Little Town to Little Dale

It can be difficult to keep young walkers motivated, especially if you are reluctant to use sweets as bribes. This walk has a number of exciting elements. There are boulders to climb, a stream to paddle in, and an old reservoir. However, it is perhaps the addition of a number of Geocaches, or hidden treasures, that will delight children the most. Geocaching involves using GPS coordinates to find hidden caches all over the world, which generally include knick-knacks, such as keyrings and pocket money toys. This route has 13 to find, and you will need to get the Geocaching app in order to find them.

The route starts in a quiet corner of the Lake District in a section that is usually ignored by walkers favouring to ascend the nearby Cat Bells instead. It starts in Little Town, and takes you to a reservoir at the top of Little Dale. Parking is limited and the parking is often used by those seeking an alternative route up Cat Bells, so we do recommend getting there early. The first half is pushchair friendly, but if you want to do the circular route, you will need to leave the pushchair at home. There are no facilities on the route, so do take plenty of snacks and a picnic.

Parking at Little Town

From the A66, take the turning to Portinscale and then follow the signs to Stair. At Stair, take the turning signposted for Little Town and Newlands. Go through Little Town and continue a short distance down the hill. The layby is on the left-hand side just before a sharp turning right over the bridge. Once parked, continue on foot to follow the road over the bridge. Just after the bridge, there is a turning on the left signposted for Newlands Church. Take this turning.

Following the Road

Continue to follow the road, passing the church on your right, and the National Trust farm, High Snab. The road becomes increasingly uneven along the way, and you will eventually see a pretty white house ahead of you. Go past the white house and here the track becomes unusable for most vehicles. Just beyond the white house, there is a farm gate that will take you onto a farm track. There are three geocaches to find on this section, plus a puzzle to solve involving the church.

Into the Farmland

You will walk along a short-enclosed section before arriving at another gate. Go through this gate and you will now be in open farmland in a narrow valley, with a farm wall on your left that will drop down to your left, giving you access to the stream that meanders through the valley. Dogs will need to be kept on a lead here if there are any grazing livestock. There is another geocache to find just beyond the end of the farm wall.

Through the Valley

The track becomes a grassy path that should be manageable with an all-terrain pushchair. There is a gentle ascent up the valley towards the end, where those with excellent eyesight will be able to spot a waterfall. The track does fork at one point, with the left-hand fork taking you closer to the stream, and both paths join together again before the end. There is another geocache to find a short distance above the path. Do take care if you are looking with children. The reservoir damn will eventually come into view.

The Reservoir

You will eventually arrive at the damn for the reservoir. This is the turning point for those with pushchairs and an ideal picnic spot. The reservoir is very deep, so do watch children carefully. There are plenty of boulders surrounding the reservoir to explore, and at the opposite end of the reservoir, there is a geocache hidden amongst the boulders.

If you want to, you can continue beyond the reservoir up to the waterfall, but this may be a little steep for children. To continue on the circular route, you will need to walk across the reservoir damn wall and over the footbridge. There is a steep drop to one side of the wall and the deep water on the other side, so please make sure children are closely supervised.

Returning Along the Other Side of the Valley

This next section takes you along a narrow path along the fell side. It is not suitable for pushchairs, being quite narrow at times. There are also some sections where there is a moderately steep drop away to the left, so again, children should be closely supervised. There are pleasant views from this path down the valley and out towards the fells. There is another geocache hidden above the path.

The Quarry and the Tunnel

You will come to a disused quarry on your right. Almost opposite the quarry on your left, below the path, the ground appears to have been hollowed out. This is the entrance to the tunnel that runs below the quarry. We do not recommend that you go into this tunnel, but the hollow around the entrance is a fun place to explore.

As you stand on the path overlooking the hollow (above the tunnel entrance), you will see a tree on your right, and a small, grassy path leading down past the tree along the top right of the hollow. Take this path and it leads down and to the right. The path is not clear at first, but does quickly become apparent as it leads along the bottom of the quarry scree. There is a multi-cache at this point but we do not recommend attempting the second part with young children.

Meandering into the Next Valley

The path continues to descend the fell side and veers gradually around to the right, taking you around the bottom of the fell and towards the next valley. There is another geocache to find on this section of the path. As it winds around the fell you will see a gravel farm track ahead of you with a farm. The path drops down to the track and if little legs are particularly tired at this point you can turn left on the track and take it back to the car park. However, to continue along this route (and find two more geocaches), turn right onto the track.

The Footbridge

A short distance along the track, just beyond the farm wall, you will see a wooden signpost for Dale Head and Little Town. There isn’t a clear path initially, but if you look to your left, you will clearly see the bridge over the stream. Head towards the bridge and cross over it, stopping to search for the nearby hidden geocache. On the other side of the bridge, turn left onto the farm track. This level stretch of track features plenty of puddles for splashing. During the spring time, you may also spot frogspawn and tadpoles in some of the larger puddles. Your final geocache is located on this track.

Returning to the Car Park

After just under a mile, you will notice that the track begins to ascend again, and on your left-hand side, the car park will be visible below. Just after you have walked past the car park, look out for a small, stepped turning on the left, marked with a large gorse bush. Take this path down to the stile and it will lead you back onto the road. Turn left to return to your car.