Newlands Valley Walk

You can start this walk from virtually anywhere in the Newlands valley; I started from a couple of our Lake District cottages at Birkrigg on the Newlands Pass.

Walk down the road in the direction of Keswick, you will soon come to a tight bend at Rigg Beck where the ‘Old Purple House’ used to stand. There is now a Grand Designs style house on the site but the purple colour remains on the roof garden and the front door.

Carry on along the pass till you come across a gate on the right hand side and a finger post indicating a footpath beyond the gate. The path leads down into the valley fields and across a minor road. A track climbs up the other side of the valley and emerges at Skelgill.

Walk through the farmyard and turn immediately back on yourself to join the path that runs alongside Catbells, towards the old mines at Yewthwaite.

After about half a mile, the path descends into Little Town where you can enjoy a well earned cup of tea at the farm tea room.

Now there are two options from Little Town. For a longer walk, go back up onto the track and carry on down the valley. This will take you to the old mines at Goldscope where you can peer into the open shafts on the side of Hindscarth.

Alternatively you can walk along the road towards Chapel Bridge and stroll down the lane to the pretty little church. The church serves tea and cake on weekends and during the summer. Continue along this lane to cross the ford and make the final short uphill stretch to Gill Brow. Walk through the farm to emerge onto the Newlands Pass and turn right to stroll the last few yards back to your cottage.

A Circular Walk in Newlands Valley

This is a beautiful valley with a gentle walk along the bottom of it, taking you to Dalehead if you care to go that far. Hindscarth and High Spy are the fells to either side and I'm saving these fells for a walk with Ted (the dog). We had a two year old and a three year old today so we got to the bridge by the river and that was good enough for us. We spent a happy time eating crisps and paddling (well I ate the crisps while the two little ones did the paddling). There are also disused mines to explore if you're feeling brave enough - take some candles or a torch though. We got quite a way in but turned back before we found out whether you could go right through to the other end. Apparently the area was big for copper mining. Apparently some gold was even found there too although I'm not sure whether too many people got rich on that. I’ve no idea whether access to the mine is permitted so if you do go in it, it will have to be under your own responsibility.

This can be a circular walk. You start near Newlands Church, although there is no parking at the church itself. To get to the Newlands Valley, drive to the village of Braithwaite (about 5 mins from Keswick). At Braithwaite follow signs for Newlands Valley – if you have come from Keswick you will turn left off the A66 to Braithwaite, then it’s first left (signed Newlands) and then left again over a little humpbacked bridge (again signed Newlands). Carry on this road for about 2.5 miles and then take a sharp left turn (signed Newlands Church and Little Town). Follow this narrow road for half a mile. You will then see a sign to the right for Newlands Church. Ignore this turning for now and park just beyond it on the right (over the tiny bridge). You will then need to retrace your steps and walk to the church. At the church turn left and eventually you will walk through Low Snab Farm. After the farmyard you can do three things.

1. Carry on along the valley bottom towards Dale Head fell, making your way back on the other side of the river to Low Snab Farm. This is what we did.

2. Or you can turn right after the Farm and go up Hindscarth fell, then keep left to Dale Head, dropping down to the valley floor and walking back on the other side of the river to Low Snab Farm.

3. If you have lots of energy, you can keep high after Dale Head and carry on along High Spy Fell and Maiden Moor. Cut left down the hillside before you get to Catbells.

The valley is a beautiful one and feels easily manageable. It’s a lovely bowl surrounded by fells and I would say one of the prettiest spots in the Lake District. When you get back to your car, there is no need to turn the car round, just carry on towards Portinscale and then the A66. In fact, at Little Town (just about a minute beyond the car park) is a lovely café on a farm. Ard Crags Ridge Walk

This is a wonderful walk for a number of reasons. Firstly and most importantly it has fantastic views. To the North are views towards Skiddaw and Keswick with glimpses of Derwent Water, to the East the fells above Derwent Water including the nearest Robinson and views down to the Newlands Valley, to the South is the Buttermere Valley with High Stile and Red Pike and finally to the West is Whiteless Pike and Eel Crag with the ridge down over Sail and Causy Pike.

All of these great views usually require a huge uphill effort when your in the Lake District but this walk comes with a cheat which is the second of the reasons that this walk is great. You can drive up to the top of Newlands Pass (lots of parking but can get busy). This takes out most of the vertical meters and it is just a 200m climb to the top of Knott Rigg. This is an initial steep section followed by a gradual rise to the summit. It is then a small descent on the ridge followed by a last small climb to Ard Crags.

From here you can follow the ridge down and walk along to Braithwaite where there are three excellent pubs all serving food and is where we have several cottages. See our Keswick cottagesarea guide for details on these. You can also leave a car in one of the lay bys at the end of the Newlands valley and drive back up to collect the other from the top. My personal favourite though is to turn around and walk the ridge in reverse. This gives you the views you have had your back to and they are fantastic, back towards the Buttermere valley and the large peaks of Red Pike and High Stile.

The final of the reasons this walk stands out is that it is only short 1hr 15mins to 2hrs 15mins depending on your walking speed. This means you can fit the walk in to a morning or evening when time is of the essence also with the lack of major uphill walking it is a wonderful way to get children enjoying the fells of the Lake District without putting them off by getting really tired.

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Sally’s Cottages 7 St John’s Street Keswick Cumbria CA12 5AP Tel: 01768 780 571 Email: [email protected]