Aira Force

This is probably the most famous of the Lake District waterfalls, set in landscaped parkland created in the 19th Century by the Howard family of Greystoke Castle, who renovated an old hunting lodge close to the shore of Ullswater and created a pleasure garden around it with half a million native and ornamental trees.

The main, narrow fall crashes down 70ft into a deep pool and is a big attraction for visitors to the shores of this lake, where Wordsworth was inspired to write his best-known poem, Daffodils.

The site is now owned and run by The National Trust who have nicely maintained the footpaths and steps and have provided a useful information board at the car park.

You can't really go wrong with a walk around this estate. Whether you go clockwise (as we did) or anticlockwise, you pass the waterfall at the halfway mark.

Our clockwise route climbed steadily up the left-hand-side of Riddings Beck to the top of the waterfall (with a diversion down a flight of steps for a full-frontal view of it on the way), to gaze down at the water thundering into the deep pool at the bottom. One of two bridges built early in the last century in memory of members of the Spring-Rice family from nearby Watermillock, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the falls, provide fine vantage points.

For our return route we chose the lower path which follows the beck downstream, to have another look at the fall from the bottom bridge. However, the upper path comes highly recommended for the views of Ullswater to be had from it before the two paths meet and cross a timber footbridge to return to the car park.

The whole outing took us less than an hour, leaving lots of the day to spare. So we set off in search of Maiden Castle, an earthworks I'd read about somewhere which was said to be close to Pooley Bridge at the top of the lake.

We found it on the map and plotted a route to it. First leg of the trip was through the bottom of the steep, wooded Dunmallard Hill, walking along a path through the leaf mould just above the road.

We left the wood soon and plodded along the grass verge to cross the junction with the Penrith road before going through a kissing gate into a large field. Crossing this was a sloppy affair, the ground waterlogged from the rains of several nights' downpours. Soon, though, we reached temporarily drier ground, dog-legging through a caravan park and passing the buildings of Waterfoot Hotel Farm.

Before long we were back in the mire as the path rejoined soggy fields and our boots slipped on the muddy grass.

The higher we walked, though, the drier it became, making a relative pleasure out of the final toil up the steep bank to the shallow, circular, green moat which is all that remains of this ancient hill fort.

The view from the top made it all worthwhile: Ullswater below us to the south; the fells of western Lakeland rolling into the distance; closer to hand, to the west, the River Eamont flowing past Pooley Bridge to join the lake; and far beyond the broad plain containing the M6 heading down from Penrith to the North Pennine fells still with their snowy caps.

We soaked it all in for a while before making our way back by a different route, taking the high path around the far hillside beside a sweet-smelling conifer plantation through long fields where dark grey, white-faced Herdwick sheep grazed. Then we dropped down through mixed woodland to return along the soggy field path to Dunmallard Hill and Pooley Bridge and a pint in the sunshine in the pub garden.

Step by Step

1. From car park by bridge at entrance to Pooley Bridge go over stile into wood and turn left. Follow leaf mould-covered path along the bottom of wood, above road. At junction with signpost, follow the lower path and at next fork follow either branch to exit the wood. Continue along roadside path and cross the Penrith road junction with care on to far verge. Walk along the lakeside road for a few more paces then go right through a kissing gate into field.
2. Walk across field on a clear but grassy path toward houses to stile in fence and then on to another stile just to left of caravan park. Continue ahead briefly, then turn right into caravan site, soon going left and then left again to walk up track beside caravan site with manor house and then cottages on left.
3. At T-junction, with white bungalow up above to right, turn left and almost immediately go over stile into field. Turn right and walk up field to another stile, and then another, with stream on the right. Over third stile, with the stream now vanished, go half right up steep field to another stile in fence at top to Maiden castle earthworks.
4. After admiring view and atmosphere, return to bottom of field by diagonal route by which you climbed, then turn right and walk on with fence on left to dogleg into field on left just before next fence. Walk ahead now with fence on right toward barn. Immediately after barn, go over stile and turn left.
5. Walk up field side (fence on left) and at top of hill swing left with waymark. Follow path above top of conifer wood and eventually go over another stile into mixed wood. Follow path that zigzags down through this wood to eventually arrive at stile into field with caravan site below toward left. Walk down path toward stile near caravan site then turn sharp right and retrace your steps through two fields to kissing-gate stile back into road and follow roadside, then wood-bottom paths on which you began, back to start.

Fact File

• Set-off point: Pooley Bridge, Cumbria (at northern end of Ullswater.
• Time for 4-mile walk: two hours.
• Going: easy (two steepish uphill pulls).
• Map: OS Outdoor Leisure 5, English Lakes North Eastern.
• Parking: pay and display car parks in Pooley Bridge, plus limited roadside parking (two hours maximum).
• Refreshments and toilets: in Pooley Bridge.