Cunswick Fell – Bentham Footpath Group

Cunswick and Scout Scars

7.2 miles | 11.5 km | 298 m Ascent | 8.6 Naismith miles | George Sheridan
A quick glance at an OS map centred on Kendal shows a viewpoint just to the west of the town – not far from Underbarrow. This walk gave us the chance to see that view – and much more besides.
We start at a convenient free car park on the Underbarrow road, and head out along the top of Cunswick scar, with great views across Cunswick Fell to Kendal and beyond. We then drop down through Scar Wood, to skirt the edge of Cunswick Tarn and stroll past Cunswick Hall before taking a variety of woodland paths to Underbarrow.
From here we see Scout Scar looming ahead before climbing it at Barrowfield. Once at the top, we enjoy views across to the Lakeland fells, and Morecambe Bay before heading along the top of the scar to the viewpoint where we find an historic shelter and helpful graphics to identify the numerous hills we can see. A brief stroll downhill returns us to the car park.

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Rather Heath and Burneside

Moderate

8.8 miles | 14.1km | 212 m Ascent | 9.8 Naismith miles |David & Sheila Longton
The Bentham Footpath Group have completed a number of great walks in and around Kendal – search on the website for Staveley, Levens or the Lancaster Canal to see some of them. This walk adds to that library and because it intersects with earlier offerings, creates a great opportunity to build our mental map of the area.
We start from a layby on the “old road” – once the main route from Kendal to Windermere – and then walk through woodland on Rather Heath passing the edge of Ratherheath Tarn before striking out to Plumgarths where we visit the Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s gardens. We then head parallel to the A591 before crossing onto Kendal Fell at Helsfell Nab. Unusually for a BFG walk, we then go into the outskirts of a town (Kendal), for lunch in the park, before we head out to Burneside. We have a good look at the Church and the paper mills before heading upstream along the Kent to Bowston on a section of the Dales Way. A final section over the railway, then under the main road brings us back to our starting point.

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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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