With Harriet Sharkey Miles without Stiles is a series of walks on easy surfaces, chosen for people with pushchairs, accompanied wheelchair users and walkers who prefer to take it easy.

All of the walks incorporate flat, easy sections, and many have optional sections with rocky ground or increased gradient that may be navigated by walkers and those with off-road pushchairs. Wherever possible, the walks begin and/or end where there are facilities for refreshments.

The walks have been selected by Harriet Sharkey, of Levens, from routes recommended by the Lake District National Park Authority and assessed by rangers; and from a network of established 'Greenways' and quiet roads in the Barrow Peninsular.

BROUGHTON is a quiet and picturesque South Lakeland village set in gentle hills between Coniston and Ulverston. This relaxing and enjoyable path along the old railway line has for several years been a popular route for many locals, and was recently upgraded so it’s now suitable for horses, bikes, pushchairs and, for much of the way, for wheelchairs too.

It’s a pleasant amble, wide and straight, passing beneath bridges, through cuttings and woodland, with glimpses across open countryside to distant fells. The route is short and you can take your time, particularly around the ponds where you can rest a while to watch the bird life and take in a spot of fishing if you wish.

You can pick up a permit and a fishing licence, if you need one, from the Tourist Information Centre in Broughton.

The route To get to the beginning of the route, you can start in the Market Square. Follow Market Street. This runs to the beginning of the railway track, which is on the left hand side. A more suitable place to start, if you have a wheelchair, may be Station Road, which is level and meets Market Street just before the entrance to the railway track.

There’s no difficulty navigating the railway track as it’s straight down the line, following the route of the old railway that once ran up as far as Coniston Village. The track begins {1} behind houses and passes through wooded embankments, where the craggy stone is dappled with mosses, ferns, brambles and other native greenery. When the embankments slope away, they are replaced by woodland, mostly ash, whose growth is being encouraged by moving back and improving stock proof fences. Look out for red squirrels - you may get a lucky sighting.

As you approach the first arched stone bridge, a track to your left leads to the first water hole {2} Broughton Tower Lake, surrounded by reed beds. There’s a bench here and you could spend time looking out for moorhens, coots, wagtails and warblers, and the fish that attract them. Back on the main track, the woodland thins down and there are vistas across fields to the Kirkby fells. There’s a second pond a little further along on the left.

The track then passes over a new bridge made with the reclaimed railway sleepers, and overlooks a field grazed by cows. It rolls on calmly until coming to the end at the border of a field and some woodland {3}. The route may one day run along more of the disused line, further towards Coniston Village - the way to the shores of Coniston Water. For now, though, the options are to saunter back the way you came, or follow the steep path down hill, over the bicycle-size cattle grid (complete with hedgehog escape route) and onto the Five Arches Road. This is typically quiet, but meets a much busier road for the last 50 yards into Broughton, so is not recommended except for proficient cyclists.

- This walk is taken from a collection of more than 20 routes in the Lake District National Park that have been earmarked and maintained by the LDNPA and are suitable for people with limited mobility. The routes, which have been checked by park rangers, are described in a special booklet available from Tourist Information Centres and are covered on the authority's website: www.lake-district.gov.uk.

INFORMATION

Overview: Easy gravel surface, finely dusted at first; optional route for return involves steep gradient and narrow road used by local traffic but this joins a busier road for the last 50 yards so isn’t particularly suitable.

Distance: 2.5 km (about 1.5 miles) from start to finish and back again.

Time: Roughly one hour to do the whole thing.

Map Ref: Outdoor Leisure Series 6 GR 212876.

Parking: Broughton centre or Station Road.

Gradients: Flat. There is a steep section at the end for cyclists and walkers but it’s too steep and rough for wheelchairs.

Refreshments: In Broughton.

Toilets: Just off Market Square (including disabled access with Radar Key).

Public transport: Buses from Ulverston, Coniston and Barrow. Trains run to Foxfield station, around 1.5 km (about one mile) from Broughton.

Wheelchairs: There is a wheelchair available at the Methodist church: if you require it, please call ahead to the TIC 01229-716115 (winter hours 10am-12.30pm)