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This video shows a walk from Elterwater, taking in Great Langdale Beck, Elter Water, Skelwith Force, Colwith Force and Slater Bridge in the Lake District plus wonderful views of the Langdale Pikes. The entire walk has been filmed in 4K, allowing walkers to see the entire route, including where to park, eat, and drink.
Today's walk starts in the National Trust Car Park in Elterwater in the Lake District. Before we start, let's have a look at where we're walking today.
We initially walk along the Cumbria Way footpath alongside the Great Langdale Beck and Elter Water with its wonderful views back towards the Langdales.
Walking a little further on, we soon reach Skelwith Force waterfall, which is always quite impressive and noisy after heavy rain.
We continue climbing through trees and across fields to arrive at Colwith Force waterfall, which again is impressive after heavy rain, with a drop of about 15 metres.
We head on through the woods, then down a picturesque, quiet lane to arrive at Slater Bridge. The 17th-century Packhorse Bridge. The much-photographed Packhorse Bridge is our way over the river Brathey before we head back over and down a walled track back into Elterwater. Stay watching until the end so you can see where to eat and drink after the walk.
Back at the start in the car park, there's a map of the local area and the parking charges. It is free if you're a National Trust member. There is other parking in Elterwater and some more parking en route. So, as this is a circular walk, you could start it from a different location.
Head around to, and then pass through the gate in the corner of the car park by Great Langdale Beck. Head along this gravel track, which now forms part of the Cumbria Way footpath alongside the water. Over to the left, you can see towards Loughrigg Fell. On our website, the route of today's Elterwater walk is set out on an Ordnance Survey map along with a GPS download for your phone or GPS device. The link to our Walks4all website is in the description below.
This path is part of the Cumbria Way, which is a 72-mile route starting in Ulverston and ending in Carlisle, passing through the Lake District. It passes alongside Coniston Water before reaching here, and then continues on and alongside Derwent Water before passing through Keswick on its way to Carlisle. Pass through the gate to pull in alongside Elter Water itself.
There are panoramic views all around, but the view back over Elter Water towards the Langdales is always an impressive one. Keep on now along the gravel track. Across to the right, you're looking towards Wetherlam and looking behind you, you still have the view across to the Langdale Pikes.
If you enjoy these videos, please click the like button, subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell, so you know when any new walks have been uploaded. It is free to subscribe, and your likes and comments really do help our channel. As you reach the trees, pass through the gate and continue on.
Then, a few yards further on, you reach a bridge over the river Brathay. We're going to return to this point, but first, before we do, we will just have a quick look down Skelwith falls and also where there's somewhere to eat and drink. Turn right and continue along the gravel path that you were originally walking along.
You soon reach a wooden fence on the right, at the end of which are some steps down to a viewpoint to have a close look at Skelwith Force waterfall. Take care heading down the steps. While not the biggest drop waterfall around, after rain, the narrowing of the river Brathay here causes quite an impressive sight, and it's quite noisy.
Turn around and return back to the path. You can turn back left to continue the walk, which we will come back to shortly. But first, here, we'll actually head right for another short diversion to show you where you can eat and drink on the way around.
Continue along the gravel track to pass through some buildings. At these buildings, you could turn left if you wanted to, and on the road, about 50 yards to the right, is the Talbot Bar in the Skelwith Bridge Hotel. It serves food and drink and has a beer garden. It's dog friendly and has a range of Jennings ales.
Opposite the car park, turn right to arrive at Chester’s by the river. This cafe may now have lost its table service during COVID, and apparently, according to the notices on the tables, due to struggles getting staff, it is continuing for now, but it does still serve coffees, teas, cakes and a few vegetarian dishes.
Dogs are allowed both inside and out, so once you've got your coffee, you pass through to the tables out on the balcony, which give a great view of the river. If you've finished inside Chester’s pass back along the front of it, and then turn left back along the path.
Retrace your steps now back along the gravel track. And then this time, upon meeting the bridge where we were earlier, turn left to pass over the bridge.
