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Lat/Long: 54.624845, -03.153667
OS Grid ref: NY 25612 26135
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I left my car in the parking area at the front of the Millbeck
village Hall then set off west along the lane. When I return
I'll put £2 in the box for a parking donation as requested even
though there are several free parking laybys along the lane. I
think the Parish could do with the money. It was calm though
slightly overcast as I set off. I continued down to the main
road junction then took the right forestry track up into the
woods. It was long disused for vehicles and didn't look much
used by pedestrians either. Higher up the path l left the track
and headed into the pines following and undulating route up to a
path junction. Heading up the hill I reached a forestry track
that took me to the Dodd Wood car park, cafe and toilets. The
cafe was closed and didn't seem to open until afternoon. |
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Dodd wood Cafe. |
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I descended to the A591 main road, crossed it and followed the
path by Mirehouse and its extensive private grounds. It seems to
be occasionally open to the public for a charge and there are
certainly several ‘Private’ and ‘Ticket holders’ only signs
around. |
Mirehouse. |
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The Speddings family first opened the house to the public in
1981, as they wanted to make use of such a large family home.
The original house was built in 1666 by the Earl of Derby as a
hunting lodge, but it was expanded in both the 18th and 19th
centuries. |
Mirehouse. |
The path then headed off across fields to the
isolated St Bega’s Church. |
Self closing gate. |
Self closing gate mechanism. |
Self closing gate mechanism. |
St Bega's Church. |
St Bega's church and Bassenthwaite |
There is no surfaced access road and it is very isolated. Inside
is quite nice and definitely worth a look. I’d brought my drone
with me so I took some aerial views.
The 1867 & 1900 OS map
calls it St Bridget's Church. Its not until the 1952 edition
that the church is called St Bega's. It was built around 950 AD
and is still used for regular services and weddings & is a
graded II listed building.
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St Bega's Church. |
St Bega's Church |
St Bega's Church |
Stained glass windowws in memory of Margaret Emily Spedding
(1842 - 1873)
Graves of the Spedding family. |
Highmore Memorial
1300s |
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Royal arms of George II Reign (1727 – 1760)
Dieu et mon droit
- God and my right. |
The church in the 1830s. |
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I was hoping to get some shots of it with Bassenthwaite Lake in
the background but they didn’t seem to come off as I’d hoped. I
left by the track through Highfield Wood and continued to the
road where there is a sign mentioning the Church. This seems to
be the only vehicle access and the road gate was locked. I
turned left and followed the road towards Scar Ness but didn’t
go that far. I was heading for a bus stop so I could catch the
654 bus back. Instead of heading for the Castle Inn as I did the
last time I took the lane to Chapel Bridge near Bassenthwaite. |
Roadkill on the way to the bus stop. |
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Bus ride back to Millhouse. |
It was a pleasant sunny walk and began to get warm as I reached
the main road. The bus was due at 11:58 but was late. i was
surprised to see it was on the trackable on the bus app and was
the first small single deck bus I’ve seen with tracking onboard.
It arrived at 12:07 so not too late. I got off at the Millbeck
Road end stop and walked up the lane back to the village. On the
way I stopped to chat to a workman who was rebuilding a stone
wall.
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Wall rebuilding. |
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