Our Route

We’ll meet at Cavendish Pavilion at 9.45am for a 10am departure. Our route is just shy of 10 miles, and we expect to take us 5.5 to 6 hours including a stop for lunch and a brief detour to view a waterfall. Please note that dogs are not allowed through the Valley of Desolation, which our route will take us through.

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From the pavilion we will cross the river and follow it briefly before beginning our first uphill climb. We’ll walk along a quiet road for a short distance before crossing the road and entering the fields and heading towards the Valley of Desolation. From here, our walk takes us along a tree lined track before we make a brief detour downhill to find the spectacular waterfalls on route. This path is a little more tricky and much narrower, but don’t let the downhill worry you, its easier on the way back up! After returning from the waterfall, we’ll continue upstream, crossing the stream again by narrow bridge on what’s probably the leafiest part of our trek. Making our way out of the trees again, there’s a skinny path uphill that leads up to a much more defined path. The ascent on the defined path is probably the steepest part of our journey but the rocky formations in the distance make it clear we’re well on our way to Simons Seat, and as the path levels out somewhat, Simons Seat is visible in the distance. A short walk up a rocky path, reminiscent of a dried riverbed, brings us to the summit and Simons Seat. We’ll stop here for some lunch and a chance to clamber up to the Trig point if you wish.

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When we’re finished exploring, well depart to the left of Simons Seat. The path begins very well defined until we reach the stone wall at which point the path turns a little rocky again. We’ll follow the stone wall downhill, crossing a small step stile as we enter the trees again. The downhill through the tall trees is very steep, but it is also reasonably short lived before we’re once again on a defined stone track. Leaving the trees behind, we meet the road again briefly in Howgill before following the last of the stream down to meet the river once again. From here, our walk is reasonably flat alongside the river as we head for Barden Bridge. Leaving Barden Bridge, there are some short uphill sections again that come back to the level of the river reasonably soon, but the path remains mostly flat other than these couple of instances. And before you know it we’ll find ourselves right back at the point we first turned uphill this morning and only minutes from Cavendish Pavilion.