If you’ve ever driven along the A66 to get to the Lake District, you probably characterise the whole of the area surrounding it as ‘on the way to the Lakes’ and don’t give it much further thought. There are actually several very nice villages sited in close proximity to this road, with charming stone built cottages, enormous village greens and miles of footpaths from people’s doorsteps – all without being able to see or hear the A66. In fact, if you didn’t know it was there, you’d never guess that you were walking in an area less than a ten minute drive from one of the North’s busiest roads.
I’d never actually heard of Barningham until Sam was working there for a few weeks towards the end of last year. He reported back that the area looked promising, so after a quick search for a route on the OS maps app we packed the dogs into the car and drove down the A66 to the village. Continuing out of the village, you quickly reach open moorland with a bridleway on the left – there is very limited parking here for a small number of cars.
The route we followed was a circular of around five miles, but there are so many tracks criss crossing the moor here you could easily switch up the route to suit your preferences. Our route mainly used well surfaced bridleways (ideal on a winter walk when moorland can be boggy), returning for the last mile and a half or so along a quiet metalled road. We didn’t see any cars on the road, just a few farmers on quad bikes!
Overall, this is a fairly gentle walk, perfect for a Sunday stroll when you don’t want anything too taxing but still want to enjoy your surroundings. We had a beautiful sunny day with no wind, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the views of the surrounding countryside. It’s definitely somewhere we’ll return to in summer when the heather is out too.
While this is a relatively flat walk, there are still some gradual inclines and declines, but nothing that should pose any problems – in fact, this would probably be a great option for someone looking to build up their fitness without overdoing it.
Dog friendly rating – 2.5/5. This walk uses public rights of way which cross through access land with a dog restriction, which means that you can take your dog with you but they are only allowed on the public right of way – i.e. not running alongside you snuffling through the heather. The reason for the restriction is due to ground nesting birds, and we saw plenty of grouse all through the walk (Merry was definitely in what we call ‘grouse mode’ and I had an extra boost of Merry power to get me up the hills!). That being said there are no stiles or other significant dog obstacles to worry about, although you may want to take some water for your dog on a warm day.
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