Brothers Water

A linear out-and-back on the Miles Without Stiles 2 route, starting and finishing at Cow Bridge Car Park. The full visitor distance is 3.75 km (2.33 miles) round trip. The mapped corridor is drawn once at 2.123 km (1.319 miles) one way, from Cow Bridge to the turning point at the Sykeside/Bank End end. Allow about 1 to 1.25 hours. Difficulty is 3 out of 10: gently undulating, low level, with no scrambling or stiles.

From the car park the surfaced and gravel path runs along the wooded west shore and into Low Wood, a mixed oak woodland. It then opens out beside the shallow, reed-fringed lake before passing behind Hartsop Hall, a 16th-century Grade I listed building, and continuing on a level public access track to Sykeside. Hartsop Hall looks up toward Dovedale, with Dove Crag at the head of that side valley. Return the same way.

The payoff is easy, open water-level scenery rather than summit views. Water lilies may flower on the shallows in summer, and moorhens, coots and swans are often about. Low Wood is at its most attractive in autumn when the oaks colour up.

The surface is generally firm and level enough to serve as a designated accessible route, though it undulates gently rather than running flat. For powered users, class 2 or 3 mobility scooters are the stated requirement. Two short link slopes sit at the far end: roughly 1:10 up to Bank End Bar, and a steeper 1:7 up to Brotherswater Inn. Both are optional and can be skipped by turning around on the level track.

There are no toilets and no facilities on the route itself. Toilets at Brotherswater Inn are for customers only, and reaching them means the steeper 1:7 slope. Bring water and anything else you need. Dogs are welcome on this public footpath, but keep them under control and in sight, especially near wildlife and grazing livestock.

This is a popular easy walk, so expect company in good weather. The road is close by at the access end, so the first stretch is not a quiet wilderness experience, though the woodland and lakeshore sections feel calmer. Parking is at the small National Trust car park at Cow Bridge on the A592, with around 22 spaces. Coming from Windermere means crossing Kirkstone Pass, which is unsuitable for large vehicles and best avoided in snow or ice.

No permit is required.