Tewet Tarn from Threlkeld Quarry
A low-level circular walk through peaceful St John's in the Vale starting from Threlkeld Quarry and visiting the very photogenic Tewet Tarn, with Blencathra as a mighty backdrop, and tiny St John's in the Vale Church. It can be very boggy underfoot in the valley so best undertaken after a period of dry weather. or in winter when the ground is frosty.
- Distance - 6.5 miles
- Time - 3 hours
- Starting point - Car park at Old Station Yard, Threlkeld Quarry, CA12 4TT, donations welcome
- From the A66 turn into the B5322 & take the 2nd left, the car park is on your left.
- Public Transport - X4/5 bus to Threlkeld and walk over to the starting point in Threlkeld Quarry
- Notes - some road walking, wear suitable footwear as the ground is often boggy in wet weather
- Feedback - Contact Keswick Tourism Association email [email protected]
1. To the rear of the car park turn left along the path of the former railway line signposted Keswick. Cross the road and continue up the path via 2 gates back up to level of the railway path. As you approach the old railway bridge there are views up to Blencathra to your right. Go through a gate and turn left onto the road. The road crosses a bridge and soon bends up to the right. Continue up the road. At the brow of the hill turn left through a gate following a public footpath sign. Follow the direction indicated by the sign to a gate. Go through the next field to another gate. Now follow the yellow marker arrows through the farmyard.
2. At the end of a row of houses the path forks. Take the walled track to the left. Keep on to a T-junction where you now turn right into a country lane. Shortly turn left through a gate into a field following a public footpath sign. Follow the path as it meanders up the field. Go through the large gap in the wall and follow the path close to the wall on your right. As the path flattens out head over a ditch to the footpath sign ahead. Tewet Tarn now appears before you, with the fells of Causey Pike and Grisedale Pike over to the right.
3. Keep to the left-hand side of the tarn and follow the path through a gate. After the tarn the path gently rises through an area which can be boggy. Pause to turn around and look at the tarn with the backdrop of Blencathra. Go through a gate and keep forward. Follow the path uphill and then drop down to go over a stone stile over the wall. High Rigg is now directly in front of you.
4. Kep forward and you will shortly come out at a lane opposite the tiny St John’s in the Vale Church. Turn left down the lane and very shortly turn right onto a bridleway through a gate signposted Sosgill Bridge. Follow this path for approximately 1.25 miles. After going through 2 gates continue for 500m and you will see Sosgill Bridge over the field to your left.
5. The path forks here, take the left path through the gate and keep forward down the field, across a stream and head toward Sosgill bridge. There is a gate just before the bridge. Don’t go through it but turn left and walk along the riverbank. The path soon veers left away from the stream.
6. Now follow the line of the fence. Go through 4 gates through a series of fields. This section through the valley can often be boggy. After the 4th gate follow a faint path diagonally across the field heading towards a telegraph pole and gates beyond. Go through the left-hand gate and keep straight ahead. An old signpost beyond a tree indicates the way ahead, over an area of marshy ground which you can skirt to the right of to a gate.
7. Follow the faint path across the field, first towards a clump of trees and then towards a white farmhouse. The path now takes you along the riverbank and then through a gate on your left just past the house. Walk up the field keeping close to the wall on the right-hand side. Follow the yellow arrows to go over a stile in the right-hand corner. Turn left and walk with the wall on your left. Go through a gate or over a stile and turn into a narrow lane.
8. Turn almost immediately right through a gate and drop down to a 2nd gate. Keep forward beside the fence. Follow the yellow arrow through another gate and keep to the left of the field to a stile or small gate. Soon go over another stile as indicated by yellow markers and follow the path over a stile onto a lane.
9. Turn right down the lane and immediately left through a gate. Keep to the left-hand side and go through another gate. Again, keep to the left-hand side of the field. Go through a gate. Head across the field to a metal gate. Go over the next 3 fields to 3 small wooden gates. Now follow the faint path over the field towards a fence corner. Then head to a stile at the far end of the field, through the parking area of a house and through a gate onto the road. Turn right down the road, retracing your steps, over the bridge and turning right back onto the railway path and back to the car park.
Download pdf - Tewet Tarn walking route
Have you found this walking route useful and would like to make a donation? All our walks are provided free of charge to download but you might consider donating a small one-off amount to help with the running costs and upgrades to our website. This website is run by Keswick Tourism Association, a not for profit trade organisation, which is funded almost totally by its members.
