Thanks to Lee Benson for another contribution to the Family Walks website. This is a fantastic starter fell for children.

Today’s walk was up Hallin Fell and along some of the Ullswater Way to the Lowther Barn cafe. Hallin is the starting point for a lot of young walkers in the Penrith area as you can follow the ‘Snake Road’ (as my daughter calls it) half way up it to a carpark at Martindale Church. You will find Hallin on the right hand side of the road.

The path from here is well trodden and easy to follow to the summit, the climb is steep in places but in short bursts and there is always a great view behind you to take in while you have a rest. It takes about 20-40 minutes to get to the summit and you are rewarded with great views of Ullswater. If you turn and go back to the car from here (or do the short loop back) it will be just over a mile (one of our favourite miles, as it is where we did our first walks as a family).

Here’s a route map for the 1.2 mile short loop:

And a video from the top:

Today we dropped down the opposite side of Hallin (no clear path) to join the Ullswater Way which we followed left towards Sandwick. After Sandwick keep on the route for another half mile you will come to Lowther Barn Cafe which serves homemade cakes and a wide range of hot and cold drinks, all with a smile.
There seems to be a few manageable fells in this area and with parking in Sandwick, we will return.

After our cake we headed back to Sandwick. When getting to the road we turned right, about 300m further on you will pick up a signed footpath to Howtown which will take you back to your car at Martindale Church.

This walk is between three and four miles and managed by a six and a getting fitter three (plus 8 months) year old. Would really recommend the first part of this walk to beginners.

There are also areas of rocks to climb and a few opportunities to throw stone in streams.

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