Kendal – Bentham Footpath Group

Oxenholme round

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”.

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Lord’s Lot

7.2 miles | 11.5 km | 411m Ascent | 9.2 Naismith miles | Susan Badley
Lord’s Lot is a modest hill in South Lakeland offering tremendous views of the Lakeland peaks to the Northwest and the Howgills to the Northeast. Despite being only a few miles from Windermere this area is refreshingly quiet – the group met no other walkers during our walk despite the near perfect conditions.
This circular walk is classed as easy because it’s below our 12km threshold, but you should be aware that there is some climbing up to Lord’s Lot, and that the paths can be muddy in winter. The views make all this worthwhile though, and if you pick a spring day to do this walk, you can also enjoy the spectacular white blossom that the countless damson orchards in the area produce.