BB1721 : A Gem Between Two Tarns

Thursday 29th June 2017

To the north and to the south of High Dam, Finsthwaite, are tarns that I had never visited.  In fact, until yesterday, I thought they were unvisitable as they were on private land.  However Uncle Google found sources that suggested they were now in Open Access land and consequently, on a day when the forecast suggested going high would not be a good idea, it seemed a good opportunity to investigate.

Given that a strong northerly wind was predicted, we decided to go anticlockwise so that it would blow us south when on the higher parts.  As it happened, no such gale was experienced.  I do get the impression that the Met Office is tending to be on the pessimistic side with its predictions.

There is no access to the lake (Windermere) near Finisthwaite so we decided to climb to the High Dam tarn .....

..... and then drop down through the woods (and track blasted through the rock) to the YMCA Centre. 

Here were various groups of young people preparing for various types of outdoor activity.  We left them to it and took the permissive footpath along the side of the lake.

We had had a late start in order to allow the rain to pass through so by the time we reached the appropriately named Boat House Wood, it was Tony’s lunch time.  We stopped. 

Whilst eating, a bunch of youths carrying large packs passed by.  They were on the first leg of their DofE four day expedition, they told us, then disappeared up what looked like a private track.  We finished lunch and pressed on through the bracken up the steep public footpath to emerge at the road.  Here was a car with two people who told us they were DofE marshalls.  We informed them that we had seen a group heading in a different direction.  Ahh!  How technology has moved on.  Now all DofE groups are in radio contact with their supervisors so they won’t get lost, though they will presumably be deducted points (or however approval works).

What happened next took us by surprise.  Nothing to do with those youths but with others.  We reached the entrance to Graythwaite Hall. 

This seems to be the centre of activity for "Pushing the Limits" Cassius Camps.  However the surprise was that the gardens are open to the public.  We went in to inspect them. 

There is a very nice small topiary anda magnificent yew hedge bordering the formal gardens to the front of the splendid house.

Quite an impressive arrangement.  In fact, definitely a gem between two tarns.  Well, it's between them if you go the way we went!

Our next objective was Green Hows Tarn and then Green Hows Upper Tarn.  I was perplexed to see the access road displaying a Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted notice.  The report I had read had described this as Open Access and anyway you can't prosecute trespassers so I led the team up the wooded track, somewhat contrary to their British sense of doing the right thing.

In fact, you see only the slightest glimpse of Green Hows Tarn.  However, the Upper Tarn is totally visible, being above the woods in open terrain.  There were several parked vehicles but fortunately no-one to be seen.  The tarn is unremarkable and the countryside beyond it is not unlike the Armageddon we saw some years ago on Latterbarrow. In other words, the trees had long been felled and only the bones remained.

Thanks to the giant bracken it was a bit of a challenge reaching High Dam.  We missed the gate so had to improvise in order to gain the circumnavigating path.

At the far end of the tarn was a decision point.  Had we had enough and should return to the car?  Or should we press on to the southern unvisited tarn- Boretree Tarm?  We decided on the latter and pursued a track through the lightly wooded terrain that, in hindsight, might not have been the most appropriate.  It eventually presented us with quite a challenge.  A steep drop to cross a stream in order to pick up the path on the other side that we knew would lead us to the tarn although we could not yet see it.  We could have gone north to find an easier way to cross (as per the map) but in the end decided that to do either would eat into refresment time.  Consequently we sought and found a track the led us down through the woods to the road to Finisthwaite, with its fine church, and on to the car.  We stopped at Newby Bridge, which had staunchly withstood the floods that had devastated the overlooking Swan hotel.

The time saved was put to good use at the Swan, with its fine ales.  I had not been in there since the floods and clearly the insurance money has been put to good effect with its internal pinkiness.

It was a pity that we missed out on the charms of Boretree Tarn.  I won't be rushing back to see Green Hows Tarn but I will return to the Graythwaite Hall gardens, taking Margaret, following which I will escort her to the pink delights of the Swan.

Don, Thursday 29th June 2017

Comitibus: Don, Mike, Tony, John

Storming to Stornaway

Mike & Terry recently returned from an eventful trip to the Isle of Lewis.

Fabulous food, sandy beaches, coastal paths, an iron age house, standing stones, cliff top tracks, a good soaking and a puncture are just some of the thrills they enjoyed.

To read about their expedition and see the fine photos, visit:

Storming to Stornaway

Map shown: OS 1:25k

BOOTboys routes are put online in gpx format which should work with most mapping software. You can follow our route in detail by downloading bb1721 .

To discover which Wainwright top was visited on which BB outing - although it may not be that up to date - or for the totals of the mileages and heightages (ditto) see the Excel file: BB Log.

You can navigate to the required report via the Home Page

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although mostly from me and other BOOTboys. Likewise written comment.

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BOOTboys 2017

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