Walking Britain Lake District Walk
Eel Tarn and Stony Tarn from Eskdale
Walk Route Description
Click thumbnails for larger images.
This half day Lake District walk combines visits to two tarns with some rugged Lakeland terrain. The views in good weather are excellent for relatively little ascent. In poor weather, navigation can be problematic as the landscape has few obvious landmarks
This Lakeland walk starts from the small car park on the north side of the road from Eskdale to Hardknott Pass at Wha House Farm (Grid ref. NY201009). After parking walk east towards the River Esk. Cross the bridge and take the signed footpath on your right. This follows the river for a short way before entering woodland. Keep right at the junction (Grid ref. NY203005) and continue past Penny Hill Farm to cross the River Esk using Doctor Bridge (Grid ref. NY189007). Having reached the far bank, turn right along the path to reach the road just to the west of the Woolpack Inn.
Turn right along the road towards the Inn and take the signed path up the lane to the immediate left of the Inn. Going through the intake wall at a gate, follow the green path uphill to reach Eel Tarn, which lies to the right of the path. Continue to the northern end of the tarn, cross the outflow and go right onto the green path going southeast (Grid ref. NY188020). This path occasionally fades but by keeping the higher ground on your right Stony Tarn soon comes into view in a large depression on your right.
Stay on the path following it north-east towards the Scafells. Continue past Cat Cove (Grid ref. NY202034) for approximately 400 metres before leaving the path and heading east across unpathed territory to reach the main Scafell path. Once this is reached turn right and it is an easy descent back to the start near Wha House Farm.
Please maintain social distancing - keep at least 2 metres away from other walkers.
Maps | |||
| Ordnance Survey Explorer OL6 | Sheet Map | 1:25k | BUY |
| Anquet OS Explorer OL6 | Digital Map | 1:25k | BUY |
| Ordnance Survey Landranger 90 | Sheet Map | 1:50k | BUY |
| Anquet OS Landranger 90 | Digital Map | 1:50k | BUY |
It is recommended you take a map. The preferred scale is 1:25k. | |||
GPS files - right click or option-click the button and choose "Save As..." to download this file.
Recommended Books & eBooks
Lake District: Low Level and Lake Walks
This guidebook describes 30 of the best low-level walks in the Lake District. From delightful wooded glades and sparkling tarns, to waterfalls and glacier-carved valleys towered over by craggy mountains. The walks described aim to seek out the best walking that the lower areas of the Lake District have to offer.
More information
Great Mountain Days in the Lake District
An inspirational guidebook to 50 challenging walks on the high fells of the Lake District. The graded circular routes, between 4 and 14 miles in length, cover classic Lakeland summits like Fairfield, Scafell Pike, Great Gable and Blencathra, to the lesser-known High Spy, King's How and Brund Fell.
More information
Navigation
This pocket handbook to navigation will help you master the necessary map and compass skills for mountain walking. Chapters include map scales, symbols and contours, grid references, map reading, bearings, route planning and night and bad-weather navigation, as well as navigating with a GPS.
More information
