Ashness Gate to Catbells

The second outing in the Lake District turned out to be a longer walk than intended. The original idea was to walk from Ashness Gate around the shore of Derwentwater to Manesty Wood where Red Squirrels are said to frequent, and then look to get the ferry for the return back.

On a cloudy day our route began by taking us along the shoreline of Derwentwater before crossing the road away from the Lake to view Lodore Falls. I did not take a photo of the Falls as it wasnt that impressive that day, perhaps they need to be seen after significant and persistent rainfall. We then crossed back over the road to a path that led to a bridge over the River Derwent, and then along a boardwalk to Manesty.

The view of Dale Head from the boardwalk was a lot more impressive than the Falls due to the occasional sun bursts through the dark clouds.

 

We walked around Manesty Wood for awhile but did not spot any Red Squirrels, leading to me saying that they must have squirreled themselves away somewhere (Poor joke I know!)

So the decision was made to take the path that climbed up to Hause Gate and to the summit of Catbells, and as you might have guessed this meant following a path with a bit of an upward incline.

I was therefore glad for a rest once we got to Hause Gate and to admire the view over Derwentwater.

 

This turned out to be the hardest part of the climb with the short distance to Catbells summit being relatively easy.

Here are the views to be had from all directions.

Looking back to Hause Gate and the summits of High Spy, Maiden Moor, Hindscarth and Robinson

 

Looking towards Causey Pike & Derwent Fells

 

Skelgill Bank in the right foreground & Bassenthwaite Lake in the far distance.

 

and lastly across Derwentwater to Keswick and Walla Cragg.

Having enjoyed making the summit and admiring the views the only thing to do next was to return from whence we had come. Unfortunately, the walk back was a little longer than anticipated as we spotted the last ferry leaving Manesty just as we started the decent at Hause Gate.

 

[mappress mapid=”127″]

[mappress mapid=”128″]