Staveley to Windermere

Walk:	Barley Bridge, Ghyll Bank, High House, Park House, HP Plantation, Ullthwaite Bridge, Browfoot, Hugill Fell, High Borrans, Near Orrest, Elleray Bank and Windermere.
Start Point:	Staveley Railway Station	Grid Reference:	SD 469 980
Distance:	8.75 miles	Ascent:	1,461 feet (descent: 1,384 ft)
Time:	4.45 hours
Weather:	A sunny start, a bit of a breeze at higher levels, overcast in the late afternoon.
Comments:	This was an experiment undertaken by “The Friendly Five”. The object was to walk to Windermere Railway Station from Staveley Railway Station by a scenic route. Using a Senior Rail Card the return fare was £9.45. One must inform the train conductor if one wishes to alight at Staveley because it is a short station and only one door in the centre of the train is opened. From the station we walked down the street opposite and crossed a pedestrian bridge on to the main street, turned left to the church and then right to cross the River Kent. Turning left (upstream) we headed for Barley Bridge and turned right on to a lane. A short distance up the lane we followed a path on the right to climb up to a lane at a higher level. Here we turned left towards Ghyll Bank and High House. Just before High House “The Friendly Five” descended a steep hill side to Park House. Turning north at Park House we followed a green lane, by the side of Hall Beck, which was being used by “Loggers” as a storage area. Leaving the green lane we turned left over moor land and disused lead mines to descended through HP Plantation on to the main road into Kentmere. Using the road we turned south to cross Ullthwaite Bridge and then followed the river to Browfoot. Using Browfoot Lane in a westerly direction we climbed approximately 300 feet to reach another green lane at its end. Turning right and following green lanes and field paths we emerged at High Borrans (an activity centre) and watched youngsters in canoes on the nearby reservoir. A stretch of road walking followed. Using Borrans Lane and other unnamed lanes we passed “Near Orrest” and “The Causeway Farm” before turning off the lane to head for Elleray Bank and Booths Café for refreshments. Instead of using the lower level path to Elleray Bank one can take a higher level path to Orrest Head and its panoramic views. Trains depart Windermere around about five minutes past the hour. Some trains go through Preston to Manchester Airport others you have to change at Oxenholme. We chose one that went through to Preston – only it didn’t. There had been power failure at Preston Station and numerous trains had been stranded for several hours. The Friendly Five were lucky to arrive home with only a three quarter hour delay. Whilst people had been stuck in a hot carriage we had been sampling the sights, sounds and smells of the Lake District. Lucky us!