Last updated 16:34, Tuesday, 08 July 2008

Discovering the delights that await just over the brow of Tallentire Hill, with Vivienne Crow

O’er the hill: The farm at Millstone Moor with the Lake District's north-western fells in the background

MAP: OS Explorer map OL4.

START: The walk starts in Tallentire. Please park considerately in the village.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Bus 58, Cockermouth to Maryport (telephone 0871 200 2233).

REFRESHMENTS: The Bush Inn, Tallentire (open evenings and Sunday lunch).

DISTANCE: 7.1 miles

TOTAL ASCENT: 754ft

TIME: 3-3½ hours

GRADE: Easy/intermediate

OVERVIEW: You can see for miles from the ridge of farmland to the north of Cockermouth. The Scottish hills, Skiddaw, the north-western fells, the Irish Sea and the Solway Plain all seem to be just a stone’s throw away on this gently undulating walk from Tallentire. The route uses good bridleways, quiet lanes and farm paths. There are also two short sections along the busy A595.

THE WALK: Starting with your back to the Bush Inn, turn left along the road. When it swings left at the phone box, turn right and follow the lane until it bends sharp left. Now continue straight ahead, along the wide track signposted Tallentire Hill.

Although you can’t go to the true top of the hill because the trig point (at 731ft) is on private land, the views as you reach the brow of the track and drop down the other side are far-ranging – Criffel is clearly visible across the Solway and the fells to the south include Skiddaw, Grisedale Pike, Hopegill Head and Whiteside.

The track, which narrows and becomes grassier as you lose height, ends at a gate (1.3 miles from the start). Go through this and walk straight across the large field, aiming for the northern edge of the small group of conifers ahead (NE). Go through the gate in the field corner to join a rough track running alongside a wall on your left.

Man’s many modern contraptions have certainly left their mark on the view ahead. Slightly to the right is the mast on Moota Hill and, looking north from there, you can see the imposing windfarm near Bothel, another mast on Wharrels Hill, the TV masts at Caldbeck and a strange-looking radio beacon on Wardhall Common. Man woz ere!

When you reach the edge of another group of conifers, go through the wooden gate and cut diagonally across the plantation (ESE) to reach a small gate in the perimeter fence. Once through this, aim for the point at which the fence on your right meets the fence straight ahead. Go through the large metal gate on your right here to access a rough track. This leads down to the farm at Millstone Moor and then becomes a surfaced lane.

When you eventually reach the A595 (3.95 miles from the start), turn right and walk along the grass verge of the busy main road for 350 yards, taking the next turning on your left. Be very careful when you cross the road.

The minor road drops down into Redmain. Just after passing the first cottage in the hamlet, turn right along a track leading to Redmain Lodge. The track passes a number of buildings and then goes through a gate just after an old barn on the right. Continue with the wall/fence on your right and, when the track ends just in front of a pair of gates, follow the line of the fence heading gently uphill to the left of the gates. When this reaches the corner of a small copse, cross the stile and continue with the fenced trees on your immediate left.

Having crossed a stile along the way, you will see the fence swing away to the left near a spring. You leave the trees here and cross the shallow gully formed by the spring water to head up to a stile in a fence, a little to the left of a rocky hillock with a solitary tree on it. Beyond the stile, swing half-right to a metal gate in a wall about 100 yards away (4.75 miles from the start).

Back on the A595, turn left and walk along the grass verge for 400 yards – until you see a house on the other side of the road. Carefully cross the road and walk up the quiet lane to the right of the house.

Bear left when you reach a minor road (5.4 miles from the start). Follow this down through Bridekirk, ignoring a turning for Dovenby and Maryport on your left. About a third-of-a-mile after passing the church at the far end of the village – just as the road starts to climb slightly – bear right through a gate with a green signpost beside it.

Head up the field, aiming just to the left of a line of trees on a limestone outcrop (N). Beyond the rocks, continue uphill in the same direction and cross a ladder stile about 200 yards left of a small green mast. Now aim for the gap between a group of trees at the top of the slope and a smaller clump just to its left.

The views north soon begin to open out again as you make for the NE corner of the field. Cross the stile and walk with the fence on your right. Be careful not to miss the next stile on your right. Cross this and turn left to walk with the fence on your left.

Maintaining a straight line, cross a small wooden stile and then walk between two paddocks to access a concrete track, which soon leads into the village. At the edge of Tallentire, turn left and then immediately right. Follow the road as its swings round to the right and return to the start.

POINTS OF INTEREST: There has been a church in Bridekirk since ancient times, the early wooden church being replaced by a stone one in 1130. The current church, built in a Norman style in the 19th century, contains many interesting features including an 11th century carved head of Christ and a 12th century casket-shaped font. The churchyard also contains the ruins of a former chancel.