A Greystoke ramble
Walk date – 31st July 2024
Distance – 8.1 miles
Weather – dry, sunny and very warm, hardly any breeze, some occasional cloud
The holiday season is in full swing up here in the Lakes with camp sites, car parks, villages and towns full to bursting. A decent week of weather so far and, although it hasn’t always been very sunny, most days it has been dry and warm with hardly any wind to speak of. Today was forecast to be the sunniest day of the week and I remember that one of the forecasts I looked at mentioned the words ‘feeling muggy’. Shorts and t-shirts weather seemed to be called for so, suitably attired and hoping that the weather wouldn’t start misbehaving, we decided to go off the beaten track today and do a longish walk around the countryside to the east of Blencathra starting out from the lovely little village of Greystoke, a name which will be familiar to readers of the Edgar Rice Burroughs ‘Tarzan’ stories and filmgoers worldwide. The track is good until ‘Open Access’ land is reached where the ground becomes very rough and uneven and where there are no established paths. Occasional sheep trods and/or quad bike tracks make walking over it a little less tough, but it is energy sapping work for the legs nevertheless. A compass and the relevant OS map will be also come in handy when crossing open access land.
Route
Greystoke village – Greystoke Castle – Home Farm – Farm track to Old Nab Wood – Off path route via limestone pavements to Berrier Hill – Gillcambon Tarn – Former Parkhouse Quarry track – Summerground escarpment – Farm track back to Home Farm – Greystoke Castle – Greystoke village
We parked in the swimming pool car park which, when arriving from the Penrith side, is located on the left hand side of the B5288 just as it approaches the centre of the village. It is quite a large car park and there is no charge for parking, although by the entrance there is an honesty box, painted grey, for anyone wishing to make a contribution. Turning left as you walk out of the car park entrance you will immediately see the old market cross situated on a triangular patch of grass in the centre of the village. Most of the houses in the village are situated along the road you can see behind the market cross. The village looked lovely in the sunshine today.
As we approached the market cross to the left of it is The Boot and Shoe Inn, an old coaching inn, which in addition to offering accommodation serves lunches and evening meals every day. We’ve never been for a meal there so I can’t comment on the quality of their food and drink. Its setting reminded me very much of the the Britannia Inn at Elterwater.
We crossed the road to the right of the market cross and approached the imposing entrance to Greystoke Castle. This is one place we have never visited so today is the day we can put that to rights.
We’ve just been talking to a local resident who was out walking his dog. He mentioned that he had been into Keswick just a couple of days previously and wished he hadn’t because the place was full of folk, ‘heaving’ was his description, and he couldn’t find a parking space anywhere. He also mentioned that the castle puts on some good music events/concerts and that he had tickets for the one being held this coming weekend. We must have been chatting for ten minutes or so about this and that but we eventually parted company and we carried on down the drive. The stone bridge in the shot is where we turned right but before we did I walked a few paces up the road to see what was there …..
….. and found Greystoke Castle right in front of me. The castle is owned by a branch of the Howard family who acquired it by marriage. The Howard family is better known for the hereditary titles it holds: the dukedom of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England. Although the title itself refers to Norfolk the family seat is Arundel Castle in Sussex. As Earl Marshal the incumbent Duke of Norfolk has the duty of organising state occasions such as the coronations of monarchs and the state opening of parliament. He is also automatically admitted to the House of Lords so the current owner of Greystoke Castle has some illustrious and influential family members. There’s lots of information about the castle and the Howard family online so if you’re a history buff there’s plenty to go at.
After my quick peek at the castle I walked back to the stone bridge to rejoin J from where we carried on with our walk and made our way over to the Home Farm or, to give it its Sunday name, Greystoke Castle Farm.
The main stables come into view as the track curves round and passes in front of it. No trace of the grand carriages and fine horses which would have been stabled here once upon a time, only farm implements and tractors can be seen nowadays.
Having passed the old stables the track leads us through the farm buildings towards slightly rising ground. Just after passing the last set of buildings on the right we came across …..
….. this pond situated some distance below the track. Marked on our route map as a reservoir (Resr) just beyond the farm buildings. The presence of a metal gate in the wire fence alongside the track had us baffled as to the reason for its existence. Opening the gate would still mean that any further progress down to the pond would be impossible as there was no track from the gate to the water, only a direct and substantial drop from the gate straight into the pond. We did notice lines of piping across the track here and there so perhaps the water is drawn from the pond via the pipelines to containers from which the farm animals could take a drink. Why a gate would have been placed there we just couldn’t work out.
We rounded the bend in the track and dropped down towards the Dutch barn the location of which can be found on our route map although it isn’t named. On the way down we noticed dozens of pheasants beside Nab Wood on the left of the track. They gradually disappeared into the wood as we approached and by the time we were within camera range they had all reached the safety of the woodland. I decided to try again on the way back.
