Not a drive for the faint hearted. Driving due east from Ambleside, you
come to the Wrynose Pass. This is a 1281 foot pass, the road is steep ( 1
in 3 gradient) and narrow. You pass the three shires stone where the old counties
of Lancs, Westmoreland and Cumberland met. You descend into the valley of
Wrynose bottom, then ascend Hardknott pass, the more difficult of the two
passes, narrower steeper and with hairpin bends. The scenery is magnificent
and after the top at 1291 feet, you descend into Eskdale
Hardknott to Wast Water
Down from Hardknott, with its Roman fort, you pass Dalegarth station, the
end of the Ravenglass Narrow Gauge Railway, near Boot. Then follow the signs
for Eskdale Green and Wasdale. The road runs along the wild shores of Wast
Water, with the famous screes running down to the lake. The road ends at Wasdale
Head
Wast Water to Ravenglass
Follow your route back along Wast Water, then follow signs for Gosforth
and Seascale, then take the main road to Ravenglass and its Roman past
Ravenglass to Millom
Leaving Ravenglass, take the A595 again to Millom, the road is just back
from the coast, turning off for Millom a few miles before the town
Millom to Broughton and return
Form Millom, re-join the A395 to Broughton, and from there take the A593
back to Ambleside via Coniston
