the route

This trip was the first time either Hannah or I had visited The Lake District, so on our first full day we were looking for a great introductory hike that would give us stunning views of lakes and mountains and a potential wild swim. We decided on Thirlmere for this after researching for wild swimming spots and identifying Thirlmere Infinity Pool as an option.

There are various ways to view and walk Thirlmere; you can walk along either the west or east side, or if you have time you can loop the entire lake. We opted to hike just the east side, as it offers higher elevation for spectacular views (you can climb even higher by ascending Helvellyn should you wish). There are also a few more notable features on this route: a church being almost all that remains of the village of Wythburn, a forest purported to have resident red squirrels, and an opportunity for tea and cake at the northern tip of the lake.

All of this sounding quite acceptable, we set off.

sTART OF ROUTE

Our start point was at Armboth Turn – note: pronounced [arm-both] if you get this wrong and ask for ‘Armboff’, your bus driver will look quite puzzled. We took the 555 bus from Ambleside, a route which took us past Rydal, Grasmere, and Grasmere Village, lasting about 25-30 minutes. Crossing the road from the bus stop, there is a a gravel road on the right and a gate and information board to the left. Heading through the gate led us into a small area of woodland which, despite being close to the road, felt fairly secluded and tranquil. After around ten minutes walking, we stepped out of the woods onto a lane. Turning right and following this lane up took us to the small car park that accompanies Wythburn Church.

waypoint 1: wythburn church

Churches I find generally tend to be inviting places, and we do make a habit of popping in to learn a bit about their history. A visit to Wythburn Church is unlikely to take up much of anyone’s time, unless you find yourself waiting out a persistent downpour. If you would prefer, you can skip visiting and continue on with your hike. We chose to call in and you can read the off track section if you want to learn more about the church and the village that once was.

Off Track: The flooded village of Wythburn

Wythburn Church is a quaint little building situated slightly above Thirlmere reservoir and underneath the towering ridges that make up Helvellyn. Now surrounded by woods, the church offers a place of refuge for hikers looking to escape the rain. Hikers likely make up the majority of its ‘congregation’ as it now serves a parish of just one family (or so I have written down in my notebook – others suggest a parish of ‘five people’ but no mention of relations).

Of course it was not always like this. In the 1890s, the Manchester Corporation constructed a dam, blocking St Johns Beck, and flooding the valley including the village of Wythburn. They also constructed a 96 mile long aqueduct, connecting the reservoir with Manchester, to meet the growing demands of the city. It is perhaps easy to call this an impressive feat of Victorian engineering, and it certainly is, but it’s also important to note, as is common for Industrial Revolution era development, it forever altered the natural landscape.

Despite the overwhelmingly destructive attitudes of days gone by, it did not go down without a fight. The Thirlmere Defence Association had formed in 1777, suggesting a long battle against the plans put forward. It held support from visionaries like Canon Rawnsley and Octavia Hill – both of whom helped found the National Trust. Whilst this battle was lost, the National Trust today own about 20% of the land in the Lake District, representing one of the largest land owners in the region. That is a huge area of land protected and conserved for both nature and people, so I would have to say they came out on top in the end.

Thirlmere today, despite being a forever altered landscape, is still an exceedingly dramatic and beautiful location. Wythburn church only adds to the charm, itself dating back to 1640, with restorations completed in 1872. Two simple stained glass windows are present, devoted to St Cuthbert and St Herbert, with the latter being the Lakeland saint who brought christianity to the region in the 7th century. It also features, and I’m a real sucker for these, some very rustic looking exposed wooden beams!

Whilst I had been busy learning all about the church and taking some photos, Hannah had been sitting in quiet contemplation. Churches do offer a peaceful atmosphere to be alone with your thoughts and this tiny place, dwarfed by its stunning surroundings, seemed particularly tranquil. Before we left the church, Hannah wrote in the visitor book: “Thank you for letting us sit for a while”.

Sources: Wythburn Church, The Lake District National Park website, here & here

a steep climb up

We rejoined the trail by heading through the carpark towards a dry stone wall and out through the gate. The forested section here is fenced off to stop deer from hampering reforestation efforts. Deer, without natural predators, tend to cause a lot of problems what with their insatiable appetites and whilst it is always nice to come across one in the wild, I can understand the need to block their spread in certain places.

This is also the steepest part of the route we took being a climb of 60 metres within just 0.2km worth of walking. It’s an even more prolonged climb for those wanting to tackle Helvellyn from this point. I imagine people tend to use a gentler path for this purpose. Regardless, if you don’t mind the burn in your legs, the views are great and you get a real sense of adventure. We found a few handy tree stumps had been left path side which served well for water breaks.

Eventually we stumbled out onto level ground and joined a wide gravel path. Straight ahead is the long, steep, and windy path taking you up to Nethermost Pike and also Helvellyn. But for this walk we took a left, through another gate (there will be plenty of gates throughout this walk to go through) and followed the well deserved level path.

Through gaps in the trees to the left, there are glimpses of the lake far down below, and even further up to the right, we could see the peaks and ridges of the surrounding mountains. After about 1km of walking this path (in which we happened to see exactly no-one, neither man nor squirrel) we came across Christian & Niggy View.

WAYPOINT 2: Christian & Niggy View

Much of the route up to this point featured tree plantation on both sides, however at Christian & Niggy view, the trees thin and we were presented with an expansive view of Thirlmere. Christian and Niggy were two brothers who were tragically killed whilst cycling along the A591 in 2010. There is a bench dedicated to the brothers which overlooks this view, and we chose to stop here to break for lunch.

