Search Results for: Roman

Furnessford & Hindburn Bridges

Moderate

8.5 miles | 13.6 km | 361 m Ascent | 10.3 Naismith miles | Susan Badley
Bentham Footpath Group Walks generally start within an hour’s drive of Bentham – there is so much wonderful walking country within that radius that we are always spoiled for choice. This excellent walk – aided by near perfect weather – highlights the fact that Bentham itself is a great place to start a walk.
We start in low Bentham and cross the Wenning at the pedestrian bridge were the Silk Mills once stood, and then head up Mill Lane as far as Kirkbeck where we take paths across fields to Mewith lane and then across to Spens Farm.
We cross the Hindburn for the first time at Furnessford Bridge, and then head over to Cragg Hall, before descending back to the river to cross at Hindburn Bridge. From there we head up to Mealbank and take paths across fields to follow the Wenning Valley upstream with great views across to Ingleborough and Whernside along the way. Passing Robert Hall, we head down Eskew Lane and back to Low Bentham.

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The Two Langdales

Moderate

8.8 miles | 14.2 km |462 m Ascent | 11.1 Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
The two Langdales referred to in the title are Great Langdale and Little Langdale – in effect two parallel valleys separated by Lingmoor Fell.
Starting from Elterwater, we head up the valley along the gentle woodland paths of Great Langdale with Lingmoor Fell on our left and Chapel Stile on the right across a surprisingly flat valley with very steep sides. We then follow the direction of the beck upstream to Oak Howe where we pick up the Cumbria Way enjoying fantastic views of Dungeon Ghyll Force as we follow the path round the back of Side Pike to cross over a short but steep ridge into Little Langdale.
Pausing at the top of the ridge we have great views up Langdale and Oxendale, before we follow the path round and descend into Little Langdale, passing Blea Tarn on the way. A short road section on the Wrynose Pass road takes us down to Fell Foot Bridge where we head across fields to Slater Bridge and Little Langdale Tarn before we pick up a track back to Elterwater.

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Dent Foot

Moderate

8.1 miles | 13.0 km | 234 m Ascent | 9.3 Naismith miles | David Longton
Sedbergh is a favourite location for The Bentham Footpath Group, as is Dent, so surely there’s a walk based between the two that captures the best of both? There is – and this is it -typical Yorkshire Dales walking but with views of the Howgills.
We start next to the River Rawthey, just north of where it merges with the Lune, and track upstream toward Sedbergh, passing the confluence with the Dee, but staying with the Rawthey at first. We then cross the river and head to Millthrop, to pick up the Dales Way path which takes us down to Gate Manor in Dentdale. We then cross the Dee to return along the other side of Dentdale via Rash and Dent Foot, before skirting Holme Fell to arrive at Middleton Bridge via a Roman road. A short stroll back along the Rawthey concludes the walk.

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Scout Scar and Underbarrow

Easy

5.7 miles | 9.1 km |255 m Ascent | 6.9 Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
The area of the South Lakes between the Kent and Levens Estuaries provides a rich source of walks and is particularly favoured by The Bentham Footpath Group. This walk shows why: It’s relatively short and generally easy, but still manages to deliver spectacular views, well preserved industrial archaeology, a roman road, an ancient pele tower, sites of special scientific interest and ancient woodlands.

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Long Preston

Challenging

9.8 miles | 15.8 km | 462m Ascent | 12.1 Naismith miles | David Longton
Long Preston is a small village that many people drive through on the way to better known destinations in the Yorkshire Dales. It’s well worth stopping though to explore this village and the excellent walks that can be accessed from it.
The walk we present here is classified as challenging simply because it just exceeds our 15km limit for a moderate walk – but much of the route is on tracks, or minor roads, and there are no steep climbs, so if you feel comfortable with our moderate walks give this one a go too. There are some shortcuts highlighted.
As you can see from the gallery, we picked a wet day to walk it, but in better weather, the views over the Ribble Valley, and the flood plains south of Settle are well worth seeing, as is Scaleber Foss at the halfway point.

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Semerwater from Bainbridge

Challenging

9.8 miles | 15.8 km | 492 m Ascent | 12.3 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
Our walk starts from Bainbridge and initially follows a Roman road known as the Cam High Road up Wensleydale until we overlook Burtersett. We then cross the ridge into Raydale, and head down to Marsett where we cross the river, walk through a nature reserve and over toward the atmospheric old church at Stalling Busk.
From there we track round Semerwater – again in a nature reserve – to visit the lake shore at Turner’s seat. The final part of the walk sees us follow the river Bain back to Bainbridge, with good views over the site of the Roman fort of Virosidum.
Although quite long, and steep in places, this walk offers great views, and an opportunity to explore some of the quieter parts of the Yorkshire Dales.

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Mallerstang

Challenging

11.7 miles | 18.9 km | 811 m Ascent | 15.8 Naismith miles | Jim Shuttleworth
Mallerstang, and the Upper Eden Valley, are among England’s few remaining wild and peaceful places.
David Bellamy described this general area as “England’s last Wilderness”.

This challenging walk has everything: Lady Anne’s way, sculpture, the source of the river Eden, spectacular scars, cairns, disused quarries, incredible views, gentle riverside sections, and even a castle.

Not enough? Pick the right day and you might see a steam train and the RAF in training.

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Warton Crag from Silverdale

Moderate

8.7 miles | 14.0 km | 452 m Ascent | 10.9 Naismith miles | Rick Clapham
Another Silverdale walk from the Bentham Footpath Group – but this one takes us over to Warton Crag and the Beacon, with great views over Morecambe Bay at many points.
We pass a Victorian folly, a number of interesting sites of industrial archaeology, a failed attempt to reclaim land from the sea, and an iron-age hill fort.
The walk is classed as moderate mainly because it’s quite long, and although there is some climbing, the paths are generally good – at least in the weather that favoured us in April 2022.
Be aware that parts of the walk are on the edge of the bay so can be muddy in wet weather and/or during high tides.

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Lancaster: City and Country

Easy

6.6 miles | 10.6 km | 319 m Ascent | 8.2 Naismith miles | Susan Badley
Walking from a city centre is unusual for The Bentham Footpath Group. This interesting walk starts in Lancaster city centre and takes the Lancaster Canal South to the Fairfield Nature Reserve, where we loop round the “Fauna”, “Flora” and community orchard areas to arrive back at the canal.
We then head through Aldcliffe to the Lune estuary and the Lancashire Coastal Way, before returning via Freemans Woods to the city centre.
Good views of the Priory and Castle end this refreshing walk.

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