Route: Loweswater and Holme Wood
Area: Western Lake District
Date of walk: 30th October 2023
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.5 miles
Ascent: 200 feet
Weather: Cloudy with a few sunny spells
Loweswater is unique in the Lake District as it is the only lake that drains towards the centre of Lakeland, into Crummock Water to which it was once joined
We’ve walked around the lake on several occasions and it’s a very enjoyable route. However the full circuit, which is 4.3 miles, suffers from one defect – there’s a quite lengthy section along the road, some of which can be avoided by an adjacent path. Time was limited today, and so we plotted an alternative shorter walk which avoids the roadside section entirely. For another longer traffic free route, which is one of our favourites in the district, follow this link
We parked in one of the roadside spaces beyond the head of Loweswater and followed the path past Hudson Place and into Holme Wood. The wood, managed by the National Trust, is a wonderful place with many inviting paths and some superb mature trees – alder, oak, lime, chestnut, ash, sycamore and others. Autumn colours were showing them at their best
There’s a choice of paths running through the the wood – a wide track is the most direct route, but we preferred to follow an alternative path which follows the lakeshore. When we arrived at the bothy we turned right and returned via the wide track, retracing our steps when we reached the edge of the wood to end a very pleasant short and easy walk which we enjoyed every step of the way
For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box
Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)
Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow
Mellbreak and a glimpse of Loweswater from the roadside parking spaces above the head of the lake
We follow a path through the fields
We cross a bridge over one of the becks which drain into Loweswater
Looking back along the path, with Darling Fell in the background
Views of Mellbreak and Loweswater as we continue across the head of the lake...
Grasmoor
We pass by a group of belted galloways just beyond Hudson Place farm
The path descends gently to the shore of Loweswater....
We enter into Holme Wood, managed by the National Trust. Tree felling operations are in progress to stop the spread of Ramorum disease on the larch trees. Our walk was unaffected by these
We turn left at this junction and will return via the path on the right
The path follows the shore of Loweswater, here looking across to Darling Fell
We cross the footbridge over Holme Beck
Holme Beck again as it discharges into Loweswater, and another view of Darling Fell
Autumn colours in Holme Wood...
We pass by the Loweswater Bothy, available to rent from the National Trust, and turn right immediately beyond it
Holme Beck again, which we cross via a footbridge to the left…
We follow the main track back through the wood
Red squirrel in Holme Wood
Looking across to Mellbreak, and a final glimpse of Loweswater, as we retrace our steps back to the start
On the way back home we stopped the car to admire this wonderful view of Crummock Water and the western fells
Back home, red squirrel in the garden
