Walk Memories Pooley Bridge

Five walkers set off on this walk and at first it was a fairly steep climb which took us up onto a flat area, where we remained for a good deal of the walk.  After a couple of miles, we spotted Lowther Castle off in the distance and we entered a part of the Lowther Estate near the village of Askham.   Lowther Castle is a particular gem in this area and was built at the turn of the 19th century on the site of two previous houses. The castle itself is a grand affair boasting a room for every day of the year and its gardens were the envy of the north.  The Lowther Estate farms, tend uplands, lowlands and pastures covering many thousands of acres.  Our route now took us on past the Cockpit which is the site of a Bronze Age stone circle constructed between 2500 and 2200 B.C.
 

We began to get attractive views of Ullswater, but the most outstanding view came later- looking south down the lake, where the flat sheet of water appears to wind away into the far distance around curves in the land itself.  Once we descended off the fells we began heading north, where the path in parts followed the shoreline of Ullswater, which is part of the Ullswater Way, a 20 mile walking route that goes around the whole of Ullswater Lake. Our walk then took us through the expansive Waterside House Campsite and back into Pooley Bridge for a well-earned drink in the Pooley Bridge Inn, along with other members from the coach. 

Tony Culverhouse