B5286
| B5286 | ||||
| Location Map ( geo) | ||||
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| From: | Hawkshead (SD348987) | |||
| To: | Clappersgate (NY365035) | |||
| Distance: | 3.6 miles (5.8 km) | |||
| Meets: | B5285, A593 | |||
| Highway Authorities | ||||
| Traditional Counties | ||||
| Route outline (key) | ||||
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The B5286 is a short B-road, almost entirely in north Lancashire.
The road starts just north of the very pretty village of Hawkshead, a tourist paradise between Windermere and Coniston. The actual start point is a TOTSO junction with the B5285, with our road gaining the priority as it heads away from Hawkshead, presumably the busier route for traffic. In the corner of the junction is the ancient Courthouse.
No sooner have we left the speed limit from Hawkshead then we seem to enter that for Outgate. This is one of the many hamlets that line our way as we wind northwards, the road undulating, twisting and turning as it goes. The scattered houses are interspersed with woodland and small fields as we slowly drop down to cross the Pull Beck.
Beyond the stream, which discharges into nearby but hidden Windermere, the road climbs gently through a larger area of woodland, dips briefly to cross Blake Beck and then emerges once more to cross open land once more. Soon we drop down to the River Brathay, the road briefly running along the bank of the wide channel before a sharp left turn takes us over the little bridge and immediately up to a steep junction with the A593. This can be quite a bottleneck in the busy summer months, taking some time to slowly cross the bridge and turn onto the busy Coniston Road.