The Rotary Club of West Lakeland, Grant funded

What was once a beautiful village footpath, dating back to the 1800’s from Holmrook in Cumberland, to St Paul’s Church Irton, had become unmanaged, muddy and overgrown, with insurmountable broken stiles.

The Rotary Club of West Lakeland stepped in to take on this project to make the footpath, what it is now, a beautiful accessible walk for all.

Starting at Holmrook Village, opposite The Lutwidge Arms, follow the path that takes you over a field alongside the meandering River Irt, over an old packhorse Bridge, through the old Holmrook Estate managed pastures, onto to an avenue of planted trees. The once inaccessible and boggy footpath, now drained and resurfaced by The National Parks Authority takes you up through Kirklands’ fields and on towards The Cross at St Paul’s Church. A lovely view greets you there of the Wasdale Fells and beyond. Make the return walk and you will have covered one and a half miles.

A successful application for a grant of £4,300 from the Mid Copeland GDF Community Partnership, applied for by the then President Robert Douglas, allowed for new gates to replace all stiles and for an area to be cleared to allow for woodland saplings to replace damaged trees.

A more mature Oak, has also been planted together with an elegant plaque mounted on local  sandstone, to commemorate The Coronation of King Charles III. Additional funding by West Lakeland Rotarians allowed for a new gate to be placed alongside the footpath at St Paul’s Church Irton.

We are now proud to say that two years later this path is now well and truly open for all to walk! We look forward to seeing you there!