|
The walk starts from the Dobgill Bridge car park situated
just a kilometre up the road from Wythburn on the small
road that follows the western side of Thirlmere Reservoir.
Parking here is free although can sometimes be difficult
at busy times, there are also toilet facilities on the
car park. There is an information board at the car park
worth looking at for the history of the area and a map
to Harrop Tarn and the surrounding forest tracks.
| 
Buzzard above Tarn Crags |
Grey Heron by Harrop
Tarn |
Thirlmere Reservoir is a huge and well landscaped reservoir,
the owners United Utilities have done a great job of
keeping extensive woodlands around the reservoir that
provides millions of gallons of water via a ridiculously
long network of aqueduct pipes to the North West of
England and all the way to Manchester. Even before the
man made dam was completed in 1894 by the Manchester
Corporation company, there was a natural lake in this
valley, the dam was simply built to higher the water
level and create a constant level to supply the ever
expanding industrial city of Manchester. The other side
of the reservoir is made up by the Helvellyn range which
provides a fantastic backdrop across the valley when
taking a rest on parts of this walk.
| 
Fantastic Woodland |
Dob Gill Waterfalls |
From the car park follow the path that heads uphill
towards Harrop Tarn through some fantastic old woodland.
After about two hundred metres you should reach a wall
and behind it a huge imposing crag. At this point the
path heads off to the right to go round the crag, at
this point you can go round the crag that way following
the easy and obvious path up to Harrop Tarn, however
you'd then miss out on the dramatic cascading waters
of Dob Gill. The best way from here is to go left behind
the wall and head for the noise of the waterfalls.
| 
View over Thirlmere |
Path round Harrop Tarn |
The waterfalls are an impressive sight, it seems daft
that a path was never made to skirt the side of these
impressive falls. Once at the falls you can go down
to them, taking care not to slip on the tree routes
and stones. They do make a fantastic picture in the
morning when the sun bounces of the white waters. From
the falls simply follow the steep ground up the right
hand side of Dob Gill through the trees, the going here
is not hard as the ground is soft, but it is quite steep
in places. You will have rounded the left side of that
imposing crag and eventually meet up with the original
path.
| 
Harrop Tarn from Footbridge |
Harrop Tarn from Ullscarf
Gill |
Follow the obvious path now as it follows the line
of Dob Gill heading towards Harrop Tarn. At the tarn
the first thing you will see is a wooden footbridge
crossing Dob Gill. Stand on this footbridge and take
in the awe inspiring beauty if Harrop Tarn. The far
side of the tarn is slightly wilder than the near side
as there is no continuous path, however if you wish
to go round and explore then you can follow the path
over the wooden footbridge and round to the top side
of the tarn, here the Ullscarf Gill halts any further
progress but I still think its worth exploring to see
the tarn from a different angle and to see it with the
Helvellyn Ridge as a backdrop.
| 
Forestry Trees |
Forestry Track Descent |
Back at the footbridge to continue the walk now head
off the other way to the right following the path that
heads towards the northern end of the lake. This path
turns into a forestry track and then slightly uphill
before turning right and heading back downhill through
the impressive forests. After a steep descent on the
track you will come to the edge of the forest at Cragsteads
Gill where the views open up over Thirlmere. At this
point a path heads off to the right skirting a wall
on the edge of the forest, follow this path all the
way downhill now passing a few abandoned building ruins
on the way down. Once at the bottom you will be back
on the small road that again that skirts the edge of
the reservoir, turn right on to this road heading south
and follow it for just a few hundred metres back to
the car park.
|
Print
Bookmark
Home
Contact Us
Duration
: 2 Hrs
