WALKING

Millom Park Walk

On this walk, you will start and finish at the Punch Bowl Inn at The Green. The walk takes you through The Green-The Hill-School Ellis-Millom Park-Dunningwell, and back to The Green. The seven-mile walk will lead you through pastures and gentle fells as well as a mixed woodland area. It runs through the only remnant of Millom castle's former hunting park. The walk is an easy one, but mind the mud after a rain. The track through the forest is easily recognisable. A good map to use is the O.S. Outdoor Leisure number 6.

You can come in to the area by using North Western Trains (the Barrow to Carlisle route). Stop at Green Road station by request. Walk the left lane to the Punch Bowl Inn. There are refreshment stops at the Punch Bowl Inn, as well as cafes and pubs in Millom and Broughton. Public toilets are available in Millom and Broughton.

Start your walk on the grass verge opposite the Punch Bowl Inn at The Green.

Cross the road from the Punch Bowl, then up the narrow, hedgerow opposite. Look for outcrops of lichen-covered rock. Nearing a quarter of a mile, look for a walled track named "Cherry Tree" on the left. You will find a gate to a sheep pasture, and through it take the stile on the right before a wooded hill.

Bear left and climb the next ladder stile at the edge of the trees. Walk over the hilly ground bearing right to the wall on the right. Go through the gate in this wall. Head right to pass through an unmarked gate at the rough ground beside the A-road. You will now be walking along the old road parallel with the main road.

A narrow lane leads off to the right that you will take towards Woodhouse and Greenhills. The signpost is on the opposite side of the A-road. Walk beyond the last bungalow (the second turn left on the OS map), bearing left, walk beside a wall to your left. Ignore the gate on your left, and continue to travel to the ladder stile at the end of a short walled path. The right of way continues to the right of the wall.

To climb Midlow Hill, climb left towards a telegraph pole where you will reach the summit with a wonderful view of the Duddon estuary. Walk down the steep slope, right, and go through a gap in the wall.

Walk left toward the house you will notice, then pass with it on your left side. You will climb the signposted stile to join a narrow road, turning right to walk through a wooded lane. Just prior to reaching a row of cottages, turn left and walk through the car park to enter the woodland's walk.

Beyond the way marked gate, follow to the left until you approach a wall with a pasture beyond, swinging right to take an easy-to-miss stone stile in the wall that will bring you to the edge of the quarry. You will soon be under cover of mountain Larch trees, and from here is a spectacular glimpse of the quarry below. 

Cross the quarry access road and walk along a path into seasonal woodlands. Look for a huge mound of quarry waste, where once upon it, you will be able to see a breath-taking sight of the estuary.

Way marks will lead you next through trees to the edge of the forest and a kissing gate to pasture land. Turn right to a wooden stile and climb the steep slope to a stone-stepped stile. Take the next stile and turn right to walk a farm access track. Climb another stone-stepped stile in the wall on your right to re-enter the forest.

Walk about 75 feet and bear left, passing a pretty mountain lake away to the right, and follow the way marks to the left. Climb the steep slope and continue to a tall post. Leave the main path and climb right to a clearing in the trees. At the top of the railed wooden platform you will find here, you should be able to see the Isle of Man on a clear day.

When you return to the main path, you will walk less than a quarter of a mile to the left, where there is a view into Whicham Valley. Again, along the main path, you will walk to the left for another viewpoint, and then return to the main path.

Heading toward the gate from which you entered the forest, turn left along the narrow lane and take the signposted stile on the right. Climb a ladder stile, and walk ahead to the next stile into a walled pasture. Head toward a barn, which you will want to pass on your right, and join the old road; turn right.

Pass in front of Applehead farmhouse, ignoring the stile to the right. Walk past the barn to a way marked gate to a walled path. Cross a planked footbridge to climb a way marked step stile. Beyond that, bear left and continue through a short walled track to a gate where you will turn left and take the next gate on your left. Climb a stile on your right, keeping to the left of the farmhouse. Join the road, where you will turn right to walk the lane back to the start.

 Whicham Valley

photo courtesy of Sean Mc Mahon. See his website a photo diary of Lake District Fell Walks at http://stridingedge.net

Haverigg to Ravenglass

This walk starts off at the car park near the lifeboat station in the village of Haverigg. Leave the car park and head through the dunes to he beach, and then turn right to walk westwards along the beach, with the sand dunes to the right. The beach approaches Haverigg Point, where it turns from heading westwards to a more northwesterly course, and follows it past a wind farm and a golf course until it reaches Gutterby Spa.

At Gutterby Spa the path turns to the right and heads along a path up the cliffs to a gate. At the gate it turns to the left; this section of path had been eroded away, so I climbed over a fence and walked through a field keeping the cliffs to my left. Eventually a track is reached that follows the top of the cliffs past a trig point until it turns to the right t9o head inland towards Annaside. At the bend continue straight on along a footpath that meets another track before dropping back down onto the beach.

Follow the beach northwestward until a footbridge is reached on the right. Use this footbridge to cross the river Annas, and once on the other side turn left and walk along the side of a hill past Hyton Marsh before reaching the farm at Selker. From here follow the edge of the cliffs around until the path reaches a car park beside a road at Stubb Place. Join this road and follow it as it heads northwards, with the Eskmels military range on the left. After a couple of miles the Cumbrian Coast Way lead off down a track to the right; if the tide is high then you can follow this route under the railway line to reach Newbiggin, or otherwise you could continue along the road to reach the same place.

From Newbiggin a path heads northeastwards across Waberthwaite Marsh to reach the hamlet of Hall Waberthwaite; this section of path could be impassable for two hours either side of high tide. From Hall Waberthwaite the path follows a track along the southern bank of Broadoak Beck before reaching the farm at Rougholme, where it continues on through some woodland and down onto the floodplain of the River Esk to reach Muncaster Bridge.

At Muncaster Bridge turn left and walk up the A595(T) until a lodge is reached on the left. Turn left and follow the Cumbrian Cast Way all the way through the grounds of Muncaster Castle until Ravenglass is reached; again the route from Beacon Plantation is flooded by the tide, so is impassable for two hours either side of high tides, but this time an alternative inland route is provided. The path passes through some woodland before descending down to meet the northern bank of the River Esk, which it follows to Beacon Plantation. If the tide is low turn left to descend down onto the marshland, and from here a clear path heads westwards to a bridge under the railway line. Immediately after the bridge turn right and follow the path northwards along the floodplain for a little over a mile until a road is reached at the southern end of the village of Ravenglass. Follow this road through the village and follow it as it curves to the right to reach a car park beside the station, where this walk ends.

Hike up Black Combe

For those that can't be bothered with your average walk, try climing our hill, Black Combe. You will see a trail leading to the top, with the rumour that a keg of beer is waiting for those who make it to the top. We aren't so sure about that...but the reward is the view of 5 Kingdoms.

1. The Kingdom of Scotland
2. The Kingdom of the Isle of Man
3. The Kingdom of Ireland
4. The Kingdom of England

The fifth kingdom? Just look up into the Kingdom of Heaven!