If you wanted to keep this walk easy, level and short, you could just head back to Elterwater here along the outward route. But for now we are heading over the bridge. Head away from the bridge up the gravel path. Then at a three-way footpath sign, head straight on following Colwith Bridge up the Hill. Pass through the kissing gate and keep straight ahead.
Turn right upon meeting the track. An extra bit of height affords wonderful panoramas towards the Langdale Pikes. Just after the houses as the track bends around to the right, we turn left here following the yellow footpath sign to pass through a metal kissing gate, shortly followed by passing through a second metal gate again to continue on along the narrow path, with the fantastic views all around.
If you have any thoughts about today's walk, or find there are any issues with any of the footpaths used, please share that down in the comments below.
Pass through the wooden gate. Pass through the next wooden gate to pass between the houses at Park Farm. Pass to the left of the last building and out along the gravel path to shortly afterwards pass over a stile.
Head over the next stile built into the wall. Walk on to pass through a wooden gate, then across the track to pass through the metal kissing gate opposite it. Take time to admire the views and then continue along the path with Wetherlam on the horizon in the distance.
Pass over the next stile and head then down the steps through the trees. Pass over the stile to walk along the path, and then up and over the stone stile built into the wall to turn right along the road.
After about 50 yards, turn left off the road, heading up the stone steps to arrive at a wooden gate. There's a choice of footpaths here. We're going to take the right-hand one to pass by Colwith Force. But these two paths do merge again in about another 800 metres.
Having passed through this gate, there's a National Trust sign ahead, signed Colwith Force, and a board underneath that informs us about the woods we're walking through. Take this path to the right. Then, as you reach some stone steps, head right off this path for a short distance to reach the viewpoint for Colwith Force waterfall.
The falls themselves are very impressive after heavy rain. Colwith Force waterfall is about 15 metres in height and is situated on the river Brathay, which rises on the Wrynose pass and eventually flows into the river Rothay just before it enters the north end of Windermere. Turn around now and retrace the path back to the bottom of the manmade steps.
Walk up the steps and continue on through the trees. On the side of the path, you meet a fallen tree with coins pressed into it, known as a wish tree. The tradition of wish trees, where coins were pressed into the bark of a fallen tree, dates back hundreds of years, when it was believed that the offering would help cure an illness.
If you look to the right here, you can see down onto the top of Colwith Force. Continue to walk along the path, where, over to the right, is a weir. The path keeps on slowly climbing through the trees for about another 500 metres. If you want ideas on what to take and wear on the walk, check out our kit list recommendations in the description below.
The path merges with another path by a wall, which is the path we split away from just after entering Colwith Woods. Head through the gate and along this wider gravel track, stopping from time to time just to admire the views.
Pass through the gate and follow the yellow arrow turning left or just before you head left here, you can actually just go on for a few yards through the gap and there's actually a small teagarden with wonderful views, which, according to the sign, is open until three, but that is weather, grandchildren and health permitting.
Turn back around and pass the gate that you came through, and continue up the hill until you pass by the side of a cattle grid to turn right onto the road. Pass by the sign pointing toward Coniston and then just continue down this road.
The surrounding panorama is wonderful from here, with Lingmoor Fell just over to the right. We follow this quiet lane now downhill for about 800 metres, but stop from time to time to admire the ever-changing views.
After a while, the tarmac road changes to a wide gravel track, and this meets the river Brathay by a wooden bridge. Turn left here to head upstream to keep on the path by the water.
Pass through the wooden gate across the track, and then just over to the right, you can see Slater Bridge.
Continue on for about 50 metres and then pass through the wooden kissing gate on the right. Once through the gate, head down to Slater Bridge. Before crossing Slater Bridge, if you head a little to the right, you can get the much-photographed view of Slater Bridge with Lingmoor Fell in the background.
Slater Bridge itself is a 17th-century packhorse bridge that was built to allow close-by slate quarry workers easy access over the river Brathay. Head over the stile in the wall to pass over the bridge.
