Scout Scar

As we explained in our last post, on Monday our national park got bigger bringing it closer to the M6 while the Yorkshire Dales National Park did the same thing from the other side.

In our post we mentioned that the Friends of the Lake District were meeting on Scout Scar (Wainwright summit), which sits right on the very edge of the current national park overlooking one of the new areas, to see in the dawn over the National Park. Meeting at 5:30am was probably a bit of a stretch for most people (even with the offer of free bacon butties!) but Scout Scar is worth a visit anyway if you're looking for a relatively easy walk at the southern end of the Park.

Jessie looks over Scout Scar

Scout Scar is a precipitous limestone escarpment which looks out westwards over the Lyth Valley beyond. It's an unusual feature for Lakeland most of which was created by volcanic activity so is igneous rock; but there's an area at the southern end where limestone, more a feature of the Yorkshire Dales, prevails and that's how we come to find Scout Scar there.

Our walk A Scout Scar Amble (4.2km or 2.6miles with 78m of ascent) takes you to the top where you will find The Mushroom, a topped cross-wall shelter which gave a little respite from a bitter winter breeze on the day we visited.

The Mushroom

Hopefully when you visit you'll only be looking for a little shade but do go inside anyway because along the inside of the roof is a toposcope frieze showing you what you can see in every direction.

Inside The Mushroom

And the views are stunning; when we were there sun filtering through thick winter clouds made for fleeting and dramatic lighting. Looking out to Morecambe Bay on a clear day Heysham power station can be seen on the skyline and also Blackpool tower apparently, although not on our visit.

Looking across Lyth Valley to Morecambe Bay

Tagged: walks

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