Autumn colours at Giggle Alley

Finally, after almost a year of waiting, we have visited Giggle Alley in the south west of Cumbria.

Giggle Alley is a woodland area at one end of Eskdale Green, near Gosforth. It is managed by the Forestry Commission.

Dad found out about this place towards the end of last year.  He has had it pencilled in his diary, as a must visit place for autumn colours, ever since.

Japanese Garden

Entering the village of Eskdale Green from the west, we were unsure as to where we needed to be. However, just beyond the general store we noticed a small free car park and decided to park the car.

As it turns out, we were in the ideal position as the entrance to Giggle Alley was around 50m away up a gravel path.

A small gap in the stone wall and a few small signs indicated the way towards our adventure. Ahead lay the woods and a set of steps which were a little, shall we say random, in design.

Nailed to small posts at the top of the steps were a number of temporary signs.  One indicated that the the area we were standing in was once covered with larch trees.  These toppled over during the storms of 2005 and had to be removed.  A planting scheme is currently in operation to replace them.

Our path curved around to our right and we exited, quite suddenly onto the edge of a Japanese garden.

Designed by Thomas Mawson

The Japanese Garden was commissioned by Lord Rea and designed by Thomas Mawsons team of garden designers in 1913-14.

Lord James Hall Rea, was the owner of the adjacent Gate House Mansion, which was built as a retreat in 1896.

Thomas Mawson is well known in the area as a garden designer, having designed elements of the gardens at Brockhole on the shores of Windermere and others nearby.

It is thought that Lord Rae wanted the gardens of his retreat to surpass those of nearby Muncaster Castle.

At its heart are a series of pools (now filled only when it rains) surrounded by bamboo, magnolia and maples.

It fell into disrepair in the 1940’s but is currently being restored by local volunteers.

Walk around the woods

As with many of the woods and forests at this time of the year, the autumn colours are really starting to show.  The Acers or Japanese Maples. offer exceptional contrasting colours against the native oak.

The path structure around and through the garden seems at first a little confusing, as it is not really clear where to go.  This is possibly because the restoration is very much a work in progress.  However, we chose a route off to our left and into the surrounding trees.

What an adventure we were having. Trees, rocks, hiding holes and climbing all were on offer to compliment the thousands of new sniffs.

Floating logs

One of our paths allowed us a glimpse of the amazing floating logs of Eskdale Green.

Ahead of us, and equidistant between two tall trees, we came upon a magical sight of hovering tree trunks, rising many metres into the sky.

Possibly they had religious significance or maybe we had come upon a a unique feature of a Cumbrian woodland.  We sneaked past just incase we were spotted by the forest beasties responsible for the installation.

Our path emerged further along from our starting position, but not before we had some glimpses of some wonderful Cumbrian hills and magnificent scenery .

High on the fells to Ulpha

Heading back to the car after a mornings adventures we took a few moments to walk around the village of Eskdale Green.

Inside St Bega’s Church, on the main street, are a series of illustrated boards explaining local history and the garden we had just visited.

Sadly many people will not know this information point for visitors is here, as it is not very well sign posted from the road.

Following a quick bite to eat and a visit to the toilets, near to where we parked the car, we left Eskdale Green and headed to our next location called Ulpha.

You can see for miles

Occasionally dad decides not to use the map to find a quick way home but prefers to randomly follow the road ahead.

Today was one of those occasions, as we headed up high onto the fells past Devoke Water.

High on the tops you could see for miles around and dad stopped a few times for photographs.

Ulpha Church

After about 40 minutes we arrived in a small village called Ulpha.  This is a very old village and sits on the banks of the River Duddon.

Not many visitors must stop in Ulpha, as parking is a little scarce, however a few spaces are available outside Ulpha Church.

Taking a few moments to stretch our paws we were rewarded with a lovely church, a general store and some great scenery.

The Post Office and General Store seemed to contain everything needed for an adventure into the Lake District, including ice cream.

Two licky ices were purchased and shared amongst us all, whilst sitting on a wooden bench near to the church.

Above us, birds circled in the late afternoon sunshine,  and the clouds hurtled across the sky.  It did not feel like October in Cumbria.

Until next time

Buster and Charlie

Further information

Giggle Alley restoration plan 2010