The breeze billows your shirt. Shapes form and reform on the lake surface. Your calves ache, not in a bad way.
From Arthur’s Pike, the highest point visible from Another Place, the view sprawls. Boats, small as toys, amble along the lake. Fells range, grass sways, sheep bleat. You’re alone, and you’ve only been walking for an hour.
Length:
Approx 2 hours total.
10 minutes drive to the start point
60 minutes walk up
Time to set down and take in the view
50 minutes for the return walk
10 minutes drive back at the hotel
Difficulty:
The majority of the walk is a gentle incline along a well-marked track, with occasional steep sections and two stream ford-crossings. Although flat underfoot, we recommend walking boots or similar footwear. Rocks, mud and slippery grass should all be considered, particularly after rain.
Driving directions:
We recommend driving to the start point. From the hotel, turn right onto the main road and follow your nose through Pooley Bridge.
On the far side of Pooley bridge, take the second exit on the mini roundabout. Continue straight over the crossroads and keep driving until you reach a gate. Park on the unmarked road, just before the gate, this is the start of the walk.
Walking directions:
Pass through the gate, following the gravel track. After a few hundred metres you will reach a white stone path on your right. Follow it.
Note: You can turn off earlier, cutting the corner where a grass track splits the bracken. This, however, is not a short cut. Grass tracks can often be red herrings formed by the roaming sheep. Surprise obstacles, gorse and blind drops make for challenging walking. If you wander off the path, proceed with caution.
Just before crossing a stream (Elder Beck) you’ll see a wide circle of rocks on your left. This is the Cockpit Stone Circle. Between 3500 and 5000 years old, speculators put the circle as a meeting place between Bronze Age trading routes.
After crossing Elder Beck, and the larger Aik Beck, eventually the path turns into a dirt track. Turn left at the Ullswater Way signpost for Howtown 2½m and Pooley Bridge 2m.
Follow the track, now inclining steadily, and aim towards the cairns (piles of stones) until you reach the highest point.
This is Arthur’s Pike.
When you’re ready to return, take the same route, bearing North-North-East until you find the gravel track.
Drive the same route back to the hotel. When you reach reception, ask the team how best to recoup after the walk. Or, just aim straight for one of the big green sofas in The Living Space.
