A pleasant stroll combining splendid views and what I think is the prettiest and most peaceful stretch of the River Kent. Start at Ratherheath on the old A591, two miles south east of Staveley, near Kendal (GR SD 486 963).

Information

Distance: 5 miles; ascent 500 feet

Time: 2.5 hours

Terrain: Quiet lanes, tracks and footpaths.

Map: OS Explorer OL7

Route

1 Start by walking through the woods from the roadside footpath sign that says Ratherheath Lane. After 50 yards you cross a wooden footbridge then go uphill another 100 yards to meet Ashes Lane where you turn right. Woodlands in this area were once very important for coppicing and ash is one of the most vigorous trees for this purpose. Coppicing was once a thriving industry producing slim poles for fencing, charcoal, thatching rods, walking sticks, stakes for hedge laying and bobbins for the northwest cotton industry. Coppicing fell out of fashion in the 20th Century because of labour costs and cheaper imports. When past the woods glance right towards Plantation Bridge. This area is said to display good examples of drumlins: mounds that are blunt at one end and tapered at the other. They were formed when melting glacial ice deposited sediment when it came across rocky outcrops. In 2008 it was proposed to convert these eight fields of 38 acres into a Lake District National Park Business Estate with an ‘integrated modal transfer facility’ (that means park-and-ride to me) and potential development of affordable housing. A plethora of documentation was prepared to study the impact of the proposal on the environment and the landscape but planning permission was refused.

2 Continue along Ashes Lane past Windermere camping and caravan site and enjoy views of distant high fells to your right. Where the track starts to drop downhill, branch off to the right across the grass to a fingerpost and turn right, staying on the same side of the wall. Cross over the wall stile located where the wall changes height. The path goes downhill past a hawthorn tree to join with a track from a bungalow on the right.

3 Follow the track to the A591 which cross with great care and go straight across the field to the gate in the right corner by the railway. Go left over the level crossing then take the footpath to the right. After 140 yards turn left (signposted Dalesway) through a kissing gate and follow the path that goes to and then along the right hand side of the river Kent. I think this is the loveliest stretch of this 20 mile long river. Wainwright wrote of it, “From Staveley onwards, with the high fells now left behind, the Kent loses much of its urgency as it turns east and winds more peacefully through a country landscape of fields and trees and grazing cattle, the valley widening below the gentle slopes of Potter Fell. There is an air of wellbeing here, in the husbandry of pastures and woodlands and in the occasionally handsome residences overlooking the valley. Pleasant riverside paths extend to all the privileges of this favoured scene.” (From Three Westmorland Rivers: the Kent, the Sprint and the Mint, A Wainwright, 1979) 4 Soon after passing a large stone barn, cross the river over a rickety bridge where the handrail extends out from the decking, presumably to facilitate the passage of wide agricultural vehicles. Turn right and continue downstream on the other side of the river. In a quarter of a mile you come to Cowan Head weir – note the fish pass and the attractive pond. The modern apartment development here started life as a paper mill in 1750. In 1845 it was taken over by Messrs. James Cropper and Co. Ltd whose remaining factory is a mile downstream at Burneside. In 1845, 22-year old James Cropper was bringing his newly wedded wife home to Cowan Head in a carriage pulled by local men. As they went through the gate Mr and Mrs Cropper were standing up in the carriage and he spread out his arms as a friendly gesture. A little girl called Jane Dent thought it was an invitation to jump, and she jumped. James Cropper caught the girl. From the steps he told the crowd that if all the people of Burneside and Cowan Head would trust him as the little girl had done, all would be well. Jane, her children and grandchildren trusted James Cropper and all was well. Not all stories have a happy ending though. During a storm on 18th November 1893 the Cowan Head chimney fell onto the cottages and killed a girl aged 17 and two women aged 23 and 26. Then in 1905 a fire burnt down the mill house.

Between 1994 and 1999 the site was converted into a luxury residential development of 60 apartments and cottages. The 47-acre estate consists of eight apartment buildings, a leisure centre with heated indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and a nine-hole practice golf course. Below the weir our path goes through a wood close to the river. The spectacular rapids you see here would previously have been underneath the factory.

5 On the far side of the river as you approach Bowston weir there used to be a narrow gauge railway connecting the paper mills at Cowan Head, Bowston and Burneside. Bowston paper mill started in 1874 and was closed in the early 1960s when waste paper rather than rags were used to make paper pulp. Just before meeting the road you cross a stream that brought water to the Kent from the three reservoirs, Gurnal Dubs, Potter Tarn and Ghyll Pool, that were built for the paper mills.

6 Turn right, cross Bowston bridge, left at the road junction then first right up the lane past Meadow Close. Follow the path through Bowston Farm, by the side of the Kendal to Windermere railway and across the railway bridge. The track ascends past some cottages to the A591. Cross with great care to the stile through the hedge opposite then go down across the field to the old A591 and left to where the walk began.

NB: Restrictions on space mean that this article provides a general summary of the route. It is advisable for anyone who plans to follow the walk to take a copy of the relevant Ordnance Survey map.