Walking into the ruins of Gunnerside Gill for the first time aged 6

How to walk the Gunnerside Gill circular

Directions to be used alongside a map

1. Beginning at the Gunnerside honesty box car park, use the village hall/ institution as your start point and head directly up the grassy hill opposite the front entrance. The Old Smithy (which dates back to 1795 - and is still working!) is on your right and there is a gate in the drystone wall ahead. Head through this and go straight on. You will be walking steeply up a grassy hill. The wall will be to your right for a short distance, then you will begin to bear left, moving further and further away from it. Continue to follow this path until it reaches the main stony track, at which point, bear right.

2. You will stay on this track for 1.5 miles (ignoring any offshoots down to the edge of Gunnerside Beck at this point). At Botcher Gill Gate, the road heads around to the left, following the contour of the gill. The track goes through a gate, and you will see a waterfall in the depths of the gill. It’s pretty, but sadly not accessible, so appreciate from a distance! The track continues over the beck, and up the other side. You will soon see a signpost on your right pointing ‘public footpath and public bridleway’. You need to follow the public bridleway sign.

3. The path continues around the edge of the gill and will slowly descend to the footbridge and a hub of lead mine ruins - pictured above. You will pass North Hush (hushing is an old lead mining technique of using flooding or torrential water to reveal the mineral veins, it has left scars on the landscape that are visible to this day) and as you head down to the footbridge and waterfall, here you have an option.

4. Option 1 (avoiding steep unguarded drops and narrow paths) You can cut the walk a little short here, and trim off half a mile off by simply jumping to step 6. Option 2 (better for more confident explorers) Or you can continue a little further up the gill for another waterfall and ruin. For the latter, you need to head on the path that continues along the left hand side of the gill. It is narrow, and it has steep drops to your right. Below you, you will see a waterfall and you need to cross the water above this after around a quarter of a mile. There are more ruins to explore on the far side of the gill, and when you have, head back along the eastern side of the gill, until the ruins and footbridge appear again. Now take the offshoot path, that winds steeply back down to the footbridge and waterfall, there are steep drops here too, so if in doubt, just stick to the main area.

5. Head to the far end of the ruins of Blakethwaite Smelt Mill (you will be able to find this using the information board that’s attached to the side) and take the little stone steps that descend from there to a narrow footpath heading along the edge of the water of the beck. After about a quarter of a mile, the path ascends the scree of the Friarfold and Gorton Hushes, but you can take a detour briefly to the opposite side of the beck to go and explore the entrance to the Priscilla Level which has an abandoned mining cart outside it (this is fun to see!)

6. Back on the rising path, you will eventually see the cairns at the ruins of the Bunting Level, which was the main access to the workings on the east side of Gunnerside Gill. There is a signpost pointing to Gunnerside, along a wide stony track, and this is your route. Head south along the track until you reach another large stony cairn. Here, there is a waymarker. You need to take the right fork, labelled public footpath, which will take you downhill to more ruins. After passing through a stone stile in the wall, you will see the ruins of the old mine shop on your right. You need to cross the beck to reach this, and further up, to find the Sir Francis Level.

7. Once explored, head back across the beck to the path and continue along the eastern side of the Gill, keeping the water to your right.

8. You will shortly see the ruins of the Sir Francis Dressing Floor on your left and then continue along the path into Birkbeck Wood. At all times the path is clear and easy to follow and is well walked and way-marked. Keep the water to your right all the way back towards the village of Gunnerside. After around a mile, you will reach the buildings of the village. The path heads around the back of a building, then through a gate. At the end of that path, descend the steps, turn left along the track and head back into Gunnerside.

Last walked March 2025

The Priscilla Level

The cairn at the ruins of the Bunting level