Gowbarrow Fell

Joe Jackson

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Dockray is a tiny hamlet high above Ullswater and mostly traveled through en-route to the busier villages of Glenridding and Patterdale. The reason for this is probably the lack of any shops but there is a hotel which has a restaurant. Nevertheless Dockray is the perfect place to start a Lakeland adventure - especially one up Gowbarrow Fell.

This walk starts by a small area of free parking by the Bridge in Dockray and follows public footpaths east to join the main tourist path up to the summit of Gowbarrow Fell which has recently been built up underfoot thanks to the National Trust as erosion was becoming an issue. The views from the top on a clear day extend for miles to the north with Great and Little Mell Fell well seen and Blencathra distant too and also offers uninterrupted views to the north Pennines.

The route south from Gowbarrow Fell is mostly on an intermittent path but takes you to a viewpoint on the top of Green Hill which is a subsidiary of Gowbarrow Fell. The viewpoint offers a birds eye look down onto one of the Lake Districts most beautiful Lakes; Ullswater. With its steam boats cruising up and down the lake with steep high fells on nearly all sides.

The route down is simple and takes you in a near straight line to the top of Aira Force. With a clever bit of route finding the path takes you down to the better view point for the stunning Waterfall first before heading back to the top for a look down the 70ft drop. The route then heads upstream past a series of smaller waterfalls to the final treat; High Force. THis single drop of about 25ft is spectacular to view from both sides of the river so take a detour if you have time!

England - North England - Cumbria - Lake District - North East

Features

Great Views, Hills or Fells, Lake/Loch, Mountains, National Trust, Waterfall, Wildlife, Woodland

1/16/2025 - Sarah Green

What a lovely walk with some stunning views for a short walk. We completely missed Green Hill as there are so many paths off Gowbarrow and we ended up following a well marked path all the way round the foot of the hill with equally stunning views. We caught up at Aire Force which was in full spate. Apart from our missed hill everything was straight forward! Thank you.