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FW09: Lowick
Bridge to Low Parkamoor
Monday
27th
June 2011
It
was a very hot day and we even though we were not due
to meet Ian and Cynthia until 3 p.m., we phoned
them to delay the start by half an hour in order to
reduce the heat exposure. Inevitably, that caused
the sky to cloud over and remedy the situation!
Today's
outing would be up the first half of the west side of
Coniston Water. It is perhaps as well that we
drove along the side of the lake to the Parkamoor landing
stage to leave one of the cars as a disappointing feature
of the walk was that we didn't actually see very much
of the lake whilst on foot.
Coniston
and the Old Man from the parking place
The
walk started at Lowick Bridge, outside the Red Lion
and headed down across the River Crake, immediately
turning left up the valley. However, we left the
river to climb Bessy Bank Lane- a steep ascent through
the woods- before turning off the road for Hill Park
Farm.
From
here, we headed north to Stock. The guide
book talks of woodland paths. However it is nearly
thirty years old and a lot of forestry clearance has
taken place since the text was written. Nevertheless
we found our way to the farm where there was an obliging
display of washing to photograph.
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The
path through the woods!
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Stock
washing
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A
stream meanders near Stock
Next
we headed round to Low Bethecar - a barn that made Ian
thrill with the thought of coming out of retirement
and putting his architectural skills to use.
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Low
Bethecar barn
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Arnsbarrow
Hill
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Coniston
Water and the Coniston Fells beyond Top o'Selside
Bethecar
Moor gave us a bit of a problem. We had no trouble
finding the lower summit of Arnsbarrow Hill with its
cairn, nor the higher summit with its sheepfold. However
Arnsbarrow Tarn refused to show itself to us (unless
it has turned into one of the many bogs through which
we waded) with the consequence that we didn't find the
turning for Top o'Selside.
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Team
picture, Arnsbarrow Hill- first top
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Arnsbarrow
Hill- second top sheepfold
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In
part the problem was caused by my GPS which kept turning
itself off. It said the batteries were low but
they were fully charged when we set off. Instead, we
crossed the north (and boggy) side of the fell before
dropping down to Low Parkamoor.
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Ian
searching for the tarn
Before
restoration; picture by nvmdigital.com
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Low
Parkamoor comes into view
Low
Parkamoor today
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This
old (16th century) farmhouse is owned by National Trust
and has been restored by Grizedale Arts retaining old
features. See Low Parkamoor
for several interesting inside photographs.
From
here, it was an easy trail down through the woods to
emerge exactly where we had left the car.
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View
through the gate post ......
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....
and of the gate post
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Evening
on Coniston Water
The
evening finished well. We returned to the Red
Lion where there was, for those who like that sort of
thing, an interesting display of pottery.
Red
Lion pottery
We
each tucked into an excellent plate of Whitby Scampi
which Ian and I washed down with Robinson's Crusoe Ale!
Just the job!
Don
27th June 2011
Here
are some extra photos taken by Ian:
| Distance
in miles:
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6.2
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52.3 in
total
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| Height
climbed in feet:
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1,182
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7,148 in total
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