Great Howe Thirlmere
Great Howe is reached by walking east on the road past the dam and taking the footpath up the steps and into the woods as soon as you leave them dam. From here follow the twisting path through the woods until you meet an intersection of footpaths from here you should head up the path which goes up the hill. This will turn slightly to the right as you go around the crag,there is a small branch which turns off to the right near the top as this will take you to the south side and to an open view across the lake which has a nice bench for you to relax on.
The view from Great Howe
Jaguar gr3 from great howe
Ariel view of Northern Thirlmere, courtesy of the Cumbria Hangliding club. Click the picture to get a larger image to display with aircraft routes and locations
Royal Navy Jetstream approaching the dam
Jetstream caught between Raven crag and Great Howe
How to get up there. Click image for larger diagram
Jaguar shot at around 400mm
Great Howe offers the photographer a view of a lifetime, overlooking Thirlmere . This location gives you plenty of warning as the aircraft round the bend at Rough crag a couple of miles in front of you, before they get into range and give you a nice side on shot as they nip between Great Howe and Raven Crag . Although it as been noticed that aircraft are starting to use the eastern side of Great Howe more and more which is not good news if you are at this location because they will be blocked by trees and the hill. It is recommended that you use a zoom with a reach of 400mm at this location because it is wider than you think and Hawks and Tucanos will probably not fill the frame unless they fly hugging the eastern bank. In the afternoons on sunny days, you will find yourself shooting into the sun and its nasty reflection of the lakes surface so care is needed with light readings.
The location click image for large picture
Sadly this location is only reachable for able bodied and fit people. Although good views of the lake and aircraft can be obtained from the area at the dam .