Kentmere, Sour Howes, Garburn Pass, Castle Crag, Kentmere Hall, Cumbria. Thu 30 Nov 2006

The only bit of clear sky I saw.

It was still dark when I arrived in the Kentmere Valley. I had to do a bit of driving up and down the narrow road to find somewhere safe to park. Most of the obvious places had ‘passing place only’ signs on them. I started by Ullthwaite Bridge and followed the tarmac track to the group of houses at Croft Head. After passing through a gate I was on a walled but unsurfaced track. It was overcast and still quite dark. Away to the south east was a patch of clear orange sky which never moved or got bigger. At least it wasn’t raining. The track opened up through Acretarn Plantation and at the far end I came across an old shooting lodge

Inside the Shooting Lodge.

 The walls and roof were intact but the windows and door had gone. Inside were the remains of the fire range but the ceiling had started to disintegrate and I don’t suppose it will be long before the roof follows it. The well used track continued north west but I didn’t want to follow it for too long. The map shows a branch running off towards Sour Howes, which is where I was heading. On the ground there was no evidence of a path so I headed off across the fell along my best guess of the route.

I gained altitude then had a look back. The same patch of pink sky was there in the distance but the remainder of the sky was still covered in cloud. I had to cross a couple of annoying barbed wire fences before I could get to Sour Howes. The views were good but the wind was getting up so I didn’t linger long. I was now looking down into Troutbeck and could see cars climbing the steep road up towards Kirkstone Pass. The wall that runs all the way to the summit of the Garburn Pass came in very handy as a wind break. It was still early when I arrived at the pass summit but I was getting peckish and decided to stop for my sandwiches. As I set off again a couple of cyclists came up from the Troutbeck side and vanished over the summit. How refreshing to see two wheeled transport that I think is compatible with this type of track. I didn’t have any firm plan for the next part of my route, except heading generally in the direction of Yoke and then turning right and descending into the Kentmere Valley. I started along the path and soon noticed a lot of restorative path work had been done since I was last here. The double ditch system and raised centre had been used. His gives a good path base that will never puddle into mud because if the permanent drainage.

I wasn’t on it long before turning right and heading across Buck Crag and Castle Crag. It was good walking and had a nice old and decrepit wall to follow.

The old wall and Kentmere valley.

Track and Outward Bound centre.

Small waterfall by the track.

Pele Tower at Kentmere Hall.

Eventually a better track appeared and I followed it down to a gate and through to the access track to the Reservoir Cottage. There was nobody at the Cottage but it looks like some kind of Outward Bound centre, though I’ve never seen anyone there. I turned right at the track and followed it past Hartrigg and on to Kentmere. When I got to the tarmac I turned right, between the buildings, then down the fields to Kentmere Hall. I couldn’t get a very good view of the 14th century Pele Tower because of high walls around it. I took the muddy track south and followed it along the west side of the bottom of the valley. For a while I could see Kentmere Tarn then what looked like a storage depot came in to view ahead.

Instead of taking their access road back to the valley road I followed a lane signposted ‘pottery’. On the map it is called Sawmill Cottage and there is obviously some history attached to the area. When I arrived I saw a line of old millstones propped up against the wall. I couldn’t resist photographing them, especially as one had a date and inscription on it which read JA 1722, though I didn’t ever expect to find out who JA was. The way ahead wasn’t obvious so I had a look round the back. As I did so the Potter came out and we had a chat. The continuing path was fairly obvious when he pointed it out but I thought I’d ask about the millstone while here. He knew all about the date etc and it turned out that JA was Jane Airey who owned three mills in the area. When I got home a quick internet search came up with www.kentmerepottery.com and I had just been talking with Gordon Fox. A walled path soon took me back to Croft Head and the way I’d come.

The old Millstone at the Pottery