We’ve just passed through another gate and reached an area with sheep pens and barns, known as the ‘sheep hospital’ by estate workers apparently. I climbed a little way up the slope to get a shot of the area while J tried to find a work around as the gps connection kept dropping off. We left the established track at this point and …..
….. began climbing this small hill. The morning is becoming very warm now so after mopping our faces I took the opportunity to take a look back at the ‘sheep hospital’. Over on the right of the shot the lines of cut grass were being turned over by an estate worker driving a large machine. The field next to it was being given the same treatment by another estate worker driving a similar machine. It won’t take long to dry out completely if this weather keeps up.
On the way up the hill I took this shot of what will be our return route across the Summerground limestone escarpment. Shortly before reaching an intervening fence line we turned off to the left and passed through a metal gate heading SSW, over rough, open pasture, towards the remains of a mediaeval settlement. The compass on the gps stopped working for a while when the connection dropped again but we were already heading in the right direction so it didn’t matter too much. Both of us always carry a compass in our packs so we wouldn’t have been without even if the satellite connection didn’t come back, which it eventually did.
Having reached the remains of the old settlement I took a look back towards the Summerground escarpment and Old Nab Wood directly below it.
To the right of us is the fence line we had been aiming for together with a view of Little Mell Fell behind it. Long distance views were very hazy today.
A way marker in the form of this gale ravaged tree stump is also something to look out for as it is situated close to the fence line and the old settlement. The top of Great Mell Fell is just visible above the fence and above it lines of white cloud are beginning to drift by overhead, hopefully they’ll stay separate from each other and won’t gang up on us like they have been doing lately.
From the settlement remains we head NW towards this group of trees close to a wall where we hope to find the gate leading to the open access area where the going will get a lot rougher than it already is.
As we crossed over to the wall I stopped to take a shot of the area marked on our route map as the Square Plantation. Mum and her two lambs took a keen interest in what I was doing so perhaps they don’t get many visitors to these parts. When we reached the little group of trees by the wall we found the gate and passed through it noting the presence of a small notice board telling us we were entering open access land and indicating what was allowed and what wasn’t. Dogs are not allowed but as we don’t have one that didn’t apply and neither did any of the other items listed so we turned left after opening and closing the gate. Lots of cattle were clustered near the gate, mums with their young calves, but they ambled harmlessly out of our way as we walked amongst them. I forgot to take a photo but we’ll be returning to the gate later on so I’ll take a shot then.
We’re clear of the cattle now and we simply followed the wall on our way over to visit some limestone pavements. Along the way we had this view of the two Mell fells, Little on the left and Great on the right. The limestone pavements soon came into view and we eventually left the wall bearing off to the right towards them. Below are a couple of shots I took of the limestone pavements when we reached them:
From the pavements we turned right again to walk up Berrier Hill. The limestone escarpment at the top provides this fabulous view of …..
….. Blencathra, Bannerdale Crags and the long sweep across to Bonscale Pike with The Tongue just below it. We decided to take an early lunch here and enjoy the fabulous view. Comfortably seated on our sit mats, legs dangling over the edge of the escarpment and tucking into our food, for a few minutes one could almost believe that all was well with the world. Of course it isn’t but being outdoors on such a lovely day with such a wonderful view certainly helps to put everything into perspective. Here’s a few more shots from the Berrier Hill escarpment …..
…. L to R are The Tongue, Knott and Carrock Fell …..
….. Carrock Fell and part of High Pike …..
….. Scales Fell, Blencathra, Bannerdale Crags, below it to the right, and Souther Fell below that.
After our lunch break we made our way back to the gate in the wall where I took the shot of the open access info sign which I forgot to take earlier. We then doubled back on the same path just a short distance and then made a right turn, again walking only a short distance, to reach another gate which we pass through.
From that gate we headed NNW over very rough and uneven ground heading towards the end of the plantation to J’s right. The sun is high overhead and its now becoming very warm indeed. Fortunately we had the merest whisper of a breeze from time to time which helped cool things down a little, albeit briefly.
Along the way we had another view of Carrock Fell, flanked on the left by Knott and on the right by High Pike. So far the cloud hasn’t joined forces and continues as fragments only, long may it last I thought.
Following some old quad bike tracks we approach the corner of the plantation where we keep a lookout for …..
….. a gate over to the right. No quad bike tracks to help smooth the way this time so we plough on through the uneven clumps of long grasses. Once through the gate we turn left and make our way up the slope heading for Gillcambon Tarn.
Reaching the tarn seemed to take forever over the pathless and uneven terrain. We managed to pick up an old quad bike trail which wasn’t a great deal of help but it was better than nothing. By the time the tarn came into view I was hoping for some shorter grass over which we could stroll alongside the tarn but this was as close to the tarn as it was possible to get without sinking into the waterlogged grassland around it.
