Parking
Start at Oxen Park Reading Room (Green Hut), Sat Nav LA12 8HG. Abbot Park Farm (LA12 8HW, grid reference SD314881) is the alternative published start; confirm any farm parking arrangement onsite.
Overview
About Greenwood Trail 4: Oxen Park to Bethecar Moor
Why go
- Wild open fell and layered views
- Distinctive local history and woodland variety
Heads up
- Rough, wet ground with stiles and beck crossings
- Exposed navigation on poor-visibility days
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation55–239 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
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
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Lake District Tour Guide
Your drive to Greenwood Trail 4: Oxen Park to Bethecar Moor, 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
Oxen Park: The Bethecar Moor Loop0:00 / 0:56
“You're approaching Oxen Park, the starting point for a long, quiet walk across Bethecar Moor.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Roe Deer: A Bark in the Woods
- Old Hall Farm: The Rusland Moss Loop
- Rusland: Ransome and the Wind in the Pines
- Rusland Moss: Built by Tiny Plants
- 298 audio storiesacross Lake District’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Eurasian Otter, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 265 trails, 89 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Greenwood Trail 4: Oxen Park to Bethecar Moor
The shape of the walkThis is a complete loop, out and back to the same spot, starting and finishing at Oxen Park…
This is a complete loop, out and back to the same spot, starting and finishing at Oxen Park Reading Room (the Green Hut), Sat Nav LA12 8HG. Total distance as walked from Oxen Park is about 13.0 km / 8.1 miles, roughly 4.5 hours at a steady pace. The published long route measured from Abbot Park Farm is 11.5 km / 7 miles and 4 to 5 hours, with the Oxen Park start adding 1.5 km / 1 mile and about 20 minutes. Difficulty sits at moderate to hard, 6/10.
Route sequence and payoffFrom the Green Hut you take the access connector out to Abbot Park Farm (Sat Nav LA12 8HW, grid…
From the Green Hut you take the access connector out to Abbot Park Farm (Sat Nav LA12 8HW, grid reference SD314881), then climb onto Bethecar Moor, open fell rising to about 300 m / 1,100 ft. The moor is the heart of the day: heather, rock, and layered fells stretching away on all sides. The long variant crosses the exposed top and drops down through Grizedale forest and plantation woodland, passing Ickenthwaite on the way back to Oxen Park. Shorter 6 km and 9.5 km versions of the same trail exist if you want the woods and farmland without the full fell crossing.
Footing, exposure and navigationPaths are rough and wet in places, with stone-step stiles and beck crossings.
- Paths are rough and wet in places, with stone-step stiles and beck crossings.
- Proper boots are the minimum; walking poles or a sturdy stick genuinely help.
- The open fell has no shelter, so plan for wind and rain on the high section.
- In poor visibility you will need to follow marker posts and read a map with confidence. A compass earns its place here.
Scenery, habitat and historyThe mix is old tracks and lanes, farmland, both old and new woodland, and wild moor.
The mix is old tracks and lanes, farmland, both old and new woodland, and wild moor. This is sensitive ground, with juniper, bog myrtle, and grass of Parnassus in late summer, plus butterflies, birds, and red deer. Along the way you pass working relics of the fells: a potash kiln, a cairn, a slate-dressing area, and an old packhorse route.
Dogs and accessThe walk uses public footpaths, public bridleways, quiet public road, and open-access fell.
The walk uses public footpaths, public bridleways, quiet public road, and open-access fell. Dogs are welcome under normal countryside rules: keep them under close control, or on a short lead near livestock, horses, and other walkers. After the moor and woodland, check yourself and your dog for ticks.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Lake District
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 mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Lake District. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
