Aira Force and Gowbarrow Fell

I travelled back to the UK for five days last weekend. Three days with my favourite Leeds Uni Hiking Club in Glencoe in Scotland, and a day in the Lake District on either end. After landing in Manchester Airport on Wednesday evening, I made my way to Ambleside where I spent the night at the Walmar B&B.

 

A full English breakfast is a bit heavy for daily consumption, but my first cooked breakfast in ages certainly tastes good. Unfortunately the weather puts a damper on the spirits. I decide to do a little shopping in Ambleside. If the weather behaves itself, I can still do a little hike in the afternoon. The alternative plan is to visit New Lanark on the way north to Glencoe. (If there's no Wainwright bagging to be done, than at least I might try to bag another UNESCO World Hertitage Site.)

 

The Lake District village of Ambleside quite possibly has the highest concentration of outdoor shops in the entire United Kingdom. And though the prices are not quite as cheap in comparison to Switzerland as I remembered them, there still are some good discounts to be found. Meanwhile, the weather looks a little better than forecast, so I decide to make my way to Aira Force and do some hiking around there. New Lanark will have to wait for another day after all.

 

In my rental car I drive across the Kirkstone Pass. The pass is located at 454 meters above sea level, but is certainly as wild and spectacular to drive across as the average alpine mountain pass. The extremely steep ascent from Ambleside, aptly named "The Strugge", is particularly exhilarating. The other side of the Kirkstone Pass descends into Patterdale towards Ullswater.

 

I stop at the base of the Patterdale Mountain Rescue to pick up their yearly report booklet, which is available for a £2 recommended donation. I put some money in the collection box, before noticing that there are no reports to be picked up. But somebody inside the building has already noticed me, and shouts from the window that he'll "get me one" if I wait a minute. What a personal service! Unfortunately, the report is still the 2012 one, which I'd already read before. The donation is gladly given anyway.

 

And so I arrive at Aira Force. The main car park and café are being renovated. There is alternative parking on the road to Troutbeck. There are signs pointing to alternative car parks for people arriving from Pooley Bridge, but annoyingly there are no signs when arriving from Patterdale. After a little detour, I find my way there after all.

 

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Aira Force is possibly the most famous waterfall in the Lake District. Back in the days, it was in inspiration to William Wordsworth. For more than a century it has been a National Trust property. There are well-trodden paths on either side of the river, connected by five bridges, three above and two below the main waterfall. The stones bridges directly above and below the Aira Force are particularly eye-catching. Even in bad weather, you'll find lots of people picnicking or walking their dogs here. And with good reason, because the area is well worth is visit. There are several more picturesque waterfalls upstream from Aira Force. It's no surprise that Wainwright already called these woods a "favourite picnic-place and playground".

 

The hill that rises to the north-east of the waterfalls is Gowbarrow Fell. At 481 m it is one of the more modest Wainwright summits, and hence a feasible objective for a quick afternoon hike. From the Aira Beck, a grassy path goes up to Green Hill, a nice viewpoint over Ullswater, about an kilometer south of the main summit of Gowbarrow Fell. How nice it is to walk on grass again! I miss those grassy paths in Switzerland. The only disadvantage is that they can be quite slippery when wet...

 

The weather has been kind while I was in Ambleside and in the woods around Aira Force, but now that I'm on the open fell, bad weather is unfortunately moving in. Dark clouds are approaching and it soon starts to rain. On the bright side, with the wind in my back, the rain is not much of a bother. (I'll come to regret that statement later, when on return from the summit, the rain has turned into hail which the wind slams directly into my face.) The undulating grassy Gowbarrow Fell is topped by a slightly craggy summit containing a trig point. It gives you a sense of having climbed a proper hill after all. Gowbarrow Fell is "Lake District light", but still unmistakably Lake District.

 

I descend towards the west on a more frequented path along a dry-stone wall. As the car park is back in sight, the rain finally stops and even a vague rainbow appears. It seems like I climbed the hill just as the weather was at its worst. Great timing, oh ye weather gods...

 

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The paths along Aira Beck are popular and easy, though there are a lot of steps and the rocks can be slippery when wet. The paths onto Gowbarrow Fell are mostly on grass and through moorland, and the "slippery when wet" advice applies here as well. If you have more time on your hands, the hike can be extended to include Little Mell Fell.