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Date & start time: Thursday 20th August 2009. 6.50 pm start.

Location of Start : Maggie's Bridge car park, Loweswater , Cumbria, Uk ( NY 135 210 )

Places visited : Loweswater, Watergate, Holme Woods, Holme Force, the Bothy and back.

Walk details : 2.4 mls, 275 ft, 1 hr 25 mins.

Highest point : Holme Force roughly 580 ft above sea level.

Walked with : Ann and the dogs, Harry and Bethan.

Weather : Clearing after heavy rain.

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Holme Force after the Rain

Map created by EveryTrail

 

A working day for me and a busy day for Ann, so we just manage an evening dog walk tonight.

After a day which brought four inches of rain to the valley we thought a trip to see the local waterfall would be a good idea,

and the hour and a half walk did not disappoint.

Water levels are up in Church Beck as it flows out of Loweswater and down towards Maggie's Bridge.

Watery evening light on the old trees, but at least it has stopped raining !

Carling Knott to our left and Burnbank Fell ahead.

We are walking the farm road across the meadows to Holme Woods this evening.

A fleeting glimpse

as a Heron flies across our path,

it's curved neck very distinctive in flight.

 

He flies with a slow, purposeful wing beat

but disappears from view remarkably quickly,

over to a quieter part of the valley.

High Thrushbank Farm nestled under the steep western slopes of Low Fell.

The more prominent buildings of (lower) Thrushbank seen across the submerged fence at the lakeside.

It's high tide and there's a distinct lack of beach today . . . it doesn't stop Harry from having a swim however.

Reasonably still reflections . . .

but the blue skies and sunshine of our last visit are noticeably missing.

Climbing steeply up through the woods on a rather damp and slippery footpath, we reach the third forest track.

Time to turn right and start a gradual descent, back down through the woods to the falls.

   
Chance of an extra dip for Harry along the way.
A quick woodland traverse and we reach the top falls.

Holme Beck drains the valley between Burnbank and Carling Knott,

cascading down through the woods over a series of steep rocky cliffs.

After sliding down the shute above, the mass of water hits a rock and powers up into the air forming a rather dramatic watery fan.

The water is thrown into the air and flies over twenty feet till it hits the rocks on the other side of the ravine.

A great sight but be prepared for a wet and slippery scramble to see it, especially on a day like today.

   
Another tall cascade further down near the forest track.
Plenty of water today as you would expect.

Ann stops to admire the lower falls . . . but it's time to be getting back.

   
The mixed variety of trees . . .
. . . that make up these ancient Holme Woods.

The same Holme Beck, now very much more subdued, has reached the low ground near the lake.

A quick glance here tells nothing of it's exciting decent from the fells above.

The Bothy . . . no sign of life today.

Maybe the poor weather of the last few weeks has left a gap in the"holiday let" calendar . . . or maybe they are out for a walk too ?

Residents can enjoy a new seat, and extensive views across the lake to Whiteside and Grasmoor.

   
Hold on . . . is that a blue reflection ?
Yes the low clouds clear slightly to reveal some blue sky above.

However Grasmoor still retains it's cloud cover.

A mixture of colours over Hen Comb as the evening sunlight adds just a touch of colour to the grey clouds.

Back at Maggie's Bridge . . . time to return home for some supper.

- - - o o o - - -

 

Technical note: Pictures taken with my Cannon G7 Digital camera.

Resized in Photoshop, and built up on a Dreamweaver web builder.

This site best viewed with . . . the lack of an umbrella !

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Previous walk - Wed 12th August 2009 A direct ascent of Dale Head

A previous time up here - 1st May 2009 Loweswater Lakeside in the evening sunshine

Next walk - Sunday 23rd August 2009 Pin Mill and Sailing