Susan Badley – Bentham Footpath Group

Furnessford & Hindburn Bridges

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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Lord’s Lot

Easy

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.

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Bouth

Challenging

9.8 miles | 15.8 km | 665 m Ascent | 12.1 Naismith miles | Susan Badley
Starting from a convenient and little-used layby on the A590 at Pool Foot, we head upstream to the village of Bouth. From there we enter Old Hall Woods and head over to Colton before taking a path North to Oxen Park.
We then pick up a woodland route over to Whitestock Hall before a short section on-road brings us to Hulleter. Excellent views across the Rusland Valley and Rusland Moss National Nature Reserve are enjoyed through this section of the walk.
At Hay Bridge we enter the nature reserve with its tranquil tarns, before heading over to Moss Wood. This track brings us back to Bouth, but rather than returning exactly as we started, we now turn right and head toward the woodland at Ashes Intake. We divert back to the causeway south of Bouth before retracing our steps back to the start

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Hampsfell And Cartmel

Moderate

8.0 miles | 12.9 km | 322 m Ascent | 9.6 Naismith miles | Ed Badley
Several of the Bentham Footpath Groups walks centre on Silverdale, and we often enjoy views over the Kent estuary toward Hampsfell. In this walk we climb Hampsfell and look the other way, using the viewing platform at the Hospice as our highpoint.
As well as the hospice and the views from there, this walk includes a return trip through quiet fields and woodlands before returning to Cartmel at the racecourse. We then enter the village centre and return to our start via Aynsome Manor and Old House Wood.

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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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