Acorn Bank to Temple Sowerby walk
Enjoy this peaceful backwater and discover Acorn Bank’s surprising industrial heritage. A great stopping off point close to the M6, the estate is a haven for wildlife, perhaps best known for its collection of more than 300 varieties of herbs and its traditional fruit orchards. Crowdundle Beck flows through the area, and panoramic views can be enjoyed across the Eden Valley to the Lakeland mountains.
Total steps: 12
Total steps: 12
Start point
Acorn Bank car park, grid ref: NY617282
Step 1
Leave Acorn Bank car park and take the woodland footpath to the right downhill until you come to a wooden step stile with a dog gate. Cross the stile into the field.
Step 2
Follow the river bank through the field. Pass through the empty gateway in the fence into the next field and continue on under the viaduct ahead, following the river on the left into another field.
Step 3
From this point you can see Great Dunfell in the distance with the Civil Aviation 'golf ball' on top. In spring there is an abundance of primroses in the woodland on the other side of the riverbank. Look out for an old walled garden on your left.
Step 4
When you arrive at the old barn, go over a stile and turn right onto a tarmaced road. The church of St Edmund is on your left.
Step 5
Continue down the road into the centre of the village – you will see all the houses are built with local Crowdundle sandstone. At the crossroads turn right and walk towards Temple Sowerby. The farmhouse at the crossroads features a datestone from 1695.
Step 6
Continue on the road under the railway bridge. Look out for modern industrial buildings at Kirkby Thore to the south east. Further on, through the hedge, look out for the 'swallow holes' in the fields, where the ground has caved in from the old mine workings. Next on your right, you will see the prefab building which used to be the engine house for the gypsum mines at Acorn Bank.
Step 7
Cross the bridge over Birk Sike, a drainage ditch dug in the 18th century to drain the land for agriculture. The name Temple Sowerby means boggy or sour land belonging to the Templars. The Knights Templar owned the manor, now Acorn Bank, in the 13th century. After the road turns right, look out for a kissing gate on the left into Borough Fields.
Step 8
Go through and follow the fence line on the right, through another kissing gate into the next field, which was once part of the old strip field system of farming. Look back now for the best view of the Pennines to the north east. The conical hills are Dufton and Knock Pikes.
Step 9
Go through the next kissing gate and down the alley with the walled garden to your left. This brings you straight into the village of Temple Sowerby, a traditional Westmorland village arranged around a village green. Often referred to as the Queen of Westmorland, it once belonged to the lords of the manor at Acorn Bank. The new A66 bypass has removed the heavy traffic that, until recently, passed through the village.
Step 10
Turn right onto the tarmaced road. As you leave the village by Tanyard Lane (known locally as The Tanny), you will see a newly converted long building on your right, which is an old tannery. Temple Sowerby was a tanning village during the 18th century and would have been very smelly. The pigeon guano from the old dovecote (weathervane on top) was used in the process.
Step 11
At the T-junction you will see Acorn Bank ahead, nestling under Cross Fell. Go straight ahead, through the kissing gate into the parkland, and follow the old approach to the manor house. This would have been oak woodland back in 1600 and is how Acorn Bank got its name. Later on, it became fashionable to create parkland featuring open views and vistas.
Step 12
Cross Birk Sike again, passing through the kissing gate into another field/. You come to a metal gate beside the cattle grid. Cross the main drive into the property and go through the next gate back into the car park.
End point
Acorn Bank car park, grid ref: NY617282
Trail map
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