We head south on the A6 to the large town of Penrith in search of the Penrith Beacon.

As we entered the town, we turned left and parked just beyond the Beacon Edge Cemetery under a tree to keep the car a bit cool for our return.

Path up to the Penrith beacon

Before we left home dad had looked on the map as to where the beacon was to be found, all that we had to do was find the start of the path off up the hill.

A drainage ditch

Pointing to our left was a wooden sign just after some houses indicating our adventure was about to begin.

Climbing a few steps and negotiating a swing gate, we steadily walked into the woods along a permissive pathway.

After the recent heavy rain the path was remarkably dry, so it looked like we were going to stay clean.

Underfoot, the trail was as sandy as a beach in places and was punctuated by drainage ditches carefully positioned bridging the walkway to carry away any water that may hesitate on the fellside.

Buster finds some grass

Lush green vegetation and tall trees lined our route providing  a canopy from the warm sun above.

Sometimes the path changed from sand to more organised stones, arranged it seemed, into a rough cobbled street, not out of place in an old book with a horse and cart trundling across.

Charlie out in front ...

Mum and Dad wondered if this route had been used for hauling timber from the forest or as an old tradesmans route across the fells.  It did seem however a little bit steep in places to accommodate something the size of an ox powered wagon.

We passed a few people on our journey to the top of the hill, including one man who was running to the top.

As we ventured further into the woods we caught glimpses of Penrith between the trees.

We spot a reptile in the undergrowth

Beyond the town are the Lake District fells and mountains including Skiddaw and Helvellyn bathed in summer sunshine.

Dad wishes he had brought the binoculars and mum was glad he hadn’t.

Our constant companions were the small flies called midges.  Thankfully they were not biting but they filled the air with faint buzzing and tried to gang up on us every so often.

Penrith beacon

Flies were not the only things keeping an eye on us, as we spotted this little fellow basking in the sun.  Could it be a lizard?  Mum was not sure and needs to consult her identification books, unless you know ?

The trail eventually opened out to a plateau upon which sat a four sided sandstone building with a pointy roof.

Grills and a solid metal door prevented any access to the structure which looked to be being used as a large dustbin.

Assorted pieces of rubbish, including broken glass bottles were wedged into the lower openings which sadly made getting close to the structure dangerous for our paws.

Hundreds of years of graffiti were etched into the soft sandstone.

Surrounding the beacon was a grassed area, pot marked with the occasional remnants of camp fires.

The view of Penrith

A few people were taking advantage of the high location, 937ft,  to pass the time with a good book and get some sunbathing done.

Between the trees Penrith could be clearly seen. At the centre of the view in the foreground is the railway line.

It is thought that a beacon has been on this site since Roman times with the current structure being built in 1719.

Fire beacons were often positioned in prominent positions and provided a method of signalling in the event of attack.

At the first sign of invasion the alarm would be raised by making a fire on a hillside which could be seen from a neighbouring beacon site.  They in turn would light their fire and continue the chain of alarm.  A message could be transmitted over great distances very quickly this way to summon help or assistance.

Directions from the vantage point

The current Beacon sits on a 300 acre plantation on land owned by The Earl of Lonsdale . The Lonsdale Family purchased the land from the Enclosure Commissioners for £4000 in 1901.

According to an article in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald April 15 1918 the wood was all but removed.  It has since been replanted following the war effort by the Forestry Commission.

William Wordsworth was inspired by the location in his poem  ‘Prelude‘

Woodland marker

Situated next to the main building is a marker stone outlining the places visible form the vantage point. This was installed in 1995 by the Lions Club of Penrith.

Our gentle walk to the summit had taken about 40 minutes and after spending around 10 minutes at the summit we retraced our steps back down the hill.

Trees were planted in 1927 in one area we past on our return journey to the town.

We wondered if a celebration was held when the marker post was installed or if it marks any special occasion.

A cool drink of water awaited us in the car and a good rest whilst dad drove home.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie