Start: Crown Inn, Tilberthwaite Avenue, Coniston, Cumbria LA21 8ED Tel: 01539 441243
(S/E) From the front door of the Crown Inn pub, turn right past the church. Bear left over the bridge across Church Beck and carry on past the petrol station, then turn right into Station Road.
(1) Cross the entrance to Church Beck Close, then turn left into a no-through road. Before the first house, turn right up a long flight of steps leading to a path behind the house and below a retaining wall. The path continues in similar fashion until it meets a narrow road at a hairpin bend; follow the road uphill (right) past a slate-built terrace of houses, then continue uphill as it bends right and left.
(2) At the next road junction, turn right through a gap in the wall onto the old railway, and turn left to pass under the road bridge. Follow the old railway for ¼ mile to Bowmanstead, where it passes behind the church and over a minor road. Continue along the old line for a similar distance until you meet a crossing road, where you turn left to the A593.
(3) Turn right along the main road for a short distance, then take a path off to the left at a right-hand bend. This path quickly rejoins the old railway line, now running through fields in a slight cutting. At the end of this stretch, a gate leads into woodland and shortly the path meets a road at the entrance to a caravan park. Follow the road until it bends right to join the main road, at which point continue along the path straight ahead, through a gate.
(4) This path ends up running parallel to the main road, separated from it by a wall, before switching to the verge as it passes the hamlet of Little Arrow. Shortly afterwards, the path leaves the roadside through a gate on the left and again runs parallel, before bearing slightly left. Ignoring a path on the right, pass under a road bridge and continue along the old railway through fields, ignoring a crossing footpath. The path crosses Torver Beck within sight of the church and continues across fields, before passing to the left of a caravan park to emerge on the A5084, close to its junction with the A593.
(5) Turn left, away from the junction, then shortly cross to a farm entrance on the right. Take the hedged track straight ahead, left of a house, signposted as a public bridleway. After ¼ mile, turn left, signposted to Park Ground.
(6) When the track bends right, take a path on the left, signposted as a public bridleway to Mill Bridge (½ mile) and Stable Harvey (1¾ miles). This path leads pleasantly towards Torver Beck and then runs parallel to the stream to Torver Mill. Beyond the mill house, turn right, away from the bridge, past a converted barn (Mill Pool Barn) on your left. The track crosses a side-stream and climbs to a gate, beyond which two paths diverge. Take the left-hand path, following the wall on the left.
(7) When the wall heads off left, carry straight on over rough grazing land until Throng Moss Reservoir comes into view. The path runs between the bank on your left and the lake on your right. At the end of a short arm of the reservoir, ford a stream that runs off down a gully to your left. Ford a second stream then follow the path as it bears left.
(8) Look out for a waymark post, where you turn sharp left to ford the second stream again. This path heads initially towards the low summit of Anne Riggs, then bears right towards the developing valley (ignoring any minor paths over the ridge on your left). Cross a second stream and then follow the path along the valley side, with the slopes of Anne Riggs above and to your left and the stream below and to your right.
(9) At the end of this valley, the stream meets Torver Beck, which you cross via a footbridge above the confluence and below a series of low cascades. Bear right then follow the wall left, away from the beck and up to the main road. Take a few steps left to a small parking area, then follow the track signposted ‘Coniston via Lake Shore’. Beyond a gate, this track follows a wall, then heads off down towards the lake. Follow a wall above trees to the shore, where you will find the Sunny Bank Jetty. If timetables allow, you could hail a launch here and ride the boat back to Coniston (A).
(10) To continue with the walk, turn left onto the lakeside path. After ¾ mile, you cross a small stream (Moor Gill) running down to a small gravelly beach. Continuing along the lake, the next landmark, after a wooded section, is Torver Jetty, where again there is an opportunity to catch a boat back to Coniston. Otherwise, cross a footbridge onto a wider track that continues beside the lake.
(11) At Hoathwaite Landing is a boathouse and jetty used by the University of Birmingham. Beyond a further gate, leave the obvious track ahead to follow a path on the right that leads back to the shore. After a footbridge and gate, a low mound in the field bearing a couple of trees marks the site of old ironworks or ‘bloomeries’. The path continues along the shore and then joins a wide, surfaced track. There are views across the lake to Brantwood, John Ruskin’s home (B). The track winds across a campsite towards Coniston Hall.
(12) Beyond a barn, bear right to the house, then continue to a gateway between two barns. Keep right here to another gate, where you follow the track half-left, away from the lake.
(13) By a small copse, follow the track round a right-hand bend. This track bears right through a hedge then turns left towards the houses of Coniston. When you meet Lake Road, turn left and walk past the school to the village centre. Turn right past the petrol station, cross Church Beck and turn right to return to the Crown Inn. (S/E)
