Walk · Cumbria

Thorneythwaite Farm and the Combe waterfall

Borrowdale · CA12 5XN
N 880 YD
2.3MILES
1h 10mON FOOT
210mCLIMB
Out & backSHAPE
Off-road 80% 20% shares tarmac with cars
Field & moor path 45%Lane & track 35%Road with traffic 20%

Our drawing of the route — the shape of the walk, not a navigation aid. Carry OS Explorer on the hill. Off-lead information here is what walkers reported or what signage allows — never our advice. Whether and when a dog is off the lead is the owner’s decision and legal responsibility; keep dogs under control near livestock and follow signs on the day.

Starts at
Seatoller National Trust car park at the foot of Honister Pass, grid ref NY245137 CA12 5XN
Parking
National Trust pay-and-display at Seatoller, free to members, around 60 spaces with toilets; it is the overflow for Honister and Seathwaite and is normally full by 9.30am on a fine weekend
Directions to the start →

A short there-and-back from Seatoller that climbs through the three parts of a Lakeland hill farm in under two and a half miles: the in-bye hay meadows, the wood pasture with its wild apple trees and rare lichens, then the gate in the fell wall onto open fell. Above the wall the track leads into the hidden valley of Combe under Coombe Crag, where a large waterfall makes the turning point and the picnic spot. The drops beside the fall are steep and unfenced. One field on the way out has yurts in it from April to October, and the wood pasture is grazed by cattle rather than sheep.

THE SMALL PRINTThe National Trust trail notes say plainly "Dogs welcome on leads." The route crosses working in-bye fields, cattle-grazed wood pasture and then Herdwick fell above the fell wall.

House rules, decoded

Livestock — leads on
REGION · CUMBRIA
GRID · 54.5134, -3.1674
SOURCE · HTTPS://WWW.NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK/BORROWDALE-AND-DERWENT-WATER/TRAILS/THORNEYTHWAITE-PICNIC-AND-WATERFALL-WALK
Also in Borrowdale
WAGFINDER No photo yet
880 YD © OpenStreetMap contributors 5.4 MI · LOOP
SOME LIMITS

Castle Crag and Millican Dalton's cave

Borrowdale
No reviews yet
5.4MILES
2:35TIME
230mCLIMB
92%OFF-ROAD
Livestock — leads on Water bowls

Five and a half miles and about two and a half hours for 230 metres of climb: the Allerdale Ramble along the Derwent from Seatoller, then the slate spoil zigzag onto Castle Crag, the smallest Wainwright and the best view in Borrowdale. Start at the National Trust Seatoller car park at the foot of Honister, paid, around 60 spaces, and usually the last car park in the valley to fill. The riverside section is enclosed and the Derwent has deep pools a dog can swim in, but the final 80 metres onto the crag climbs loose slate spoil that cuts pads and is genuinely steep, and the summit is a small rocky platform with drops on three sides - many people leave the dog with a companion at the col.

VERIFIED 29 JUL 2026 VIEW WALK ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Stay NOT CHECKED YET

Chapel Field

CA12 5XG
No reviews yet

Chapel Field is a place to stay in Borrowdale. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›
WAGFINDER No photo yet
Stay NOT CHECKED YET

Gillercombe

No reviews yet

Gillercombe is a place to stay in Borrowdale. It is listed here so you know it is there, but we have not yet established whether dogs are welcome — so there is no verdict on this page and no stamp. If it is your business, claim the page and tell us, and we will stamp it.

NOT CHECKED YET · IS THIS YOURS? VIEW ›

Know one we have missed?

Tell us the pub we have not walked into yet.

Local knowledge beats desk research every time. Name the place and we will check it properly — the venue's own policy, confirmed, then stamped and dated like every other listing.

Get the new stamps first.

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

Your patch, watched for you.

£4.99 A MONTH · OR £48 A YEAR
Restriction alerts for your saved beaches — know before the ban starts, not at the slipway sign.
New-place notifications in your area, the day we stamp them in.
Member perks at claimed venues across Britain.
Become a member

ENTER DOG OF THE MONTH · RESTRICTION ALERTS · CANCEL ANY TIME