The narrow Watendlath valley with rough pasture and steep fells closing it in

The Watendlath valley

A wall-rimmed lane twists its way along a hidden valley to a hamlet, a packhorse bridge and a seven-acre tarn — and then stops, because the road goes no further.

The hamlet and the tarn

One of the scenic places of this area is the tiny hamlet of Watendlath, with a small seven-acre tarn of the same name. The entire hamlet is owned by the National Trust and is managed by tenant farmers.

The minor road comes to an end at Watendlath. Beyond it a footpath leads up into the fells and over and down into Rosthwaite, which makes the obvious walk here a crossing rather than a there-and-back.

A stone packhorse bridge arching over the beck at Watendlath below the fells

Leave the car at Surprise View

The narrow wall-rimmed lane twists its way up from the Ashness Bridge road, single-track with passing places. There is a National Trust car park at Watendlath, but it is small and the lane is busy in summer.

If you are arriving by car it is better to park at Surprise View and enjoy the easy two-and-a-half-mile walk in. There is a footpath along the other side of the river for the return, if you have adequate footwear.

A beck running through Watendlath below a wind-bent thorn tree

The home of Judith Paris

Watendlath is the home of Judith Paris in the novels of Hugh Walpole — the Herries Chronicle, written in the 1930s and set through two centuries of one Borrowdale family. Fold Head Farm at the head of the hamlet is the house he had in mind.

The tarn is a popular place for fishing, and the walk round it takes about twenty minutes.

The other valleys