🥾 Walking route
Beatrix Potter's Moss Eccles Tarn Walk, Hill Top
Cumbria
- 📏 2.9 km · 1.8 mi
- ⛰ +124 m
- ⏱ 45 min
- 🐕 On lead
Walk stats
- Distance2.9 km · 1.8 mi
- Elevation+124 m
- Duration45 min
- DifficultyEasy
- Route typeCircular
- TerrainQuiet lanes, farm tracks and grassy paths; one steady climb
- Best seasonLate spring to early autumn
- DogsDog friendly on leads; livestock and working farms
About this walk
This gentle circular walk from Near Sawrey climbs out of the village and up to Moss Eccles Tarn, a peaceful stretch of water tucked into the hills above Hill Top. Setting off past the Tower Bank Arms and St Peter's Church, the route follows quiet lanes and tracks that rise steadily through classic South Lakeland countryside.
The tarn itself sits in a wonderfully secluded spot, ringed by low fells and reflecting the surrounding sky, and it makes a natural place to pause before looping back down. On the return leg you pass close to Castle Wood Hill and Bowman's Coppice, with glimpses of Wilfin Beck threading through the fields below.
Back in Near Sawrey the walk finishes conveniently by the Cuckoo Brow Inn and the Tower Bank Arms, both handy for a drink at the end. At under 3 km with a modest 124 m of ascent, it packs a lot of Lakeland character into a short outing and suits families and anyone wanting an easy taste of the fells.
Route map
Route line drawn from OpenStreetMap footpath data. Numbered markers are waypoints on the route; amber star markers are points of interest a short detour away.
Waypoints along the route
3 waypoints along the way
- 1
St Peter's Church
- 2
Cuckoo Brow Inn
- 3
Tower Bank Arms
Worth a short detour
Points of interest just off the route, look for the amber markers on the map.
Castle Wood Hill
~287 m off the route
Bowman's Coppice
~384 m off the route
Wilfin Beck
~451 m off the route
Route & waypoint data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).