Parking
Start at Blind Lane Car Park near Force Mills, postcode area LA12 8LQ, grid reference SD 34327 91249. This is the access point for the longer loop; plan to be self sufficient and park only in the car park area.
Overview
About Satterthwaite and Rusland
This is the longer official loop at Satterthwaite and Rusland, a closed circuit starting and finishing at Blind Lane car park near Force Mills. The stored distance of 9.57 km (5.95 miles) is the full loop, not one way and not an out-and-back, and matches the official rounded figure of 9.5 km (6 miles). The shorter 7.5 km version of this walk is a separate option and is not what is described here.
Why go
- Dense industrial heritage on a varied loop
- Ancient woodland, village lanes and open fields in one route
- Distinctive bridge and church landmarks
Heads up
- Regular road walking between path sections
- No single dramatic viewpoint or summit payoff
From Blind Lane the route winds through forest and ancient woodland to Satterthwaite village and Satterthwaite Bridge, passing Wood Moss Tarn, a man made forestry tarn kept for wildlife and fire water. It then turns back through forest and valley routes towards Force Mills and Force Forge, on to Rusland Church and Stoney Hazel Forge, and back to the start, with Thwaite Head on the higher ground of the circuit. The reward is the changing sequence rather than one big view: working woodland, old industrial sites, village lanes, open fields, and a church set on a rocky outcrop above the valley.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe sequence and the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Lake District map
Full mapElevation16–156 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 Satterthwaite and Rusland, 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
Blind Lane: Woodland and Rusland Heritage0:00 / 0:50
“You're coming up on Blind Lane car park, the starting point for the Satterthwaite and Rusland woodland loop. The longer circuit is about six miles, so allow roughly three and a half hours, plus time for stops.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Lake District Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Bogle Crag: The Rusland Valley Outlook
- Rusland: Ransome and the Wind in the Pines
- Grizedale Forest: Sculptures and Carron Crag
- Graythwaite: A Garden That Changed the View
- 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 Satterthwaite and Rusland
Difficulty, surfaces and roadsRate this one moderate, mainly for length and the constant changes in gradient rather than any…
Rate this one moderate, mainly for length and the constant changes in gradient rather than any single steep climb. Sampled heights along the route run from around 16 m in the valley bottom to about 156 m on the higher ground, with several separate ups and downs across the circuit. No official cumulative ascent figure exists for this longer version, so plan on rolling low level walking rather than a fell day.
Underfoot you get a genuine mixture:
Boots and a map or GPS route are worth having, since the loop links several named path types rather than following one waymarked surface.
- forest tracks and forestry roads
- public footpaths and bridleways, some rougher and softer than others
- open access sections
- stretches of quiet public road through and between settlements
Access, parking and dogsThe start is Blind Lane car park, grid reference SD 34327 91249, nearest property postcode area…
The start is Blind Lane car park, grid reference SD 34327 91249, nearest property postcode area LA12 8LQ. Treat it as a parking area only and arrive self sufficient with your own water and food. There is a pub in Satterthwaite, though you should not count on it as part of your plan.
The route is public access countryside and dogs are welcome, but keep them under close control, especially near livestock and farmland. On open access land the legal rule is a lead of no more than 2 metres between 1 March and 31 July, and at any time when livestock require it. Gates and field sections mean recall matters as much as the lead.
Drawbacks and who it suitsThere is no summit and no single dramatic viewpoint, and a fair amount of road walking is built…
There is no summit and no single dramatic viewpoint, and a fair amount of road walking is built into the circuit. It is too long and too undulating to be a short family stroll. It suits walkers who like quiet woodland, layered local history and a varied low level loop with a steady rhythm of climbs and descents. If you want less distance and a more focused destination, the shorter woodland and viewpoint circuit at Finsthwaite Tower and The Knott nearby is a better fit.
The sequence and the payoffThe history is unusually dense for a walk of this length.
The history is unusually dense for a walk of this length. Force Forge dates from 1620 and later served as a refinery and bobbin mill site. Stoney Hazel Forge dates from 1718 and is a rare survivor of its kind. The high bobbin mill at Force Mills was built in 1836 and burned down in 1923. Rusland Church was built in 1745 and largely rebuilt in 1868. Satterthwaite itself remains a traditional Lakeland farming village.
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.
