If you fancy some typical Eskdale walking away from the crowds head to the area south of Boot. The walking is simply marvellous amongst the hidden hollows and rocky knolls.
If one in a thousand keen walkers have trod the slopes of Ulpha Fell and the rocky outcrops of Green Crag, Crook Crag and Dow Crag I would be surprised. Eskdale is a valley consistently ignored by visitors although it is one of the best of all Lake District valleys. The rough ground to the south of the Woolpack Inn is riddled with paths, but sheep tracks not walker paths. A walk becomes more an exploration and navigation challenge rather than a strict route following exercise… and all the better for it.
My preference is to climb up and over many of the largely unnamed craggy outcrops before dropping down on to a slightly more popular track from the Duddon Valley. The track has the distinct advantage of passing the lonely but lovely tarn of Low Birker. Every time I visit this south west corner of the Lakes it becomes firmly entrenched as my favourite, there is so much to explore and so few people bothering you. It is typical Eskdale walking.
Although I have described my favourite route is an area to choose your own.
It is very similar to a walk in the Duddon Valley
I think I say this on every Eskdale walk but come and stay for a few day’s walking. There is no better place
The walk is an entertaining navigational challenge. Without over used path you will end up following sheep tracks or picking ‘easier land’. It is navigation ‘on the hoof’. Orientate your map (using a compass to match the map)and follow the contours and physical features that are on the ground. Each outcrop, small river bed, slope steepness and direction are all clues to where you are and where to go.
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