Apparently the tarn was constructed to provide a water supply for the Greystoke estate but the dam it once had is long gone leaving only dead tree stumps behind as the water has gradually spread over the land.
Keeping to the dry grasses on the west side of the tarn and well away from the edge of the tarn we made our way along the length of it taking several shots of it from time to time.
We’re almost at the end of the tarn at this point and heading towards a heather covered outcrop of rock at its northern end.
J taking a breather on the heathery outcrop. Between the end of the tarn and the outcrop itself was a very wet section which he somehow managed to sink into so he now had a dry foot plus a wet one.
A final look back at the tarn from the heathery outcrop and then …..
….. we made our way over to the second and third outcrops from where we headed ENE towards a gate across ground which alternated between dry and marshy …..
….. here’s a look back at the area of outcrops as we set off towards the gate we could see in the distance. You know by the type of grass growing here that this was one of the marshy bits.
Dry land at last as we reach the gate with a second open access notice board in front of it. While we were on dry ground J took off his boots and socks and shook them free of all the dried seed heads he’d picked up along the way after which we passed through the gate and walked just a few paces to a fence corner where we turned left up the slope making for the old quarry track.
I took a look back as we walked on from the gate for this view of Carrock Fell and High Pike …..
….. and as we turned to walk up to the quarry track another look back towards Blencathra and Bowscale Fell. The ground across the centre of the shot shows the type of the ground we have just walked over to reach this point. From here there is just a short walk up to …..
….. the old quarry track coming from the disused Parkhouse Quarry. At the point where we reached the track there was a gate in the wall which would lead into the quarry area itself. There was nothing to see of the former quarry beyond the gate but there were notices warning of DANGER and instructing you to keep out. It was great to be back on firm ground once again, an even greater plus was that it was all downhill and much appreciated by the two of us on a very warm afternoon.
From the quarry track we could see the Summerground escarpment which we will be walking over in just a few minutes, over towards the east the cloud seems to be building.
The quarry track threaded its way through an abundance of limestone pavements and just beyond this point it came to an end. Some farm wagons and trailers had been left there which may have been placed deliberately to point us down to the right to join another track which curved around until it reached this point …..
….. where the track meets another gate below the escarpment. As usual all the young calves, mostly young bullocks, had gathered around it. They quietly moved away from it as we walked towards them but remained close by.
J dealt with the gate latch and hearing the sound of the latch the calves clustered around it again. J opened the gate just enough for me to squeeze through and then squeezed himself through it. As he closed the latch one of the calves licked his hand, probably hoping there might be some food in it.
We followed the track for a short distance until we could see that the fence line across the top of the escarpment would be on our left and then began to climb up on to the top. We passed this old lime kiln built into the side of the hill along the way but the kiln opening, which would originally have been the short side facing down the hill, was walled up and the upper section of the kiln had been removed and flattened out.
J meanwhile had carried on across the escarpment while I had been inspecting the kiln.
To our left is Summerground Wood and another limestone pavement running parallel with the one we are walking over.
The view of Blencathra and some of the other northern fells from the top of the escarpment and …..
….. looking eastward on the left of the shot are the two Mell Fells and on the right are Clough Head, the Dodds and the Helvellyn range.
A close up shot of the Mell fells from the escarpment.
Dropping down the hill now back to the ‘sheep hospital’ area and aiming for the gate over on the extreme left of the shot,
We’ve reached the gate, passed through it and are now back on the track we started out on and heading back to Greystoke.
Passing the Dutch barn again and we could see in the distance …..
….. that the pheasants were still hanging around the path so I rattled off half a dozen shots as I walked along in the hope that one of them would be useful. They all turned out well but this one was the one I liked best. We couldn’t see a brightly coloured cock pheasant anywhere so its a hens only shot.
Back down to Home Farm having just passed the gate to the reservoir and still not coming up with any reasons as to why it was installed there
Another shot of Greystoke Castle as the track sweeps around it. Notice the pele tower to the right of the tree. Pele towers were built as a defensible retreat against attacks from raiders/robbers from either side of the England/Scotland border so there are quite a few of these dotted around Cumbria and Northumberland. Notice too how very different in appearance the castle is, now that the cloud has arrived, when compared with the one I took this morning in brilliant sunshine.
Back to the stone bridge which we crossed this morning where the road going off to the right leads straight up to the castle.
We leave the Greystoke Castle estate when we pass below the entrance arch with its view of the old market cross and so we’ve come to the end of today’s walk. Its been a lovely sunny day with lots of memories created which will no doubt be discussed in the future. Apart from the one dog walker we met when we started out we haven’t seen another person all the time we’ve been out. The Boot and Shoe Inn was busy and by the time we were back at the car park the sun was shining again and we could hear yells of delight in children’s voices coming from the swimming pool area. No doubt they were splashing water all over each other just like we used to do in the paddling pool in the park in the little Yorkshire village I used to live in.