River Brock Walk

 Sun 11 Oct 2020

You can find an index to my other walks here

I set off for a different sort of walk; having read that walking in woodland is good for one's immune health I wanted to do such a walk but near my home there are no woods. So I was on the way to Grizedale Bridge, intending to walk in Holme Wood, when I passed over the Brock at New Bridge near a house called Brock Side and decided to park there and walk up to Brock Mill, half of which path passes through woodland.

    It was too warm for what I was wearing, so soon I stopped to put my big coat and pullover in the rucsack. The ground was initially dry, but past Walmsley Bridge I was walking through wet grass. There were many about, mostly with dogs, of course, and a lot of children.

Just after the next field the path, muddy and slippery, is a terrace above the river, which is in spate after all the rains of the week. I wondered if I should be able to return along this path with the drop, a good twenty feet, on the left above the raging water. So I turned and tried it out - and thankfully, and to my joy, was able to pass along the narrowest part quite comfortably.

 

After two or three more fields Brock Bottom lane was reached, which leads down almost to the river, and to reach Brock Mill the path goes straight forward. A very muddy lane goes off to the right to reach what is shown on the map to be a footbridge. Hidden by trees and thick foliage, this bridge is shown to lead to a road providing an alternative return route to Walmsley Bridge. I found a dry place to sit in the sun to eat my snack lunch and afterwards as there were so many groups passing to and fro I decided not to go on to Brock Mill but to use the footbridge. I had seen a few people going down the muddy lane, but then coming back, and I discovered why - there is no bridge! There is only a tangle of trees and bushes, where there is a ruin of some kind, and the path then simply ends. I could hear the river crashing along, but couldn't see it. So I had to turn back like the others, and return over the wet fields. This was actually quite good: the long grass soon cleared up the mud on my boots.!

 

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    It was surprisingly warm in the sun, so soon I stopped to put my big coat and pullover in the rucsack. The ground was initially dry, but past Walmsley Bridge I was walking through wet grass. There were many people about, mostly with dogs, of course, and a lot of children. Just after the next field the path, muddy and slippery, is on a narrow terrace above the river, which was in spate after all the rains of the week. I wondered if I should be able to return along this path with the drop, a good twenty feet, on the left above the raging water. So I turned and tried it out - and thankfully, and to my joy, was able to pass along the narrowest part quite comfortably.

    After two or three more fields Brock Bottom lane was reached, which leads down almost to the river, and to reach Brock Mill the path goes straight forward. A very muddy lane goes off to the right to reach what is shown on the map to be a footbridge. Hidden by trees and thick foliage, this bridge is shown to lead to a road providing an alternative return route as far as  Walmsley Bridge. I found a dry place to sit in the sun to eat my snack lunch and afterwards as there were so many groups passing to and fro I decided not to go on to Brock Mill but to use the footbridge. I had seen a few people going down the muddy lane, but then coming back, and I discovered why - there is no bridge! There is only a tangle of trees and bushes, where there is a ruin of some kind, and the path then simply ends. I could hear the river crashing along, but couldn't see it. So I had to turn back like the others, and return over the wet fields. This was actually quite good because the long grass soon cleared up the mud on my boots.

    As I'd hoped, the narrow path above the torrent was easily negotiated without any fear of losing my balance and nerve. It was good to reach Walmsley Bridge and later walk into the field on the south side of the river where it was dry and warm. I sat on the black metal part of a harvest trailer which was really quite hot! I stopped for about fifteen minutes there and then finished the walk back at the road by Brock Side.

    An unusual walk for me, and a little disappointing because of my not reaching Brock Mill; but it was good to feel the sun and see the many oak tress which had shed thousands of acorns on the path. It has fed my body and mind and therefore I may really have boosted slightly my immune system!