Best walk from Roose

Roose Station to Dalton Station

A mainly level, largely off-road walk with one slightly hilly section, running from Roose station on the outskirts of Barrow-in-Furness to the ruins of Furness Abbey and on to the small town of Dalton-in-Furness. From Roose the route heads north along Salthouse Lane to join the Abbey Greenway, crossing the Red River by footbridge and climbing gently to a gate that reveals the first view of Furness Abbey in its natural amphitheatre, the Vale of Nightshade. The ruined Cistercian abbey dates from the 1100s and was once the second most important of its order in England, with its own railway station. From the abbey the walk enters the Woodland Trust's Abbots Wood, passing the site of Abbotswood House, then climbs gently over field and lane to Long Lane and the Newton crossroads. It continues into Dalton past the Brown Cow Inn and Goose Green, before climbing to the market square and Dalton Castle, a National Trust pele tower, and dropping down Market Street to Dalton station.

6km. 2h.

Highlights: Furness Abbey (The ruined 12th-century Cistercian abbey set in the wooded valley known as the Vale of Nightshade, once the second most important Cistercian house in England) and Dalton Castle (A National Trust 14th-century pele tower standing in the market square at the top of the town).

Documented by Visit Lake District / Lakes Line Rail User Group.