WALK: Tarn Hows, Cumbria
Tarn, falls and fells
Of all the Lake District’s many breathtaking walks, a loop of tree-banked, mountain-flanked Tarn Hows has to rank among the best, says Vivienne Crow
The circuit of Tarn Hows may be short, but you will need to allow lots of time for all the occasions when yet another entrancing scene will stop you in your tracks. This dark, mirror-like body of water is surrounded by woodland, with glimpses of dramatic mountain scenery constantly appearing and disappearing.
If it all sounds too good to be true, that’s because, in some ways, it is – Tarn Hows is actually a Victorian construct. It started life as three small pools, but the landowner, James Garth Marshall, dammed one of them in 1865 to create the single tarn that exists today. With ideas based on Romantic notions of the ‘picturesque’, he also planted trees, intending both to frame and reveal views of his creation.
AROUND THE TARN
Beatrix Potter sold the popular beauty spot to the National Trust (NT) in 1930. A 2.4-mile walk on undulating but surfaced paths can be accessed from the NT’s car park. There are toilets here and free Tramper mobility scooters for the less able (book the Tramper in advance). After your walk, warm up in one of the cafés or pubs in Coniston, just two miles away.
Taking the surfaced path opposite the car park’s pedestrian entrance, keep right when it splits, staying parallel with the road for now. The distinctive mountain outline on the skyline to the north-west belongs to the famous Langdale Pikes.
After joining a path from the left, stride out along a high promenade, with the finest views of the tarn soon revealed; Wetherlam’s rugged slopes and the craggy Coniston Fells form a grand backdrop. The path then drops to tarn level and crosses a bridge before continuing around the tarn’s western shores.
FALLS FINALE
You can make a detour to Tom Gill waterfall near the end of the walk. Take the trail on the right immediately before the tarn’s outflow stream. Rougher underfoot and with steep drops, this isn’t for everyone, but the reward comes in the form of boisterous waterfalls set amid gnarly oak woodland. The main route continues beside the tarn and through a gate. Ignore a path to the right and another to the left; simply follow the clearest route uphill back to the road and car park.
SITE DETAILS
National Trust car park (free to NT members); toilets; full circuit is suitable for mobility scooters. nationaltrust.org.uk/tarn-hows-and-coniston
Vivienne Crow is a photographer and writer who specialises in the outdoors.
Catch up TV
Simon Reeve explores England’s biggest and most popular national park in three-part series The Lakes with Simon Reeve, available on iPlayer.