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Total Distance: 5 Miles
Highest Point: 525 Feet
Total Realistic Time: ~2 Hours

Whittington is a small village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, forming part of a cluster of sites along the Lune valley, each with evidence of a motte – as with Melling and Arkholme. This is the densest distribution of Norman castles outside the Welsh border countryside

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittington,_Lancashire

First family get together walk after lock down, getting back to some sort of normality.

Parked at SOUTH LAKELAND DISTRICT COUNCIL in Kirby Lonsdale, the address for the car park is 33 Dodgson Croft, Kirkby Lonsdale, Carnforth LA6 2AB – £6 for up to 10 hours parking.  Handy Booths store across the road for amenities.

Whittington Without A Cat is roughly a 5 mile route, starting and finishing at Devil’s Bridge. The circular route heads out to Whittington via Lune Valley Ramble along the River Lune, heading back round to Devil’s Bridge.

Car park is a short walk to the start of the trail at Devil’s Bridge. If you get there early, we started at 9:30am, there is a popular butty van at the bridge. Be prepared for queues for the tasty butties. Its a popular meeting point for motorcyclists, and also has free parking if you get there early, it gets very busy quickly.

Views on Devil’s Bridge:

Along the River Lune, it is very grassy, some bits are a little overgrown and goes through farm areas so can be quite messy.

You can easily miss the cutting to turn off towards Whittington as it was a little overgrown at the time. The turn off is not far from the lone hut along the River Lune.

You go through another field and the path is not quite visible but you will see a graveyard on the right and you actually go through and there is a path going to the left of the church which leads you out onto the road.

You come out of the church and onto the road, just a little further on the left you walk up Hosticle Lane. Be careful as its a single track and traffic does come along and sometimes at quite a speed.

Views as we walk back into Kirby Lonsdale:

Thats the complete Whittington without a cat trail.

We stopped for something to eat and refreshment in Kirby Lonsdale at a pub called The Snooty Fox, fish and chips was an impressive sized portion. There were queues at coffee shops and ice cream shops due to lock down measures.

While you are in Kirby Lonsdale, you should visit Ruskin’s View a short walk from the centre. Lovely view of The Island and River Lune.

Walked further along towards Fisherty Brow via Lily Wood. Takes you down to a stream, a little walk along the stream takes you back up to a small wooden bridge which takes you back towards Ruskin’s View.

A long wait for this first get together walk, it was good to catch up, to be out in the fresh air again and seeing the fantastic views, however be prepared for a lot of cow pat covered fields (mum did not like this part of the walk).

GENERAL EQUIPMENT

• Apple iPhone XS (for use of OS apps for lazy mapping and photos/videos)
• OS Maps app (premium version – I use for following the route)
• Comfy walking shoes (most important)
• Extra socks (keep the feet happy when needed)
• Waterproof Jacket (always a must, the weather changes alot in the hills/mountains)
• Long sleeve and/or short sleeve (for layering)
• Neck scarf (extra warmth and protection if needed)
• Woolly hat (keep your head and particularly my ears warm)
• Gloves (if scrambling is required)
• 2 litres of water
• Flask with Hot drink (a good cuppa is always welcome)
• ibuprofen (helping hand if you have any aches and pains)
• Food and snacks (fuel to keep you going)