Walk · Cumbria

Slater's Bridge and Colwith Force from Elterwater

Elterwater · LA22 9HP
Little Langdale Stang End Little Fell A593 River Brathay River Brathay Carr Howes N 880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors
4.6MILES
2h 9mON FOOT
190mCLIMB
CircularSHAPE
The route A-road B-road Lane Track Path Water Woodland
Off-road 86% 14% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 46%Lane & track 40%Road with traffic 14%

Our drawing of the route, over road and path data from OpenStreetMap. It shows where the walk goes and what it goes through. It is not a survey and not a navigation aid — carry OS Explorer on the hill.

Starts at
National Trust Elterwater car park, in the village by the bridge LA22 9HP
Parking
Paid National Trust car park, only about 40 spaces and full before 9am on fine weekends; the lane verges are all no-parking
Directions to the start →

Four and a half miles and about two and a quarter hours through Little Langdale: quarry road out of Elterwater, the slate slab of Slater's Bridge over the Brathay, then the woodland path down to Colwith Force before returning by Skelwith. Start at the National Trust car park in Elterwater village, which is small - perhaps 40 spaces - paid, and reliably full by nine on a fine weekend; the Langdale Rambler bus from Ambleside stops in the village. Plenty of river for a dog to drink and swim in and the quarry tracks are enclosed, but Slater's Bridge is a narrow slab with no handrail and a drop either side, so short lead across it, and the Little Langdale fields are grazed by Herdwicks year round.

THE SMALL PRINTShort lead over Slater's Bridge, a narrow unrailed slate slab above the river, and through the grazed Little Langdale fields. Colwith Force sits in a steep-sided gorge with unfenced edges.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
Water bowls
REGION · CUMBRIA
GRID · 54.4283, -3.0332
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.KOMOOT.COM/GUIDE/199776/HIKING-AROUND-ELTER-WATER
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