Crake Trees Manor Walk 3

1. This is the Oddendale loop. The distance walked is 5 ½ miles if you take the first route described (3 to 3 ½ hours) and 6 ½ miles if you take the second route (3 ½ to 4 hours). Begin by walking through the courtyard of Crake Trees and out into the garth past the ruins of the manor. Walk on up through the metal gate and UP the hill (Windy Hill) keeping the big stone wall on your LEFT. Continue through two gates until you reach a plantation straight in front of you and find a gate in the left corner, turn leftwards along an overgrown path which leads onto a tarmac road.

2. Turn rightwards, then walk along the road past two footpath signs on the left to Haber until you reach a bend in the road: follow the gated footpath to High Haber.

3. Walk along this well marked track, with Haberwain plantation to your right, ignoring the footpath sign that leads rightwards beside a water trough. When you reach a yellow signed gate on your right at a crossroad, turn leftwards on a well worn track, past a small quarry. You will see the large quarry of Hardendale Quarry to your right. Keep following this track, going through a metal gate with a yellow footpath marker on it with a stone wall and two large trees to its right. You will join a tarmac road, leading forwards and round the corner to Oddendale.

4. There are two options at this point:

Option 1: Go straight down the tarmac lane in front of you, over a cattle grid, with the plantation on your right, then through the farm yard. Take the lower metal gate out of the farm yard, keeping the stone wall to your left. This will lead straight downhill through Dalebanks on a well trodden track, which is at first grassed and then turns to tarmac, through to Crosby Ravensworth. Once the dry ford is passed, go over a small bridge marked with a footpath sign on your right which will lead through to the local pub, the Butcher’s Arms. This section of the walk will take about a further hour. Go to point 5 to read the description of how to return to Crake Trees from Crosby Ravensworth.

Option 2: Look for the three way wooden footpath sign as you approach Oddendale on your right. Turn right, noting the large slab of limestone as you walk up the stone road that leads past Bield Cairn to your left and a further plantation and stone wall on your right. Keep going until you spot a further plantation to your left, you need to walk straight along the path until you get to the point where you can see the plantation finishing. At this point, you can cut the corner diagonally leftwards, marked by a Coast to Coast marker. This fell has many fine examples of limestone pavement and diversions can be made along this route to observe it more closely.

Cumbria Country Walk 3

5. There are many paths at this point, make sure you keep an eye on the obvious way markers. The top section of the plantation has a path right beside it, with the stone sheep pens on your right. This will lead you back to Oddendale and is not where you want to be. You need to keep the sheep pens to your left and walk on the path that goes straight ahead, although there are points where it veers slightly leftwards, keeping a stone wall, some large trees and an old limestone kiln to your left side. The path turns to a pink stone path and then tarmac as it leads down Slack Randy to join the main road into Crosby Ravensworth.

6. Both walks lead into Crosby Ravensworth: turn left as you reach the main road. Carry on until you reach a ford on your left with some stepping stones and a green footpath sign which is marked to Witherslack. Follow this through Crosby Hall (a farm) and follow a gravel track which leads left and then comes back right to the top of the hill and a yellow marked gate. Aim for the far left corner of the field, where it will be necessary to make a double stile crossing across the angle of the next field. Crake Trees is straight in front of you across the field.

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