Dalegarth, Eskdale

Overview

About Dalegarth, Eskdale

Why go

Short, varied loop with church, river, and railway history
Station parking, toilets, and café at the start

Heads up

Shared road walking and several gates
Short ramps and uneven or narrow sections limit accessibility

Map & elevation

The route

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Full map

Elevation35–58 m

TrailheadDalegarth, Eskdale54.39547, -3.27471

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Plan your hike

Before you go

Parking

Start at the Dalegarth station car park (CA19 1TG, grid reference NY 173007). The station has toilets, disabled and baby-changing facilities, and a café. Pubs are available in Boot. An LDNPA car park at Trough House Bridge serves a section of the route and is not the preferred start.

Best time to go

The walk is easy to reach by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway or by road. Allow about one hour at a relaxed pace, longer if you pause at the church or take the optional spurs. Mobility scooters should be class 2 or 3 for this route.

Safety

Expect road walking without a pavement near the station and Brook House Inn, gates, uneven ground, and short slopes as steep as 1:5. The route is graded For some. The stepping stones and narrow spur toward the Girder Bridge are optional features, not alternatives to the main route. Use the Girder Bridge if the stepping stones are unsafe.

8 active Lake District alerts

ClosureChapel Stile footpath closed for retaining-wall riskPart of Footpath 543030 between Chapel Stile and Baysbrown campsite is closed because a retaining wall beside the path could collapse and material it supports could fall across the footpath.Official details
ClosureStanley Ghyll Lower Falls footpath closed for rockfallThe section of Footpath 408037 leading towards Stanley Ghyll Lower Falls is closed because severe rockfall damage has made the path unstable and further rockfall remains a danger.Official details

See all 8 alerts

A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone — Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Lake District Tour Guide

Your drive to Dalegarth, Eskdale, narrated.

Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Lake District National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.

Recorded for this trailhead

Dalegarth: Stanley Ghyll or Riverside Walk

0:00 / 1:09

“You're coming up on Dalegarth Station, the starting point for a walk to Stanley Ghyll's sixty-foot waterfall.”

Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.

Hiking Dalegarth, Eskdale

The routeThis 1.69-mile circular walk starts at Dalegarth Station.

This 1.69-mile circular walk starts at Dalegarth Station. The distance is the full visitor experience, including the short visit to St Catherine's Church and the River Esk and the optional out-and-back Tramway spur to the old railway line. Follow the road to Parson's Passage, then take the riverside path to the church. Return on the stone track via Esk View Farm and Brook House Inn.

What to expectMost of the route uses firm road or stone surfaces, with gates, uneven ground, and a few narrow…

Most of the route uses firm road or stone surfaces, with gates, uneven ground, and a few narrow or rough sections. The route is graded For some, with short slopes as steep as 1:5 and 1:6. The station, riverside, church, and old railway traces give the walk a varied payoff without a long climb.

HighlightsSt Catherine's Church is the main destination, with a churchyard beside the River Esk.

St Catherine's Church is the main destination, with a churchyard beside the River Esk. The Tramway follows a former mining railway route, and the optional Girder Bridge extension adds a small piece of railway history. The river and churchyard are the main photography stops, while wet conditions can make the river edge and stepping stones more demanding.

Wildlife

Wildlife in Lake District

All Lake District wildlife maps

81 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map

13 sightingsEurasian OtterMost seen around 6 AMSighting map

76 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 8 AMSighting map

51 sightingsEuropean BadgerMost seen around 8 PMSighting map

233 sightingsMute SwanMost seen around 6 PMSighting map

176 sightingsGrey HeronMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.