| Factfile | Grade: Easy/intermediate
Approximate time: 2¼ hours
Length: 5 miles (8km)
Total ascent: 758ft (231m)
Buses: Pooley Bridge is served by the 108, Penrith to Patterdale bus. The Ullswater Navigation and Transit Company Limited started operating services in 1859, carrying mail, provisions and passengers. Two nineteenth century ‘steamers’ still operate – the Raven and the Lady of The Lake – although both were converted to diesel in the 1930s. A third boat – the Lady Dorothy – was brought over from Guernsey in March 2001 and restored by a local boat builder. The writer: Vivienne Crow is a journalist with a passion for hill-walking. and writes walking articles in newspapers and magazines.
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There can’t be many routes in the Lakes that give walkers such fantastic views for so little effort. The road and track up on to the rolling moorland above Pooley Bridge climb at an easy angle to a high point of just over 1,050ft, passing a mysterious stone circle along the way. Gently descending from here, the way ahead has a stunning backdrop as the long, sparkling expanse of Ullswater draws your gaze towards the imposing Helvellyn range. The walk itself ends at Howtown, but the day is far from over. From here, catching the steamer back across the lake gives you a chance to see some of the paths you walked earlier in the day. Sitting on the back of the boat with the wind in your hair, you get a completely different perspective on the surrounding countryside. Directions
 | | Looking down Ullswater |
Leaving the Lake District National Park Authority car park in Pooley Bridge, walk through the village and then bear right at a small roundabout, towards Howtown and Martindale. Go straight across the next crossroads, towards Hill Croft caravan and camp site, and stroll up the quiet, tree-lined lane. As you draw level with a bench on the right, the trees kindly part to reveal a lovely view across Ullswater towards the high fells above Glenridding. It’s only a quick glimpse, but it gives a teasing taste of what’s to come later in the day. The asphalt lane ends at a gate, which you go through to gain access to a bridleway heading towards Helton. Climbing very gradually, you finally leave this wide track when you reach a large cairn to the right of the path. Turn right here and head across the open moorland. This area of the Lake District is quite different to the central fells: instead of steep, boulder-strewn slopes and craggy faces, we have gentle gradients and, in the summer, relatively luscious vegetation. The long, bubbling trill of the curlew, more at home in the Pennines than on Lakeland fells, can often be heard at nesting time. Having spent the winter on the coast, they move inland in the spring to get down to the serious business of breeding. This moorland is also home to a wide variety of mysterious lumps and bumps – mostly Bronze Age remains, including stone burial mounds and standing stones.
 | | Rain clouds over The Cockpit |
Just before the path veers right to ford Elder Beck, you’ll see one of the best examples of these remains - the stone circle known as The Cockpit - just to the left of the path. The Cockpit is about 90ft in diameter, raised on the inside of a low bank. There are 73 stones in the circle and a standing stone 300 metres to the south-west. Although thought to date back to the Bronze Age, it acquired its name in more recent history when it was used for cock-fighting. What it was used for in prehistoric times, nobody really knows. Reaching a large cairn 400 yards beyond The Cockpit, you cross a wide, grassy track that links up with High Street, the Roman road that crosses the high eastern fells.
 | | Markerpost near Aik Beck |
Immediately after fording Aik Beck, ascend the narrower, right-hand path to a footpath sign next to a wall. Turn left here towards Howtown. You can really stride out now – the delightful path loses height very gradually. To the left are the steep slopes of Barton Fell, with one or two interesting crags. But it’s the view ahead and to your right that really grabs the attention - the craggy, intimidating Helvellyn range forming a contrasting backdrop to the serene Ullswater. Drawing level with a large building over the wall to the right as you near Howtown, bear right at a fork in the path to drop down to a small gate. Go through and then follow the narrow path round to the left of the static caravan and through another small gate to gain access to a field. From here, descend diagonally to a gate beside the road. To get to the pier to catch the ‘steamer’ back to Pooley Bridge, turn left along the road and then cross over to go through a pedestrian gate at the lakeshore. This woody path soon leads to the pier, where there is a handy shelter should you need to escape the elements while you wait. Once back in Pooley Bridge, there are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat or just have a quick drink, including three pubs – the Sun Inn, the Pooley Bridge Inn and the Crown Inn – and two cafés – Treetops and Granny Dowbekin’s Tearooms. | 
