Bluebells at Burnbanks

A couple of years ago, we walked from Bampton to Burnbanks, just too late to catch the bluebells in the little wood below the Haweswater dam, and made up our mind that we must seek them out when they were at their best.

Stained glass detail at Bampton Grange Church

We’ve grown very fond of this quieter north-eastern corner of the Lake District and, despite it being a beautiful morning, we saw no other walkers on our seven mile walk. We started from Bampton village hall (£2 honesty box). We walked down to Bampton Grange and visited the parish church.

Bampton Grange Church

The church as you see it today, dates back to c.1726, but there has been a church on this site since at least 1170, when it was attached to nearby Shap Abbey. And a lovely church it us too, providing us with shade on what was becoming – after a night of showers – a very beautiful morning.

Ford near Rosgill

A path leaves the corner of the churchyard, taking a delightful route alongside the River Lowther to the hamlet of Rosgill, passing the unspoiled farmstead of Hegdale along the way – a horse and some hens greeted us – and how splendid to see a farmhouse seemingly unaltered by time. There’s a hut nearby where a local artist sells beautifully painted greetings cards, so helpful to have some cash.

Looking towards Knipe Scar

We didn’t go into Rosgill, when the path reached its quiet lane but, instead, turned right to cross the Lowther and then a short but steady climb through the gorse – magnificent it was – to near Rawhead Farm. A little bit of lane walking brought us to the road built to give access to the builders of the Haweswater Reservoir – a concrete highway along which only official vehicles are allowed, leaving it quiet for walkers like us.

The Fells above Haweswater

This waterways road, once an intrusion into a wild landscape, has weathered beautifully, and the long and steady descent gives magnificent view towards Knipe Scar and over the Lowther Valley. Its boundaries were rich in flowers and lined with magnificent stands of trees – it would be almost possible to think you were in the Trossachs, such is the splendid lie of the land.

Bluebells near Burnbanks

Eventually, we reached the lane leading us to Haweswater, turned a few yards to the right and entered the little woodland below Burnbanks. And there were the bluebells, the best we’ve seen this year. It’s not just the colour of the bluebells here, but the scent. And the wonder that, in a brief moment of time, you see a sight which lives in your memory.

Burnbanks, now a surviving collection of private homes, was built originally as a shanty town, for the navvies engaged in building the Haweswater dam. It’s worth visiting, not just for that interesting piece of industrial history, but because of its most peaceful setting. You may park your car there if you just want to see the bluebell wood or take the track along the edge of the reservoir – now part of the Coast to Coast Path.

Burnbanks

We wandered back down the lane to Bampton, ending a splendid morning’s walk with yet more views across the Lowther Valley. Just over seven miles of pure delight.

Bampton, with its community-owned pub