A gentle walk with beautiful views - what more could we ask? (Tarn Howes (Cumbria))

Member Name: SusanLesley

Product:	Tarn Howes (Cumbria)
Date:	22/04/09 (328 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, peaceful, clean, good toilets!

Disadvantages: Ignorant dog owners

We have recently returned from a week's holiday in The Lake District. We took Dave's mom with us as she was 80 in January and this was her birthday present from us. We all went to the same hotel (The Fayrer Garden) where we went for our honey moon four years ago and we all had a brilliant time.

As Margaret (mother-in-law) had a hip replacement last year we wanted to sort out some nice walks that were fairly flat so that she could enjoy the walking without it being too much of a strain for her.

The last time Dave and I had been up there we had visited Tarn Hows and thought that this would be a lovely walk for her to try. It was a nice, sunny day but it wasn't too warm so off we set.

What is it?

Tarn Hows is a large lake (or tarn) set on the top of a hill at an altitude of about 618 feet. It is partly artificial as there were originally three tarns which were joined together in the 19th century by James Garth Marshall to create a single tarn by building a dam to flood the area. He also planted the shores and the islands in the tarn with new woodlands and specimen trees. The climb up to Tarn Hows would be a stiff one if you chose to walk it, but once up there the walk round the tarn is fairly flat.
When the Tarns and the surrounding area came up for sale in 1929, they were bought by the author, Beatrix Potter who then sold the half containing Tarn Hows to the National Trust, and subsequently bequeathed the rest of the estate to the Trust in her will.
Where is it?

Tarn Hows is situated in Cumbria and is roughly between Coniston in the south and Ambleside in the north. Just turn off the A593 at Coniston onto the B5285, Coniston to Hawkshead road and Tarn Hows is well signposted from there.

How do I get there?

Obviously you can get there by road as I have just described or you could catch the Coniston Rambler (no 505) which runs from Windermere, Ambleside and Hawkshead. You could also catch the new X31 Tarn Hows Tourer bus which runs daily from April until November 2009 between Coniston, Hawkshead and Tarn Hows. There is a timetable on the National Trust site if you are interested. You could of course walk there if you're feeling fit!

Our journey

We drove up to Tarn Hows and parked in the decent sized car park there. It would have cost us £3.80 for 2 hours had we not been members of the National Trust but as members the parking was free. I think the car parking fee was higher if you wanted to stay longer but I forgot to make a note of it - obviously not thinking like a Dooyooer that day then!

First things first

At the end of the car park there are toilets, including one for disabled visitors. They are obviously newly built and are beautifully constructed from solid wood which means that they blend well into the surrounding landscape.

Attached to the toilet block is a room containing maps and information about the tarn and the various trees, insects, birds and animals that you may see during your walk. There is also a whiteboard where you are invited to make a note of any birds or animals that you see during your walk.

The walk

We walked down from the car park to the tarn and basically walked all the way round - it was that simple! No maps are needed and the track is clear and easy to navigate. There are no boulders to scramble over as there are in a lot of places in the Lake District!

A complete circuit of the tarn is about a mile and a half on a good path which is suitable not only for walkers but for wheelchairs and pushchairs. There are plenty of benches on the way round so you can sit and admire the stunning views of the Helvellyn range and the Langdale Pikes in the distance as well as the tarn and its surroundings and take as long over the walk as you like.

There are plenty of places around the tarn where you could stop for a picnic including a lovely piece of land that juts out into the tarn almost making an island.

The walk was really enjoyable and the views are just amazing both over the tarn and out towards the mountains. Although she walks with a stick my mother in law managed the walk quite easily stopping a few times to have a breather! Everywhere was clean and tidy and we didn't see any litter at all.

Dogs are allowed providing they are kept on leads at all times as there are animals grazing on the land around Tarn Hows. There were notices to this effect on the gates around the tarn but sadly there were quite a few people who thought that this did not apply to them or their dogs and they were allowed to run free.

There were plenty of people there the day that we went but it didn't seem too busy although I understand that it can get extremely busy at the height of the season.

Monk Coniston

There is a further circular walk through the Monk Coniston Estate down to the shores of Lake Coniston which can be taken from the car park end of Tarn Hows. It is about another 3.5 miles making the two walks together about 5 miles in total. If you are intending to do both, or just the Monk Coniston walk you could park next to Lake Coniston and start from there.

In conclusion

We all really enjoyed our walk. It was peaceful, beautiful and just long enough for us all to get some decent exercise. When we had finished we drove back down from the tarn to a tea room that we had spotted as we drove up and had tea and cakes - a lovely end to a lovely outing.

Summary: Recommended to all