Vale of Lorton, Cumbria

This summer we decided to do ‘the ‘Vale of Lorton’, a beautiful circular walk organized by Mickledore Travel. We chose for luggage transfer, so we could walk with a small backpack containing the usual waterproofs, lunches and camera.

We arrived our first day at Keswick, where we stayed at the B & B Cranford House. Friendly hosts and fresh and tidy en-suite room. We explored Keswick and after a good night sleep and a good breakfast we were briefed by Sonja from Mickledore. She made sure we had no further questions and we left for our first walk. A taxi dropped us at the top of Whinlatter Pass, so we had a less challenging, but nice walk to Lorton.

The first part of the day through the plantation was not so interesting, but the second part was a nice walk with good views. We walked through Low Lorton towards High Lorton. We had an unexpected lovely tea at the Winder Hall, a 5 star hotel. The friendly staff was not at all put off by our appearance and served us still warm homemade scones and lemon drizzle. Both mouth watering. Winder Hall has a lot of old country charm with no frills. We walked along the church to B&B Meadowbanks, to stay with Christine and Keith. Lovely people!

The second day the weather happened to be ghastly. It rained a lot. Nevertheless we had a good day, if you ignore a seriously twisted ankle. But although I was in agony, we continued. You don't have to tell me I'm a real hero...I know I am. 
We walked halfway along the fells along the river Cocker. We got into another fiddly situation when we came to cross Liza Beck. The bridge had been left on a pile of rocks and rumble next to the river bed since the flooding in November 2009. We had to go downstream, trespass onto a farmer’s property to wade through the water. I went in first and had water gushing into my boots from the top. They were not high enough. Butch made it through dry, because he is much taller and his boots much higher. Lucky him!
Funny Mickledore didn’t know about it, because our host for that night told us that other walkers had complained about this before. Personally I do think that most people just did not bother to inform Mickledore about the situation. It is okay, but it would be better to be prepared and bring a towel and spare socks.The other thing is, I do not like to break the Counrty Code.

But what a gift of nature this area is. We had lovely views over Crummock Water, followed by views of Loweswater. The whole day followed a beautiful route. Although I was in pain (...what I can't stress enough, lol) I really enjoyed it.
Askhill Farm at the top end of Loweswater near Waterend, where we slept that night, is a great place to spend your holidays. This farm is a warm and welcoming family home, Vicky and her husband are soooo friendly. Vicky helped me with drying my boots and treating my ankle. Her food is really tasty and my dear hubby ate sooo much, he had a sleepless night. He only can blame himself. Thank you Marion…we had a great time and will be back!

We took an alternative route along Crummock Water (instead of Mosedale) towards Buttermere. Beautiful scenery and a lot of sun!

At Buttermere we stayed at the Bridge Hotel. I indulged myself with a nice hot foamy bath and we had a nice meal in the Hotel’s pub. The breakfast was superb! So were the lunch packages.

The fourth day was beautiful. Okay…the weather was disappointing in the morning, but later it became dry. We ascended Newlands Pass and had the lovely view of Keskadale Beck on our way to Swinside Framhouse where we stayed for the night. The lunches we got from Bridge Hotel were excellent: layers of salmon, gammon steak followed by brownies. There is a decadent feel to it, when you have your lunch under a tree in the pouring rain, covered in mud. The only thing I missed was a butler serving some bubbly…

The last day was a short stroll into Keswick where we visited the ‘James Bond Museum’. Although I am no Bond- Fan, I thoroughly enjoyed myself by looking at and touching all the cars, which had been driven by Connery, Brosnan etc. We finished where we started...at the Cranford House.

All in all the ‘Vale of Lorton’ is a great circular walk with wonderful views of a fantastic landscape and lovely people along the way. Mickledore did a really good job and we hope to contact them again soon for another walk.