{"id":2196,"date":"2021-01-30T01:33:20","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T00:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2196"},"modified":"2021-01-26T08:55:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T07:55:45","slug":"gowbarrow-aira-force-cumbria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2196","title":{"rendered":"Gowbarrow &#038; Aira Force, Cumbria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/> First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Gowbarrow.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668647656_836b052d99_z.jpg\" title= \"50668647656 cart track to Gowbarrow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668647656_836b052d99_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668719472_d7af872b15_z.jpg\" title= \"50668719472 green slopes of Gowbarrow 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668719472_d7af872b15_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668719332_03393f23a2_z.jpg\" title= \"50668719332 green slopes of Gowbarrow 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668719332_03393f23a2_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50667896703_838aa24fb8_z.jpg\" title= \"50667896703 start of the path to Gowbarrow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50667896703_838aa24fb8_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718797_27d0bd4b67_z.jpg\" title= \"50668718797 looking back to Millses from the Gowbarrow path\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718797_27d0bd4b67_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718582_6614744a69_z.jpg\" title= \"50668718582 fells round Ullswater from the Gowbarrow path 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718582_6614744a69_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668646281_0ced34abf1_z.jpg\" title= \"50668646281 stony path to Gowbarrow\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668646281_0ced34abf1_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718212_e59fa113b7_z.jpg\" title= \"50668718212 fells round Ullswater from the Gowbarrow path 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668718212_e59fa113b7_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668645841_ab62bc4eeb_z.jpg\" title= \"50668645841 fells round Ullswater from the Gowbarrow path 3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668645841_ab62bc4eeb_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668647911_17d729e5a5_z.jpg\" title= \"50668647911 view across Ullswater to the Eden Valley fells 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668647911_17d729e5a5_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50667898113_4fbe309c88_z.jpg\" title= \"50667898113 view across Ullswater from Gowbarrow 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50667898113_4fbe309c88_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668648436_e5c2760823_z.jpg\" title= \"50668648436 view across Ullswater from Gowbarrow 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/50668648436_e5c2760823_s.jpg\" alt=\"picture\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFacebook Link: <script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/wordpress\/?p=2196\" layout=\"button_count\" show_faces=\"true\" width=\"200\" colorscheme=\"dark\"><\/fb:like><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=2196','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nA beautiful day was promised over the eastern fells of the Lake District, with light easterly winds and plenty of blue sky. So it turned out, as we set off from the tiny village of Dockray to make a circuit of the craggy outlier of Gowbarrow Fell.<\/p>\n<p>In the pastures around Parkgate Farm they were training an excitable young sheepdog in the business of gathering his charges. The flock swerved and fled across the field like a shower of white iron filings impelled by the black-and-white magnet of the dog. He yapped shrilly, they bleated high and low, the farmer shouted and whistled. Gradually the noise faded as we crossed Riddings Beck and turned up Gowbarrow\u2019s steep rocky slope.<\/p>\n<p>The fell rises in a graceless lump of green-grey rocks and fox-brown bracken to the east of Dockray. Norsemen named it \u2018Windy Hill\u2019, but all was still today under the winter sun. \u2018More deer than trees\u2019 was a late 17th century description of this private hunting ground for the lords of the Greystoke estate. Gowbarrow is still a wild place today, a hummock of moorland, rock, heather and boggy ground.<\/p>\n<p>Views as much Alpine as Cumbrian opened to the south as we gained height on the steep stony path, a view of Ullswater\u2019s lake and wooded shores. Beyond rose the long hummocky ridge of High Street, where the sun was causing the last curls of early mist to shred away in the clear air.<\/p>\n<p>Up we went, a stony ascent by rocky steps and tree roots. Sparkling streamlets descended beside the path with a tinkling sound like distant sheep bells. A meadow pipit, disturbed from a mossy bog pool, darted up and away with snipe-like jinkings and a sharp chip! chip! of complaint. Near the top of the fell the gradient eased and the path ran over a wide heather moor to reach the trig pillar on Airy Crag at 1,579 feet.<\/p>\n<p>The view from here was superb in unbroken sunshine, Ullswater trending northeast towards the flat plain of the Eden Valley and the rise of the North Pennine fells beyond, Great and Little Mell lumping in the northern foreground and a big crumple of high fells towards Helvellyn in the south west.<\/p>\n<p>Down a well-trodden path, clockwise round the hump of Gowbarrow, to reach the lake shore level and a woodland path to Aira Force.* The waterfall that Wordsworth and countless other poets admired came bouncing and sluicing in white water down a black rock chute slick with mosses and liverworts. A fine spectacle to mark the homeward path through woods of alder and silver birch, along the fellside and back to Dockray in the last of the afternoon sunlight.<br \/>\n*NB spelling = Airy Crag; Aira Force<\/p>\n<p>How hard is it? 5 miles; strenuous; steep climb to Airy Crag; many trip hazards on paths; many steps at Aira Force.<\/p>\n<p>Start: Royal Hotel, Dockray, Penrith CA11 0JY (OS ref NY 393216)<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: Dockray is on A5091 (Glenridding-Troutbeck)<\/p>\n<p>Walk (OS Explorer OL5): Cross A5091; follow lane beside Dockray House (\u2018Aira Force\u2019). Cross Riddings Beck at Millses (397217); in 200m through gate; left (399216, \u2018Airy Crag\u2019) through gate. Steeply up beside stone wall to Airy Crag trig pillar (408218). Keep ahead clockwise on clear path for 2\u00bc miles to footbridge over Aira Beck (401203). Don\u2019t cross; turn right up right bank to Aira Force (399205). Cross lower footbridge; up steps; right to recross upper bridge. Path north on right bank to Millses and Dockray.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch\/Accommodation: Royal Hotel, Dockray (01768-482356, <a href=\"http:\/\/the-royal-dockray.co.uk\">the-royal-dockray.co.uk<\/a>) \u2013 friendly, characterful village inn.<\/p>\n<p>Info: Penrith TIC (01768-867466); <a href=\"http:\/\/visitlakedistrict.com\">visitlakedistrict.com<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/satmap.com\">satmap.com<\/a>; <a href=\"http:\/\/ramblers.org.uk\">ramblers.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A beautiful day was promised over the eastern fells of the Lake District, with light easterly winds and plenty of blue sky. So it turned out, as we set off from the tiny village of Dockray to make a circuit of the craggy outlier of Gowbarrow Fell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2198,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2196","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2196\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}