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.
Seven and a half miles and three and a half hours for 340 metres of climb, out of Broughton's Georgian square to the restored charcoal blast furnace on the Duddon and then up the old lanes to Swinside, the best-preserved stone circle in the county. It starts in the market square at Broughton-in-Furness, where the free parking round the obelisk is the easiest in south Cumbria to find a space in. The lanes and green tracks are quiet enough for a dog to walk off the lead in stretches, and the Duddon gives water for the first two miles, but Swinside sits in a working sheep field reached by a farm track, the second half crosses grazed open fell, and the last mile back is on the unpaved verge of the A595 approach lane.
A small family site on a working farm in a wooded valley north-east of Broughton-in-Furness, open all year, with grass and hardstanding pitches, cabins, miniature yurts and a six-berth bunkhouse. Its own page says dogs are welcome as long as they are well behaved and kept on leads, and the reason is plain enough: the farm keeps working sheepdogs, sheep, cattle, ponies, ducks and hens, and they are all loose about the place. It is about fifteen minutes from Coniston Water and the same from the bottom of the Duddon, so it works as a base for both.
A two-bedroom cottage on Griffin Street in the middle of Broughton-in-Furness, sleeping up to five, with a refurbished kitchen-diner and an enclosed rear patio, which is the useful bit: enclosed outdoor space is rare in a village terrace. The owners describe it on their own site as a dog-friendly cottage but do not publish a limit on numbers or a charge, so settle both when you book. The Georgian square, the two village pubs and the bakery are two minutes away, and the Duddon estuary path starts at the bottom of the hill.
A sixteenth-century inn just off the Georgian square at Broughton-in-Furness, with six refurbished en-suite rooms and a bar and lounge of leather sofas at the quiet southern end of the Duddon. Its own about page says dogs are welcome in the bar area and that two of the bedrooms are dog friendly, while its booking page says all the rooms are; ring before you travel if you need certainty. It is a sensible base for the Duddon Valley, the Lickle and the low fells around Broughton, none of which get the Wasdale traffic.
One short email when we add places or a council changes its beach rules. No noise, easy out.
NO SPAM · UNSUBSCRIBE ANY TIME · WE NEVER SELL THE LIST
Wagfinder Members · Coming soon
NO PAYMENT NOW · FIRST IN WHEN DOORS OPEN · EASY OUT