We were lucky to have such a warm and sunny day to fully appreciate the sight, though I am sure it would look exceptional in winter too. The bench is situated between two bridges, each crossing a stream which presents clear evidence of becoming waterfalls on a wet day. I can imagine these would look very impressive, alas for us it was quite dry, but the gentle trickling added to the calm atmosphere. I can understand why their family decided to memorialise the brothers at this spot.

You will also get a good view of Hawes How Island from this spot. There are two primary islands on the reservoir, with Hawes How being the bigger of the two (the smaller being Deergarth Island). Hawes How in particular has suffered from littering in recent times from wild campers kayaking across to spend the night. A shame, as wild camping comes under plenty of scrutiny as it is, and things like this definitely do not help the reputation. Kayaking is allowed on the reservoir, however, swimming is not due to extreme cold temperatures and dangerous unnatural currents. If you plan to kayak, keep that in mind and be very careful not to capsize.

Through the trees

The gravel lane runs out after about 2.5km. It is fairly up and down, with one particularly steep climb, though nothing compared to the section immediately after Wythburn Church. We were adequately fuelled with water and Kendal Mint Cake to see us up any uphill sections. The last 1km took us through Highpark Wood, though we didn’t know it entering from this point. Keep an eye out for a fork in the road and that’s how you’ll know (it is the only fork in the road you see on approach). You can take either path as it completes a loop through the wood, with both paths ending at the Swirls Car Park. We felt we had done enough up and decided to stick left and follow the path down, which eventually takes you level with the A591.

It was not until we reached the car park that we found out about High Park Wood and its supposed inhabitants. An information board near the toilets proclaimed that we were in a Red Squirrel area, but unfortunately we had not seen any. I know from experience that Red Squirrels can be quite elusive, and had we done our research and known ahead of time that they were present, we would have walked much quieter through the wood in hope of seeing one.

WAYPOINT 3: Swirls car park & HIGHpARK WOOD

I had found out about Thirlmere Infinity Pool through another bloggers post and Hannah had seen a brief video about it on social media. Unfortunately, I think this meant it was the current cool trending thing to do, and perhaps if I’d thought about it, I’d notice we were only adding to a potential problem by heading for it as well.

The path gradually pulls away from the sheepfolds and we found ourselves walking through the open hillside at the north end of Thirlmere. This path intersects with Fisherplace Gill which is dotted with waterfalls. By following it uphill a way, you come across the infinity pool. The path becomes difficult to spot and we did see people clambering off path either side of the stream. We try as much as we can to avoid doing this as it can damage the landscape and by backtracking a little we did find the actual path that cuts in a little higher up.

WAYPOINT 4: THIRLMERE INFINITY POOL

The very first thing to note about Thirlmere Infinity Pool is that yes it looks stunning. The waterfalls in from a fair height, and the pool itself looks refreshing and inviting. The second thing to note, is that the pool is surrounded on all sides by a steep rock. I suppose the north side of the pool looks to be the easiest for access but we were on the other side where the footpath had led us and we saw no easy way to get in. Regardless of which side you are on, you do effectively have to very delicately shuffle down the rock, right at the edge of a 10 metre drop. Evidently it can be accessed, as there were people in the water and others waiting to give it a go. Had it not been for the people in their swimming costumes, I would have taken some photographs to illustrate the difficulties.

No matter how inviting it looks, we decided it simply was not worth the risk. It can evidently be achieved, as there were people in the water and some waiting to get in, but to us it looked like an accident waiting to happen. It seemed to me to be another case of internet trending places, causing people who don’t know the risks to seek them out. Not wanting to trigger a call out from mountain rescue, we decided to hold off on wild swimming for another day.

Heading back down the path, we crossed Fisherplace Gill at a bridge lower down. Looking up from the bridge we saw another waterfall which looked rather impressive. Unfortunately, we saw more people scrambling precariously adjacent to the stream, seemingly heading for the infinity pool with no care for personal safety nor any respect for the landscape. Continuing on through a field you reach Sty Beck and then a country lane past Stybeck Farm and finally, thankfully, to The Lodge in the Vale which welcomes muddy boots and offers tea and cake – the perfect post 8.2km hike fuel!

After resting awhile at the Lodge, we headed down Back Lane and onto the A591 where we found Legburthwaite bus stop. The view from the bus took in the scenery in reverse, but also gave us a closer look at Thirlmere Reservoir and the two islands within.

a few reflections

It felt like a shame to end the hike with a slight disappointment. After 8km of hiking in the sunny heat, we were really looking forward to a cool refreshing dip at the end. Nevertheless, we do feel we did the right thing and I wouldn’t personally recommend swimming at the infinity pool here, despite how inviting it looks both online and in person. The Lodge in the Vale offers a nice respite however, so ending up there for tea and cake provided us with a perfectly acceptable end to our hike. I am sure many who choose to come down from Helvellyn at this point feel the same way.

We do plan on returning to Thirlmere. The western side looks like a gentler stroll in comparison to the east, and it also hugs the edge of the lake much more so we may look into exploring that in future. However, I am keen to look closer for the red squirrels that supposedly inhabit Highpark Wood, so we may take a leisurely look around there too. Helvellyn for now feels a bit above our level, both in terms of experience and confidence but it would certainly be a great patch to add to the backpack. We will certainly make a return here so keep an eye out and subscribe if you want to be notified when we do.