Explore with Amie

We wanted to get out for a walk, but with a terrible rain forecast and a cloud base of 200m, we weren’t hugely enthused about going too high up. The rain doesn’t bother us for the most part but if we’re going to be in cloud all the way up and down, there doesn’t seem much point. Instead, we tried to tick off one of the smaller Wainwrights we wouldn’t necessarily choose to do on a nice summer day. However, this turned out to be a great walk, including an old quarry, which is a must-see in the Coniston area. This region of the Lakes has a rich mining history, and while spots such as Cathedral Cave attract many visitors year after year, there are plenty of other options.

This walk begins at a spot where we often park: Low Tiberthwaite Car Park. It is a great starting point for visiting Cathedral Cave and bagging Wainwrights such as Wetherlam. Plus, this one is free if you head to the second, smaller car park. From there, we headed across the road and followed the footpath along the river. Because of the heavy rain, the beck was gushing with water, and it had pooled at the start of the path, so we were off to a boggy start. We quickly looked at Tiberthwaite Touchstone Fold, but there wasn’t much to see. It is basically just a sheepfold with some interesting art patterns on the stone.

We carried on through the woodland area, heading straight across at the crossroads to reach the road. In all honesty, we had planned to park near the quarry but Alex had taken the wrong turning off the main road. I think this worked out much better in the end as we walked down the road and to the quarry. It’s not a busy road, so it isn’t too bad. There are some lovely, albeit very remote, houses and cottages down here too.

It would be hard to miss the two huge quarries on either side of the road. The one on the left you cannot access so can’t see much of it but, the one on the right, though you cannot enter (not here anyway), you can see the magnitude of the work that happened here. The quarry is now full of water and looks incredibly deep. I would not want to fall in! The sheer faces of rock are incredible to see. We thought that was all we were going to be able to see however, if you continue on around the corner, there is a path down to the right where you can walk down into the bottom of the quarried area and see through to the previous cavern full of water. There are lots of old miner bits down here too including what looks like a bit of railway track. It was very cool!

Unfortunately, there had been some fly-tipping down here too which is such a shame. It’s disappointing that people would throw their rubbish down there and also, surprising that they would go so far out of their way to do so. At that point, you may as well go to the recycling centre…

A common theme in winter is running out of time for walks, however, we wanted to get in a Wainwright so headed up Holme Fell, one of the smallest Wainwright’s in the Lake District. Holme Fell is a bit like Loughrigg Fell in that it is a fairly easy ascent and descent. It was boggy on this occasion but that is because it was hammering with rain. We definitely should have packed our waterproof trousers…

On a clear day, Holme Fell is said to have great views across the whole of Coniston Lake. Unfortunately, I can’t comment on that as we couldn’t see 100m in front of us, nevermind to Coniston. That was why we picked this route in the first place though so we weren’t too bothered. Be aware that there are cows in this area if you’re doing this route with a dog!

From there, it was time to circle back to where we had parked the car. In an effort to make the route a little bit longer and not retrace our steps exactly, we headed across the fields to High Tiberthwaite Farm before making our way back down the road to the car park. You don’t have to do this, unless you want to of course. A good route for a rainy day, I would say.

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Start Point: Low Tiberthwaite

1. On the opposite side of the road to the car parks, take the footpath on the left side of the river.
2. Where the path enters the woodland, take the immediate left fork.
3. At a crossroads, head straight over, ignoring the left turn through a wooden gate into fields.
4. Shortly the woodland path meets a tarmac lane. Turn left passing Holme Ground and Holme Ground Cottages.
5. Continue along the road until you meet Hodge Close Quarry, viewpoints for this are on the right side of the road. Then continue along the road bending around some cottages. Then take the gravel path uphill on the right.
6. Optional: On the right of this track the stone steps lead you to Parrock Quarry floor and an archway to view Hodge Close Quarry. (This however is a dead end so you must return the same way to exit).
7. Take the track uphill, through a wooden gate. Now take the path on the next right, through another gate, which runs along the other side of the quarries.
8. At the southerly end of Holme Fell Quarry, take the left fork. (If you reach the road again, you have gone the wrong way).
9. Follow this gravel track. After passing through a gate, take the next left, uphill, signposted Holme Fell.
10. Continue on until the path reaches a lake. Follow the footpath that skirts the lake around the left side, eventually crossing a small stream. (This may be dry in Summer months).
11. Ivy Crag (left peak) and Holme Fell (right ridge) can be seen from here on a clear day. There are many paths to the tops here, a lot unmapped, so we chose to use a compass bearing to Ivy Crag due to the very poor visibility. This could be done visually if clear. We hiked Holme Fell via a rocky ledge.
12. From the cairn on Holme Fell head back downhill via the ledge. Turn left and ignore all paths on the right that lead towards the lakes.
13. Continue down this path, cross a stream and past with woodland on your right hand side.
14. The footpath meets a gravel path with a drystone wall alongside it. Turn left here and through a gate. Take the sharp downhill path on your right leading back to Holme Ground and the road.
15. Head left back down the road, turning right into the woodland area and then back to the car park.

End Point: Low Tiberthwaite

Have you been to Holme Close Quarry?

Amie x