The route along the side of Ulverston's canal is a delight at all times, but it is particularly attractive now that spring has arrived. The ducks are busy tending ducklings and fishermen sit patiently waiting for a tug on their rods.

The track, once the towpath, is tarmacked and provides a very good surface for wheelchairs and buggies. It is just over a mile long, very straight and, being level, makes for good walking for those who cannot manage hills. There are no stiles. The canal was engineered by John Rennie and is believed to be the widest, shortest and deepest cut' in Britain. It was opened on November 18, 1796, to bring the ships of Ulverston's coastal trade closer to the town centre. Gunpowder, Kirkby slate, Coniston copper, iron ore, malted barley, bobbins, hoops, charcoal from the pitsteads of Furness, and linen were all exported. Alas by the 1850s the new Furness Railway had taken over the bulk of this trade and the canal died a slow death. The last ship is believed to have entered the canal during the Second World War. Then the canal entrance was sealed off with concrete. Today the site is owned and looked after by GlaxoSmithKline.

Start the route from the car park of Booths supermarket, grid ref 295787. The store lies to the south-west of the roundabout on the A590 at the eastern edge of Ulverston. The manager of the store is very happy for wheelchair users to leave their cars in the disabled bays. If these are full he suggests you park in the very large area behind the recycling bins. From here it is easy for wheelchair users or buggy pushers to reach the pavement that runs towards the town, with only the access road to the main car park to cross. From the disabled bays, a winding tarmacked path runs up to the pavement, cutting off the corner. Using this avoids crossing the access road, but it is an ascending slope.

  • 1/ Follow the pavement for about 100 yads. At a turn between dwellings, signed Canal Head, turn left down a slope, with the canal basin to your right. Here you will want to pause to watch the many ducks and geese on this large stretch of water.
  • 2/ Carry on along the way to pass under the railway bridge below which flows the canal. To the left stretch fields with sheep, cows and horses grazing peacefully. Beyond rise the picturesque Furness Fells. On the other side of the canal, work is going on removing some of the derelict remnants of the old docks, warehouses, rope works and timber yards.
  • 3/ Head on along the towpath, once used by horses towing sea-going ships to the canal basin. Soon you arrive at a footbridge over the cut, once a rail crossing to Glaxo's. The lines over the towpath are recessed to avoid impeding wheels. Beyond, look left through a gap in the bushes for a good view of the Hoad Monument. Continue on along the path, now with the Glaxo factory on the far side, its many convoluted pipes, metal platforms, gleaming buildings and towers reminding one of a space station. It is enormous but it has a neatness and organisation about it that will please those with a bent for some of the modernistic paintings.
  • 4/ When you arrive at the end of the cut, look for the remains of the old lock which once controlled the tidal flow into the waterway. Here look for the charming iron seat with its decorative squirrel and grape end pieces, the design originating from the Furness Railway at the end of the 19th century. As you cross the bridge over the cut, notice where the canal is sealed. Then pause here and look over the Leven Estuary to the splendid viaduct strung out across the water. Beyond is the Bay Horse Hotel, once a coaching inn in the days of crossing the sands of Morecambe Bay on foot, by horseback or coach.
  • 5/ After a pause here, return by the same route with more good views of Hoad and of the Furness Fells.

Information Distance: 2 miles Time: 2 hours - includes time to stop and enjoy the views Terrain: Level tarmacked road. Between the latter and the deep water of the canal there is only a low bank so care should be taken with young children, not anchored in their buggies.

Map: OS Explorer OL 7 Refreshments: The Bay Horse Hotel, Booths Restaurant, The Lantern House restaurant, part of the Heron Glass building in the car park.

Toilets: In both stores and at the end of the canal, where you should turn left instead of crossing the bridge. Accessed by a Radar Key.

NB Booths supply trolleys to hook on to wheelchairs.