Skinny Dipping in Blackmoss Pot
The Lonely Planet web site has named Blackmoss Pot, approximately two miles from Stonethwaite, as one of their top 10 places to go skinny dipping. You can find Blackmoss Pot in the Langstrath valley at OSGB NY267113.
It has a waterfall at the upper end and is surrounded by steep rocks, which conceal swimmers from prying eyes on the nearby bridleway, making it ideal for a nude swim allegedly.
There is room just in front of the telephone box in the tiny village of Stonethwaite in Borrowdale for half-a-dozen or so cars. Otherwise you need to park sensibly on the verge before the village.
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Paul and Beth
Blackmoss Pot
Swimming at Black Moss Pot
- Maps:
50K: 89, 90
25K: OL4
- Start:
- NY262138 (get directions via Google Maps)
- Near to:
- Borrowdale, Derwent Water, Keswick
- Distance:
- 7.0km (4.3 miles)
- Ascent:
- 200m
- Min. time:
- 1 hrs 44 mins
- View in 3-D:
-
- Terrain:
- 2 - rough
- Bog Factor:
- 3 - wet/boggy
- Tech Diff:
- 1 - easy
- Dog issues:
- Blackmoss Pot has vertical rock sides with quite a drop into water.
Purchases:
Buy walk in Adobe/PDF format to print or for your phone or tablet
Buy route for your GPS
Walk height profile
note that gradients are usually grossly exaggerated
Route Description
Facing the telephone and letter boxes, bear left into the lane to Stonethwaite Bridge. Go over the bridge to the end of the lane, turn right and through the gate onto the wide rough path following the wall on your right. There are a number of streams crossing the path, one particularly may be difficult for a while after heavy rain. After approximately 1.5km (0.9 miles) (about 1/2 hour) a sheepfold is reached at the foot of Bleak How. Langstrath Beck joins Greenup Gill to form Stonethwaite Beck. Here turn right through the gate and cross the footbridge.
Sheepfold, footbridge below Bleak How
Follow the path across the boggy bit via the stepping stones. Keep right, there is a fence on your right and then Langstrath Beck meandering back and forth in the valley bottom. Continue below Blea Rock, the large rock looming over the path, and round to the right. At the stile do not cross but turn right and cross the boggy patch to the river. Blackmoss Pot can be found below you.
Langstrath and Blea Rock
Blackmoss Pot
Return is the reverse of the outward journey.
If you like this walk then why not try one of our other nearby walks:
| Name | Rating | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Eagle Crag, Sergeant's Crag and Ullscarf | | 58m (64 yards) away |
| Castle Crag - Borrowdale | | 1.1km (0.7 miles) away |
| Millican Dalton's Cave - Castle Crag, Borrowdale | | 1.1km (0.7 miles) away |
| Dock Tarn, Great Crag, and Watendlath, from Rosthwaite | | 1.1km (0.7 miles) away |
| The Glaramara Wainwrights | | 1.6km (1.0 miles) away |
| Scafell Pike from Seathwaite via the Corridor Route | | 3.1km (1.9 miles) away |
| A Short Walk to The Bowder Stone | | 3.1km (1.9 miles) away |
| Base Brown, Green Gable, Great Gable and Seathwaite Fell | | 3.1km (1.9 miles) away |
| Lodore Falls, Watendlath, Grange Fell, and the Bowder Stone circular | | 3.1km (1.9 miles) away |
| Grey Knotts and Brandreth circular from Honister | | 3.7km (2.3 miles) away |
Unless otherwise stated the text in this walk is the copyright of Hug Solutions Ltd trading as The Hug and the photographs are the copyright of Elizabeth Oldham. Hill data is derived from Database of British and Irish hills which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Maps contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2011 and paths © OpenStreetMap Contributors,CC-BY-SA, 2011