Helm – Bentham Footpath Group

Askrigg

6.5 miles | 10.4 km | 284 m Ascent | 7.9 Naismith miles | Sandra Craggs
Take a look at any tourist guide to the Yorkshire Dales and they all feature lovely bright midsummer days.
We do get some of those days, and they are indeed special, but perhaps even better are those really crisp wintery days when the ground is hard, the air is crystal clear and the views uninterrupted by haze.
This walk is not one that only works in winter through. Key attractions are Askrigg, the original and true All Creatures Great and Small village, a couple of water mills, long lost dams, waterfalls, perfect views of the Cam High Road, a unique chapel, a couple of fortified houses, a riverside stroll, a brief diversion to a lovely Dales village, magical stepping stones, and finally a visit to a really good café and cake shop.

Oxenholme round

Easy

7.2 miles | 11.6 km | 271 m Ascent | 8.6Naismith miles | Alison Kinder & Colin Stroud
Kendal styles itself as “The gateway to the Lakes”, and it is indeed a good base for those wishing to explore the southern end of the Lake District. The surrounding countryside also has much to offer in its own right– as we see in this walk.
From convenient parking close to Oxenholme station, we start by climbing the Helm, gaining great views of the Lakeland Fells, the Howgills, and Morecambe Bay. From there we descend past an ancient fort, and a curious folly to pick up St Sunday’s Beck which we follow upstream to the delightful Bleasehall Wood. We note a syphon well before taking an isolated green lane to St Sunday’s Bridge and from there we head to Hawkrigg. The return leg involves a brief but quite steep climb up the aptly named Windy Hill, and then it’s a steady descent to the finish. We show this as an easy walk because it is (just) less than 12 km – but the consensus from the group was that it “feels more like a medium”.

Oxenholme round Read More »