WALKING | A 7.2km Autumn Coastal Walk In Haverigg, Cumbria

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Walking in Cumbria, Haverigg coastal circular walkNear the start of our walk in Haverigg

Circular walk

  • Start & End Point: Haverigg Car Park
  • Distance: 4.5 miles / 7.2 Km
  • Time Taken: approximately 2 hours
  • Elevation: n/a
  • Uphill: 0/5
  • Technicality: 0/5
  • Scenery rating: 3/5

Walk Summary

This is an easy flat walk from Haverigg following the sea wall up past Hodbarrow Lake and Duddon Sands before continuing around the other side of the lake and back into Haverigg.

Duddon Sands, CumbriaWalking on the beach

Due to a combination of bad weather and a flare up of my autoimmune condition, we decided to abandon our plans to scale Black Combe, and instead opted for a short 4.5 mile coastal route, detouring along the way for a spot of geocaching, before walking along the coast, then up and around the salt water lagoon before looping back around the other side of the lake to return into Haverigg.

Walking on the beach at HaveriggMy Salomon Comet Walking GTX Walking Boots, still going strong after nearly 3 years and a lot of miles!

Despite using the MyTracks app to map our route, for some bizarre reason, it recorded us as having walked twice as far as we actually did. Strange, as I use it a lot and I’ve always found it be highly accurate, so unfortunately for this walk, I can’t provide a route map or stats.


Ordnance Survey
At the start of our walk we opened up the Geocaching app and after successfully finding one cache at the entrance to the Camping and Caravanning Club campsite, we then searched for a second nearby cache, but to no avail, only to check the app again and find many people had searched for the cache and concluded it was no longer there.

Geo caching in Haverigg CumbriaA Geocache found near the start of our walk

Undeterred, we then made the most of the low tide, which gave us a chance to fly my much loved Flexifoil Sting power kite. The wind conditions were ideal and gave consitent clean air – absolutely perfect flying conditions.

Sing Flexifoil power kit flying on the beachMy Flexifoil Sting power kite

After kite flying on the beach we then started the walk proper around the coast following the sea wall, up to a forlorn old lighthouse flanked on one side by Hodbarrow Lake, a salt water lagoon, the result of subsidence in the old quarry, and on the other side, the Duddon Estuary, with its Blue Flag beach and RSPB Nature Reserve.

Hodbarrow lake and Duddon Esturary Walk, Haverigg CumbriaHodbarrow lake, Haverigg, Cumbria

Hodbarrow lighthouseHodbarrow Liighthouse

Photograph taken from the top of the lighthouse overlooking the Duddon Esturary sea wall

Duddon Esturary wildlife information

We continued up the coast and climbed down to Duddon Sands, full of impressive rock formations with a big quartz seam clearly visibly running down from the rocks onto the beach.

Duddon Sands, Cumbria

Duddon Sands, CumbriaQuartz seam at Duddon beach

Once reaching Duddon Sands, the walk continues around the far end óf Hodbarrow Lake, and we followed the path that provided some great views of both the fells and the lake, before continuing onwards and back into Haverigg where we returned to our Air B&B accommodation for a well deserved glass of wine.

The view looking back towards the coast from the far side of Hodbarrow Lake

This was my first experience of staying in Air B&B accommodation and I have to admit to being impressed. Whilst the decor of our weekend rental wasn’t my usual preferred interior style, it was warm, cosy and made a great base for our weekend away. I’d feared that I’d feel a bit like a home invader, but whilst it felt homely, it didn’t feel too personal or weird!

Jack Wolfskin UK

The path around the other side of Hodbarrow Lake, leading back into Haverigg

This was another great weekend spent outdoors on the coast, in an area of the Lake District that remains much less visited than other areas of the Lakes thanks to its more isolated coastal position, but it’s a wonderful area for a peaceful weekend outdoors with superb walking and wonderful scenery that is definitely worth a visit.

Shell Robshaw-Bryan Walking in Haverigg Cumbria

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