The Lakes Day 5 - Gowbarrow Fell, Brougham Castle & Lowther Castle

On Day 4 we started walking a circular trail to the top of Gowbarrow Fell via Aira Force. We had heavy rain on our way to the start point, but once we got there, it was lightly misting. Aira Force is a waterfall located near Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District. The waterfall is hidden in an ancient woodland, which is one of a few places that red squirrels can be seen... if you are lucky. We WERE lucky because I strongly believe I spotted one when we just entered the woodland. Believe me!   

The waterfall was great! National Trust says "Rainy days are often the best time to see the falls in full force, as rainwater runs from the fells into Aira Beck and thunders in one 65ft leap over the falls." I think we saw the best falls!

We walked up to the bridge over the top of the waterfall, and following the stream for a while. Walking in the forest with water sounds was a nice change from the grass/rock-covered fell walks we did so far.

When we passed through the forest, the grass and rock path, which looked familiar to us, welcomed us! We stepped on rocky path, going up, up and up. No more rain fortunately.

Woohoo! We made it this time! The elevation of Gowbarrow fell is 481 meters while that of Catbells is 451 meters. Clearly we were higher than where we were the day before!

The going-down path was attached on the slope of the fell. It was narrow but easy to follow and presented great views of Ullswater!  

We came back to the Aira Force car park. That was a pretty good walk! Then, we drove to Brougham Castle, which was located at a couple of miles south east of the town of Penrith. Sitting by the side of the River Eamont, the early 13 century castle ruins still proudly showed off its impressive traditional Norman style keep. The castle was a military base as well as part time residence through several generations of the Clifford family. I have heard the name. Ah, the lord of Skipton Castle!

Our next stop was Lowther Castle, which was just about 6 miles away from Brougham Castle. Before exploring the castle and gardens, we had a cream tea time at the cafe. We haven't eaten anything since a small breakfast at the cottage in the early morning...

While the site of Lowther Castle has been occupied by the same family since the 12th century, the current castle ruins were originally built in the 19th century. It sounds very new after the visit of Brougham Castle although Lowther Castle quickly became ruins by removing the castle roofs in 1957 due to problematic death duties, etc. Now the castle is empty but the scale was still enormous. It must have been overwhelming when the castle was alive. Was there such a time? Yes, based on its history. However, I didn't see any shadows of spirits from the past. The ruins looked like a toy made with Lego. Brougham and Lowther - both are called "castle" and now ruins but totally different objects.

To be continued...