stone step-stile, cross it, and keep going.
In this section of the walk, you’ll cover pasture and woodland. Go through the wicket gate and cross a stone-clapper bridge. Go up the hill and follow the path onto the road. You should be walking past Wray vicarage at this point.
Turn right onto the public bridleway, look out for the gate to the lakeshore and go through it. You should now be on Wray Castle parkland. Continue past Watbarrow Point, through the wood, and eventually you’ll reach Wray Castle – the end of your walk.
If you’re thinking about travelling to Bowness to find a bite to eat to celebrate your achievement, we recommend setting your satnav or GPS to direct you to Rayrigg lane for comparatively cheap parking. You can park here for 2 hours for £3, 3 hours for £4, or 6 hours for £6.
We have previously discussed places to eat in Windermere on our Orrest Head blog which is linked at the top of this post, but you might also choose to dine in at Wray Castle if you fancy one of their afternoon teas. The Wray Castle café offers the perfect pit stop, and we recommend trying it out before you head back to your luxury holiday cottage in the Lake District for a perfect cottages for two in the Lake District.
We look forward to hearing from you after the lockdown!
Lockdown is a stressful time for all of us, but one way to relieve some of that stress is by having a piece of hope for the future. In this blog, we’re going to help you find something to look forward to by detailing a few hiking plans for some post-lockdown fun.
There’s lots of planning to do, so let’s get to it!
A hike in Langdale is always impressive. This area has a lot of majestic valleys and terrain that ensures any walk in this area is varied and memorable. We especially recommend making a stop at Stickle Tarn during your walk, and finishing up at the Stickle Barn pub.
Whilst Langdale is a beautiful walk in all weathers, we would recommend that inexperienced walkers avoid this hike in wet weather as the scrambling sections can be a little dangerous.
If you want to read more about walking in Langdale, you can read our blog about it: Walking with Wainwright: Langdale.
One of the benefits of planning to hike up Catbells is that you’re inevitably going to be spending some time in Keswick. Catbells itself is a fairly easy walk favoured by young families and beginners in hiking, but it’s also a thoroughly pleasant walk with lots of gorgeous views.
Contrary to the feline sounding name of this hike, you should expect a lot of dog walkers in this area. Keswick is an especially dog-friendly area in the Lake District with lots of places to dine with your dog in the main section of town.
You might be interested in our dog-friendly cottages in the Lake District.
Alternatively, you can read more about planning a day out in Keswick on our blog: Walking with Wainwright: Catbells.
Much like Catbells, this hike is favoured by families, but unlike Catbells there isn’t much to do in the area immediately surrounding this mountain. On the other hand, the Old Man of Coniston features one of Cumbria’s best out of use slate mines which hikers can pass through on their route.
Parking in Coniston can be a little difficult, so we recommend reading our blog for a day plan you can trust: Walking with Wainwright: Old Man of Coniston.
Aira Force isn’t a particularly difficult hike, but with the variety of possible routes around this famous waterfall you have the potential to take it very easy if you want to – and if you’re travelling with older relatives this might be the perfect break into nature for you!
Like Coniston Old Man, there isn’t much in the immediate area, but it’s not impossible to find a great place to get a bite to eat near Aira Force. There is also a permanent gift shop and café as well as a refreshments booth to ensure that your walk gets off to a tasty start.
You can find more about planning a day trip to Aira Force on our blog: Walking with Wainwright: Aira Force.
There are plenty of walks around Yorkshire, but the most famous are the three peaks. These gruelling hikes are hard but beautiful. If you’re struggling to choose one, our personal recommendation would be Ingleborough for its beautiful waterfalls trail and lovely village nearby.
You can read more about popular walks in Yorkshire here: 5 Reasons to Take a Break in Yorkshire.
If you’re looking for the equivalent of a taster in the walking world, we can’t recommend Orrest Head in Windermere enough. It’s a very central short walk that gives brilliant views of the Lake District without taking up your entire day – perfect if you’ve got lots to do!
We’ve got a plan for your trip to Orrest Head, with detailed instructions about parking in Windermere.
If Orrest Head is too short a walk for you, we recommend combining it with a trek up the neighbouring Wainwright walk - Red Screes – unless it’s raining. There’s a lot of scrambling and steep terrain on this hike, so we recommend waiting for a sunny day before you attempt this walk.
Situated en route to Ambleside, Red Screes offers brilliant views over Lake Windermere, and the drive to get there is stunning. You can read more about attempting Red Screes here: Walking with Wainwright: Red Screes.
If you’re looking to plan a holiday to enjoy for after the lockdown, we recommend our luxury holiday cottages in the Lake District to celebrate.
