This low-level walk near Kendal is under 10miles but punches above its weight. It takes in a medieval castle owned by the National Trust, a cafe and farm-shop where you watch the cows being milked and a pub that serves delicious food.
Stats
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Length | 10 mi – 16.2 km |
| Total elevation | 1,506 ft – 459m |
| Highest point | 735ft – 224m |
| Walking time | 4h15 |
| Terrain | paths, roads, walking paths, streets |
| Equipment | Enough water to walk 8 miles or 3h30. There is a cafe at the Beginning and the end but nothing in between. |
View route (Click on menu to reveal the image)
Getting there
- Driving: 6 free car-parks along the way: On Nannypie Lane before the Stricklands Arm / Near St John’s Church Helsington / Underbarrow Road before the paid Scout-scar car-park / Brigsteer Road / Scroggs Lane / Hawes Lane
- Public transport: Kendal Bus X6 to the Approach stop (C. 20 mins)
- From Manchester: Train to Carnforth then bus 755 to the Approach stop (c. 2h05)
- From Preston: Train to Arnside then bus 552 to the Approach Stop (c. 1h50)
- From Lancaster: Bus 555 to Ashbank lane stop (c. 45mins)
- From Carlisle: Train to Kendal then Bus 555 to Ashbank lane stop (c. 1h35)
Watering Holes
- The cafe at Sizergh Castle – Sizergh – C. half a mile after the start (15 mins).
National Trust Cafe
This is handy if you have forgotten water, your lunch or want a perk me up coffee before starting the walk. - Wheatsheaf Inn – Brigsteer – Technically not on the original route, but worth the small detour. It would only be 2.29 miles in (c. 1h00) and would add an extra mile to your walk. Happy to customize the gpx, AllTrails or Komoot to include on the route.
Owned by Robinsons breweries. This cosy tenanted pub offers good ales, pies, pub classics and sandwiches; a beer garden for the summer and a roaring log-fire in the winter. Food served from 12:00-15:00 and 17:00-20:00 Monday – Thursday and 12:00 to 20:00 on Friday to Sunday. The pub also has 6 rooms. (See below sections). Muddy paws and boots are always welcome. - Romneys – Helsington / Kendal – Again, not on the route but a detour worth making. This would be at the 6.5 miles (c. 3 hrs) and would add an extra mile to the walk.
It is a traditional Cumbrian pub with rooms. The local ale and food with delicious pub classics, carvery on Sunday. Prices are very reasonable for the area and there are several options in the children’s menu.
Beer garden with a children’s play area, log-fire for the winter and dogs are welcome. The pub also offers accommodation (see below section for details) - Low Sizergh Barn Cafe – Sizergh – C. 9.2 miles after the start (4h00).
The best one if you are walking with the kids – A dairy parlor where you can watch the cows being milked at 15:30.
Delicious ice-creams, farm-shop and the raw milk is on sale. - The Strickland Arms – Sizergh – At the end (or beginning) of the walk.
The best for gourmets – it is listed in Michelin and Good Food guide. The food is home-made and cooked to order. The ale is just as good and the pub recommended by the good beer guide. A favorite with the locals and dog-owners. It is a very cosy pub with a large beer-garden, outside dining with a view and a roaring fire.
Make a week-end of it – Why South Lakes and Kendal ?
For those who have never visited the Lake Districts, Kendal is not a bad place to start from. The first largest town in the National Park, yet less crowded with tourists and more down to earth than Windermere. You will find the genuine cumbrian hospitality that made the region, a good selection of places to eat and drink; shops for the outdoors enthusiast offering better value than their counter-parts in Ambleside and further north. A farmer’s market and great brewery for the foodies. There is an array of scenic low-level walks in the area and good bus connections to the Lakes.
For the seasoned mountaineers and fell-walkers a wet and cold day on the fells is not always a pleasant experience. Whether you have ticked all all your Wainwrights already you do not fancy a high-level walk with poor visibility on a day where the weather is unkind; the outlying fells are perfect to keep you ticking.
For the culture enthusiasts there are multitude of place to visit around Kendal: Sizergh Castle, a medieval castle owned by the National Trust; the Levens Hall, an Elizabethan country manor with gardens and a deer park; Abbot Hall art gallery for fine art from the 18th-20th century and last but not least, the Kendal Museum with its collections of Natural History, Cumbrian history and World Wildlife gallery
For the adventurers: Kendal has a climbing hall, Adventure Makers has a meeting point not far from the climbing centre and offers guides to take you Ghyll scrambling, Canyoning, and caving.
Make a week-end of it – Where to stay and eat
For walkers: The Weatsheaf Inn
The Inn has 6 cosy rooms above its pub
For a lazy Sunday: Romneys in Helsington offers 5 self-catering cottages and 5 snugs. Very close to both Kendal town centre and the walk route. Stay overnight and enjoy an amazing Sunday Lunch at the pub.
For the campers and families: Sizergh Barn and Farm – tent and caravan pitches as well as a glamping pods that sleeps 4 and has a kitchenette.
Enjoy the walk, a visit to Sizergh Castle with a unique stay on an Organic Dairy farm. It has an award winning farm shop and cafe. Sells raw milk and you can watch the cows being milked everyday at 15:30.
Peregrinating the North West and Beyond 
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