A walk of some nine and a half miles in Westmorland, by the rivers Eamont and Lowther, at the edge of the Lake District, this is a pleasant walk out from Eamont Bridge, taking in a number of the sights of the area.
Starting by Brougham Hall, the walk follows south out of the hamlet, to the main road for a short while, away from Eamont Bridge, to Clifton, where there stands a squat, square pele tower – a reminder of the days of the lawless, unquiet border – and immediately over the M6 – an unquiet motorway, and the railway line, to a footpath leading up to Lowther Park, where stands the ruin of Lowther Castle: a grand façade with nothing left behind it, by with gardens and a café – worth a visit if you are stopping. There is a village church here, isolated with no village remaining this side of the river, but serving the estate.
From Lowther, the walk leads over a bridge on the River Lowther to Askham Hall and church at the edge of the eponymous village, and then north through the fields to Sockbridge. Entering the village, the route crosses a Roman road. Through Sockbridge, and you reach the bank of the River Eamont (across which river lies Cumberland, a county which in former days was part of Scotland).
Downstream along the Eamont and over the fields, the walk recrosses the railway line, to Yanwath. (There used to be an interesting pub in Yanwath, which alas closed a few years ago and stands abandoned. Here too is Yanwath Hall distancing itself from the alehouse at the other end.)
From Yanwath, the walk continues downstream, over the M6 and to Eamont Bridge, past the ancient and astounding Mayburgh Henge, and to the village itself.
Down through the one main street of the village, past King Arthur’s Round Table, a second, grand Stone Age monument, along the road over the River Lowther, and turn off back to Brougham Hall.
The route: map
Maps
- Lake District – Pathfinder walks guidebook: Ordnance Survey
- Explorer maps (1:25 000): Lake District Map Set, including:
- OS Explorer OL04: The English Lakes: North-Western Area (incl Skiddaw and Keswick)
- OS Explorer OL05: The English Lakes: North-Eastern Area (incl Helvellyn and Ullswater)
- OS Explorer OL06: The English Lakes: South-Western Area (incl Scafell and Coniston)
- OS Explorer OL07: The English Lakes: South-Eastern Area (incl Windermere)
- Landranger maps (1:50 000):
Books
- Lake District – Pathfinder walks guidebook: Ordnance Survey
- Athelstan : The Making of England by Tom Holland
- In Search of the Dark Ages: a history of Anglo-Saxon England by Michael Wood