The bridge is actually two spans built over a large natural boulder in the middle. From the bridge, you can see a footpath coming in from the right that we're not taking today. If you wanted to take a short detour, though, you could take that path, and in about 600 metres, you would come out at the Three Shires pub in Little Langdale. It serves food, drink and is dog friendly.
Once over the bridge, you might want to view Slater Bridge from the other side. It's not quite as picturesque, though. You don't have Lingmoor Fell as a backdrop.
Head back to the path by the wall, where, just a few yards further up, you can see the footpath going off to the right that I just mentioned, which goes over to the Three Shires. We will ignore that for today and go up the left-hand side of the wall.
As more height is gained, if you stop to look around now, you'll see Lingmoor Fell and then around and down to Little Langdale tarn and then around to Wetherlam.
Pass through the wooden kissing gate and then on and through the next gate. Walk up the short gravel path, pass through the next gate and turn left along the track.
Stopping and looking back from time to time to admire the view. We then meet a road where we're going to turn left. But if you did visit the Three Shires, then if you look up to the right here, the Three Shires Inn is about 400 metres down the road. So if you come out of the pub, turn right and walk back along this road.
At this point, we are turning left here, though, and then turning immediately right, up the road that heads for the right-hand side of Lingmoor Fell.
A little way up this road, there is some additional parking on the right-hand side. Parking is a bit of a scarce commodity down these valley roads. Just past the White House at Dale End, the tarmac road turns into a gravel track. Keep straight on here.
Pass through the metal gate and keep on the track. This stone and gravel track is now followed for about three-quarters of a mile back into Elterwater. The track does provide views, though, over towards Loughrigg Fell and beyond.
Pass through the gate. As you might have been able to tell from the water passing over the waterfalls and walking this walk, after a couple of days of constant rain, which has turned this downward path into more of a small stream. Over to the right, you can see back down to the Elter water. After a while, the stony track becomes tarmacked underfoot. You then arrive at a road junction.
As we're almost back to the start, we'll take a short diversion here to the right, to have a look at the Eltermere Inn. The Eltermere Inn is just a few yards down the road. The bar is open to non-residents, and as the sign says, ‘muddy boots and dogs are welcome’. For warmer days around the back, the terrace and the garden tables have wonderful views.
Back to the Eltermere Inn sign at the road junction, continue now walking down the road as the bridge over Great Langdale Beck is reached. Over to the right is the car park where we started the walk.
Just before heading back into the car park, there are two more places within 50 yards where you can eat and drink after the walk. If we head on past the car park, not far up the road, over to the left is the Britannia Inn. The Britannia Inn serves food and drink. It's dog friendly and has a range of real ales on the bar, and if the weather is not too inclement, there's plenty of outside seating.
Just across from that is Slates Coffee and Kitchen. Again, they serve food, including a tasty full Cumbrian breakfast, various cakes, tray bags and drinks along with a range of specials. It's also dog friendly.
Just before ending today's walk, we've put together a short flythrough created using the Ordnance Survey app, the link for which is in the description below, to show you where you've been and give the area more perspective.
We started in the National Trust Car Park in Elterwater before walking alongside Great Langdale Beck and then passing Elter Water itself. We then pass by the footbridge we were to use shortly to have a look at Skelwith Force waterfalls, Chesters by the river and the Talbot bar.
Returning to the footbridge, we crossed it this time to climb through the woods. After the short road section, we soon arrived at Colwith Force waterfall. We headed down the road from High Park to reach the River Brathay. A short way upstream was Slater Bridge, which we then crossed over.
Upon meeting the road, we turned left and then first right. If you did the short detour here, you can see the Three Shires just down the road to the right. We then walk down the gravel and stony track along the side of Lingmoor Fell to head back over into Elterwater. That ends our walk for today.
In the transcript of the video, when any mention is made of the 'description below', it refers to the description shown beneath the video on YouTube. If you wish to access any of that information, click 'watch on YouTube' on the video above, and the description will be there, on YouTube, just below the video.
