Total distance: 9 Km or 5½ miles.
Time: Allow 2½ hours.
Terrain: Mainly easy with one sharp ascent to ridge above Leighton Hall. Towpath, fields and woodland walking. Road walking along A6.

Start: Cinderbarrow Picnic Site is just off the A6 on Tarn Lane, on the right going north of junction 35 of the M6.

Map

1. Car park to canal. (250 metres: 4 minutes)
From picnic car park turn left onto Tarn Lane and continue across railway bridge to canal bridge. Access canal by small white gate on right.



2. Canal to A6 (2 Km or 1¼  miles: 30 minutes)
Turn left and walk beneath the bridge, along one of the northern reaches of the Lancaster Canal.


This is a particularly attractive stretch – so much so you will hardly notice the noise of traffic from the M6 on your right (blessedly out of sight). Pass under the next bridge and look for metal gate a short distance beyond.


Go through, turning right taking track as it crosses the railway and winds down to lane. At lane, turn right, walk through hamlet of Hilderstone. About 150 metres along, just before pylon lines, look for bridleway on left.


Turn into this green lane, flanked by tall hedgerows and follow it for the best part of 15 minutes to where it brings you onto the A6, opposite Hazelgrove Lodge.



3. A6 to Yealand Storrs  (1.6 Km or 1 mile: 25 minutes)
Exercising due care cross road and turn left along it so you are walking facing on coming traffic. 300 metres on right by a prominent tree, but hidden until you are almost on top of it, a sign post points to "White Moss".


It is important you follow the direction of the sign. Across very rough pasture you will see some corrugated farm buildings. Keep to the right of these. With the nearer most grey building about 30 metres on left


you will intercept a hedge beyond a clump of nettles that almost obscures a stile.


Cross stile and walk with hedge on left. At end of field pass through wooden 5 bar gate and immediately turn right through another, onto a green lane that follows the edge of White Moss.


Beyond a pair of gates, the way meets a more substantial farm track to bring you past a small holding with a scattering of sheds and out houses.


Continue forward, through two more gates. At the point where the track dog legs to the right, take small wooden gate into a pasture


that rises gently to another small gate.


Through this take obvious path away from wall, with a tree to left to the corner of field that brings you onto lane not far from Yealand Storrs sign.



4. Yealand Storrs  to Leighton Hall. (1.6 Km or 1 mile: 25 minutes)
From (two) signposts turn right and follow lane through village passing Temple Court on right then Yealand Hall on left. Where the lane turns sharply right, turn left through imposing wooden gates,


past  Wood Cottage and through gate with an ominous warning for dogs.


Views immediately open up with Morecambe Bay in the distance and Leighton Moss, an important nature reserve, on right. A stone wall will be seen on the right roughly parallel to the moss. The path, not easy to pick out, keeps to the right of this,


through large fields, where wall gives way to hedge and continues with hedge on left to sweep round towards the complex of Leighton Hall, approaching Home Farm through a pasture.




5. Leighton Hall to Yealand Conyers. (1.2Km or ¾  mile: 20 minutes)
Turn left onto lane and follow around the left side of Leighton Hall complex. Beyond the tennis courts, as this service road meets the drive look for an obvious path on left leading up to the ridge. This section of the walk is very well signed.

 
At the top of the ridge there is a trio of benches, inviting pause, and no wonder, for looking back must be one of the loveliest views in England. Hill, pasture, water and woods combine in pleasing gentle harmony making this an ideal picnic spot.


Continue straight through trees, reaching a stone wall. Enter field by small kissing gate.


Continue forward keeping to the left of a large limestone outcrop. The path, less obvious until this point, descends through woods to a fork.


Right leads to a lane, left takes you across parkland – both bring you to Yealand Conyers. On reaching its main street turn left. Soon the New Inn appears on your right. (see below)

6. Yealand Conyers to Cinderbarrow Car park. (2 Km or 1¼  mile: 30 minutes)
Pass the New Inn and turn into Roseacre Lane on right. By a house called Blencathra on left,


take footpath to "Well Lane". This green lane leads to a stile in a muddy corner of a field. Cross it then turn right through a squeeze stile, then follow with hedge on your left to the next corner where the remains of a stone stile have been replaced by a wooden one.


With a more open aspect, cross the next field to the end of Well Lane, on the edge of Yealand Redmayne.


Turn towards the village but immediately turn right along a bridleway. Follow this track as it zig-zags to Nineteen Acre Lane. Turn right on to lane – but be aware that this road can be surprisingly busy. Soon you come to the A6 in sight of Cinderbarrow Picnic area.

The New Inn



The New Inn: "Good food, well kept ale, friendly and efficient service" would be an accurate summary of all our experiences in this popular country pub. But of course there is much more to it than that. To begin with the New Inn is not new at all - in fact it is over 400 years old. Stepping into its main bar is to step into a by-gone time. There are few trappings of modernity so that it is easy to imagine the room as it might have appeared a century ago. No doubt this explains its appeal. When we dined there on a Tuesday lunchtime in early September, the New Inn was full. For the purposes of research we tried the Hartley's XB (4.0 %)
( Hartley's Cumbria Way (4.1%).was also on offer), and once again it measured up to our high standards. Once again we tried the homemade soup from the extensive specials board and once again pronounced it to be delicious.