Here’s a walk of contrasts. Although never more than a mile from a road or higher than 1,350 feet, it feels like you are miles from anywhere. There’s a scramble over loose stones that can be a bit tricky, cliffs and steep drops. Bring a compass or you could find yourself going further than intended; and a torch because at one point there is absolutely no light. Having said all that, you can avoid the scary and dark bits if you wish and it’s as safe a walk as other more ambitious routes. You just need to take the same level of care as on any walk in a remote area. Park at Shepherd Bridge (GR SD314998) just off the A593, a mile and a half north of Coniston.

Information:

Distance: 9 miles

Time: 4-5 hours

Terrain: Footpaths, open moorland, quiet roads

Map: OS Explorer OL7

Route

1 From Shepherd’s Bridge walk back to the A592 and turn left past High Yewdale farm. Cross with care to the footpath along the side of a field and continue to the white painted Low Yewdale cottage. Turn left and cross the bridge to join the Cumbria Way. Shortly after leaving the side of Yewdale Beck our Way turns right and goes through Back Guards Plantation before dropping down to the outskirts of Coniston past the Dog House. This area was part of the 4,000 acres (which included Tarn Hows) bought by James Marshall (wealthy flax merchant and MP for Leeds) over the period 1835 to 1865. The Dog House is a gothic folly built for the Coniston foxhounds.

2 Turn right on Shepherd Bridge Road (this is not the Shepherd’s Bridge where we started!), cross the A592, follow the lane passing the YHA on your left then turn left onto a footpath. Cross over the well surfaced level footpath and begin your ascent along a faint footpath up the fellside. Very soon you reach a steep section of loose stones. Pause a while and enjoy the view back over the roof tops of Coniston village to Coniston Water. Now the tricky part! Pick your way carefully over the stones then head for the higher ground to the right of a small beck.

3 The footpath over Yewdale Fells is unclear but heads in a northerly direction to Goat’s Crag. Here the fell drops away to the northeast and Holme Fell dominates the view on the far side of Tilberthwaite valley. Your route goes west for about half a mile then joins a footpath going northwards above Crook Beck to Tilberthwaite Gill.

4 Go around the top of the Gill and take a look inside the entrance to a mine on your left. Cross the wooden footbridge and follow the footpath down along the left side of the Gill. The ground at the right of the path drops steeply in places. On reaching the quarry track turn right and descend to the roadway at Tilberthwaite by the attractive white cottage with a weaver’s gallery. There are several cottages in Cumbria with weaver’s galleries like this. The gallery would have been a light and airy place to work and keep watch over the fields at the same time.

5 Turn left onto the road, go through High Tilberthwaite farm gate and keep right to follow the track along the side of the valley. After passing the modernised cottage called Brooklands look for a footpath through the wall on your left. If you do not want to go through a tunnel continue along the main path to the River Brathay where turn right and continue from the ford and footbridge that cross the River Brathay.

6 Go along the path up to a flat area where there is entrance to ‘The Cathedral’ Quarry. A National Trust sign states that group access is only permitted after on site briefing. Individuals are not required to have this briefing. Use a torch and keep your head down for the 400-feet walk through the tunnel. The tunnel is tall enough for an average person to stand upright but you need to beware of lower rocks at the sides. At about half way, light from the entrance behind you disappears and the tunnel branches two ways. Your route is to the right, but take the left fork for a short distance to visit an impressive cavern containing mining structures. Stand still and if you dare turn off your torch for a moment to experience total darkness. Go back to the main tunnel where light from the exit on the left appears. The tunnel exit is among rocks within the quarry. Follow the path up out of the quarry then go round and down to the right. From there, another short tunnel, for which you will probably not need lighting, leads into a 40-feet high chamber that is known as The Cathedral. If you have any sort of singing voice you might like to pretend you are a chorister – the sound can be impressive. Follow the track down to the main bridleway in Little Langdale. The well-known Slater Bridge is to the left but we turn right.

7 At the ford and footbridge that cross the River Brathay stay on the right side of the river and go through the woods. Turn left onto the tarmacked road and continue to Stang End. Turn right past the cottage (again with a weaver’s gallery). This track becomes a tarmacked road at Hodge Close. On you left is Hodge Close quarry - a massive excavation of light green slate, sheer-sided and unfenced, with an original worked depth from ground level of about 300 feet. The 150 feet face is a favourite with abseilers, while the 150 feet deep flooded workings, which extend below the surface, are popular with divers. There is a tunnel entrance about 75 feet below the surface, leading to three chambers and two interconnecting tunnels. Divers have lost their lives here, mainly as the result of getting lost in these underwater tunnels. Two huge openings are visible just above water level on the north side, one containing the wrecked steel base of a crane. The openings lead into the neighbouring Parrock Quarry. Hodge Close quarry was worked from the 19th Century until the early 1960s.

8 Go back to the tarmacked road and follow it to Holme Ground. Here you can branch off to the left onto a bridleway and rejoin the road after a third of a mile (If you stay on the road it’s a little bit further but easier and faster walking). From here, stay on the road for the last three-quarters of a mile to the finish.

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.