Penrith to Pooley Bridge, The Eamont Way.
The Eamont Way was designated and signed recently, 2023. It leads directly from the front of Penrith rail station, giving a pedestrian route to Pooley Bridge. What an excellent start to reach The Ullswater Way. https://www.ullswaterheritage.org/eamont-way
Rain is in the air from early this morning as I walk to catch the bus to Preston. The Glasgow train is on time, and I’m in Penrith just after 11 am. There was not much to see on the way up.
After a look around the castle, a coffee from the outside kiosk, and a bit of faffing whilst it poured down, I’m ready to leave by midday. Welcome to the Lakes.
There is a map of the route on the wall of the station. The waymarks depict an eel, more on that later at Pooley Bridge.
So I’m on the lookout for an eel as I leave the station forecourt. And sure enough, there is one on nearly every lamppost along the busy road.
The guide mentions Macdonald’s as a café, but there is a proper one down the road on the route.
The motorway passes close by Penrith, and there is a maze of slip roads and roundabouts. Not the calmest start to a Lakeland walk .
But after less than a mile, the way enters the countryside and the sound of traffic recedes.
Under the railway main lines via a couple of atmospheric arched brick tunnels and onto bridleways and quiet lanes. There are no distant views in this weather. I catch a glimpse of the River Eamont over to my left and am soon crossing it on a substantial footbridge. It is running full with all the rain.
I come into the little hamlet of Sockbridge. A miniature village green provides a bench for lunch. These are mainly simple cottages, but a larger property stands out. Wordsworth’s House, built in 1699 and occupied by William’s grandfather, Richard, in the late C18th.The first owners, Reginald and Elizabeth Dobson, have their initials (RED) carved over the door. Their granddaughter, a Mrs Collingwood, sold the house to Richard Wordsworth.
What a charming hamlet, worth exploring further, there is a trail including Sockbridge and Tirril.
Quaker Lane leads out of the village. There is a Quaker burial ground in nearby Tirril. Charles Gough, who died on Helvellyn in 1805, is buried there. His dog was said to have stayed by his dead master for several weeks. Charles Gough (artist) – Wikipedia
The bridleway brings me onto the main road, which the Eamont Way follows for some distance. I pass the Gothic Kirkbarrow Hall, now a dairy farm.
When the footway runs out I have other ideas and want to visit the parish church of St. Michael’s at Barton. So I turn up the next bylane.
An ornate Lynch Gate, a WW1 memorial, leads into the churchyard surrounding the squat church itself. The Church has Norman origins, but only the central nave remains from that period. The inside is dark and low, with the central tower splitting the aisle. Many tombstones are old, and I know are listed, but it is difficult to decipher them.
Curiosity sated I walk farther up the lane towards Barton Church Farm. A public right of way goes through the farmyard past Glebe House and then right through buildings via an archway. (Both are grade II listed). I have a feeling they would prefer it didn’t, and this may be why the Eamont Way doesn’t come on this otherwise historic route. Why would the Eamont Way go down a busy road with no footway? I suspect some C21st skullduggery at play.
Glebe House 1637
Barton Church Farmhouse C16th
More open fields now, with limited views westwards towards Ullswater, a smart bridleway, and then open fell with wooded Dunmallard Hill above Pooley Bridge prominent.
A crowded ‘green holiday village’ is passed. Not my idea of the countryside.
I pass some ‘Inspired by art’ posts placed at the viewpoint used by previous artists. The QR code supposed to reveal the original painting, a good idea, but I fail to get it to work on my phone.
Some grand tree lined slopes, and I’m suddenly in the crowded Pooley Bridge village. Pubs , cafés and gift shops vying for the throng’s trade.
I stand below the famous fishing wind vane in front of the Crown Inn and read of the history and connection to the eel waymarks.
Pooley Bridge had a weekly fish market until the C19th. In the 12th century a charter was granted by King John to hold a fish market in Pooley Village square in front of what is now the Crown Inn. It continued into the C19th. In the summer months large numbers of eel were caught and sold in the area. A market cross with a fish and weather vane, similar to the one you see today, was erected. It stood near its current site, was repaired by Lord Dacre in the 1680s but was removed in 1890s to allow a turning space for the omnibuses bringing visitors to Ullswater. The current Market Cross was erected by Barton Parish Council in 2000 to commemorate the granting of the charter and as a reminder of the village’s fishing origins. The Coats of Arms of the Dacre family and the Hasells of Dalemain are inscribed on the north and south faces of the Cross to acknowledge their historical attachment to the ancient Parish of Barton.
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I’m not staying here, hotels are busy and very expensive, so I board the crowded 508 bus and whizz back to Penrith. My B and B, The Blue Swallow, seems excellent with friendly proprietors. It’s good to get out of my wet garments. Let’s look at the weather forecast for tomorrow.
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