This walk takes us to Latterbarrow, an excellent viewpoint for the northern part of the Windermere, starting from the pretty village of Hawkshead. This route sticks to the roads, although it is possible to start by using the field paths to cross the valley between the village and the hill.
Ascent: 580ft/ 175m
Length: 2.9 miles/ 4.7km
Map: Explorer 07 The English Lakes South Eastern Area
Last Walked: 11 October 2007
We start from the main car park at the south eastern corner of Hawkshead.
Leave the car park via the small gate at its southern end. Turn left onto the road outside the car park, and follow it as it heads across the valley.
This road takes us across the t-junction at the southern edge of Hawkshead, then crosses Black Beck. Just after crossing the beck turn left onto a minor road that heads towards the hamlet of Colthouse. Follow this road through the hamlet, and then north towards Latterbarrow.
After about half a mile we pass a t-junction, where a minor road joins from the left. Soon after this turn right onto a footpath that begins to climb up away from the road.
Follow this path until it splits in two. At this point take the left hand branch, which crosses a stream and then climbs quite steeply up to the north-west corner of the summit of Latterbarrow, before turning a little to the right to reach the summit cairn (an impressively tall monument).
We are going to use an alternative path to return to the road. At the monument stand with Windermere to the left and Hawkshead to the right, facing south towards the wooded hills that line the lake. Head across the open ground around the monument. This will bring us to the start of a footpath that runs down the southern flank of the fell. Follow this path.