Grizedale Forest has a fascinating history. The name Grizedale' is derived from the Norse and means valley where young pigs are kept', which says a lot about the early farming practices in this part of the Lake District. From the 11th century, Cistercian monks from Furness Abbey managed most of the estate. They cleared some of the natural broadleaf woodland to make way for sheep pastures; they also coppiced or managed other parts of the woodland for timber and firewood.

Agnes Ford inherited the estate in the 18th century and planted more than 70,000 oak and other broadleaf trees in the 1780s. After her marriage to Henry Ainslie, the couple planted more trees, mainly larch this time, across most of the valley. Soil and climate were ideally suited for the faster growing softwoods and there was a national demand for more timber. Montague Ainslie inherited Grizedale in the early 19th century and planted a further 1,500,000 larch on the estate. Softwoods were now big business - the conifer economy was born.

Harold Brocklebank took over the Grizedale estate in 1903 and continued to manage the forests commercially - some of his plantations were felled during the Second World War and used as pit props and other timber essentials. Brocklebank also built a new Grizedale Hall and this, too, became part of the war effort as a Prisoner of War camp between 1939-1946. The famous Luftwaffe ace, Hans von Werra, managed to escape from here but was recaptured on Hesk Fell three days later.

The forest is now owned by the Forestry Commission and includes a visitor centre, shop, tearoom, picnic sites, an adventure play area, waymarked walking trails and cycle routes that run from one to nine miles in length. There are about 100 sculptures around the forest which makes the walks all the more interesting.

Today, Grizedale Forest consists of conifer and native broadleaf trees in 6,046 acres of woodland you will see a variety of wildlife here including roe and red deer, for which the forest is well known. Harold Brocklebank planted a number of stands of spruce, larch and fir trees many of which still exist. The tall, majestic Norway spruce dominates the skyline on the Millwood Trail our route and provides the structural support for the most recent attraction at Grizedale - the new Go Ape' high ropes course.

Route...

Our trail starts at Grizedale's Millwood car park, close to the visitor centre. Head for the huge sculpture The Ancient Forester' near the entrance. Children will recognise it as a sort of Treebeard' look-alike - you can't miss it. Take the path with the yellow waymarker (1) following Grizedale Beck on your right. There are plenty of high ropes activities in the trees to amuse you here.

Follow the lane for a further 300 metres and then turn left (3) following a narrow gravel track with a metal rail on your right. This short 100 metre section rises slightly before turning left over a small bridge (4) it's an interesting structure made almost entirely of small logs.

Follow this gravel path for about 350 metres before descending on a rather steep path (5) down to the lane that leads back to the car park (1).

Getting there...

The centre is on a minor road in the forest, reached from the B5285 near Hawkshead.

Mountain Goat operates the 525 Cross Lakes shuttle service from Hawkshead Tourist Information Centre (TIC) to Grizedale Visitor Centre due to start in March 2005.

For further details about timetables call Traveline on 0870-608-2608.