Tour of the Lake District - A Walker's Guidebook

• Location
• Description
• Contents
• Introduction
• Sample Route
• Maps
• Updates
• Reviews
• Further Reading

About the Tour

The Lakes are well known as premier hill walking country. They are also well served by guidebook writers. As I glance along my bookshelf, dog-eared copies of the late Alfred Wainwright’s hand-written guides to the Lakeland fells rub spines with Poucher’s books, lavishly illustrated with his magnificent black-and-white photographs. These are just two of the more famous names in the genre.

At least three established long-distance walks include the Lake District – Wainwright’s Coast to Coast passes through the western fells before heading east to Shap and Yorkshire; the Dales Way concludes at Windermere; and the Cumbria Way bisects the county with a line through the central fells. But there is no definitive, purely Lake District long-distance route.

Offering a flavour of each of the main Lakeland valleys, and time to stop and wonder at their charms – a hidden waterfall in Eskdale, the morning mist over Buttermere, the tour described in this book leads quickly away from the busy tourist centres to the quiet pleasures of the fell country. Designed as a scenic tour of the Lake District, the route is primarily one of valleys and passes, rather than a tick-list of peaks attained. The shepherds and drovers chose their paths well, logical links from one valley to the next, and many of these ancient ways have been chosen for this walk. All footpaths and bridleways used are on established rights of way.

The walk starts at the railway terminus at Windermere town, quickly leaving the crowds behind to gain a little height and give a view over the ground to be covered in the next few days. The route continues onwards along a drove road to Ambleside, before heading over Loughrigg to the Langdale valley and the heart of the Lake District. It then passes through the beautifully wooded slate mining areas of Elterwater and Tilberthwaite to the lakeshore village of Coniston under the shadow of the Old Man, one of Lakeland’s best-known peaks. From Coniston, another drove road leads over Walna Scar to peaceful Dunnerdale before dropping into Eskdale.

The route from Eskdale to Wasdale is a picturesque, easy day of woods, fields and country pubs. From here, now in the quiet and less visited western fells, the way leads to wild Ennerdale and Black Sail Youth Hostel, the most remote point on the walk. Then, it descends through Scarth Gap pass to dramatic views of the Buttermere valley and through the lakeside woods to Buttermere village. A day through the bracken-covered fellsides of Newlands valley leads to the market town of Keswick, and a welcome dose of civilisation after a few days in the wilds.

South from Keswick, the walk offers picture-postcard views of Derwentwater and then continues on through the lush scenery of Borrowdale before heading up into the high country to reach Grasmere. Leaving Wordsworth’s home village, the route then heads over to Ullswater before returning back to Windermere via the Troutbeck valley.

Planning and preparation

Much of the route uses ancient trails linking the valleys that were established by traders and travellers in times past for their relative ease and safety – a drover would not have willingly taken his herd over the high peaks when a suitable alternative through a mountain pass was available. Today these trails make perfect sense for a long-distance walking route – well established yet often quiet; scenic without being overly strenuous; an engaging experience rather than simply a walk between points of interest. The intention of the Tour is to lead the walker into some of the most visually stunning and historically interesting scenery in Britain, and to experience its wildness, nature and people first hand. It is not intended as an endurance test.

Any moderately fit person with some experience of walking could undertake the Tour. A simple fitness check would be to load up a rucksack with the amount of gear you intend to carry (this will vary on whether you plan to camp or stay in hotels). Now check whether you can comfortably and enjoyably walk, say, 10 miles over undulating but not mountainous terrain with such a load. If not, spend some time in the weeks and months leading up to your trip building up your stamina with small walks until you reach this level of fitness.

The main route has been divided into 12 short stages between potential overnight stops (see table p15). In some cases these stopping points may be villages with a wide range of hotels, hostels and B&Bs; in other cases they may be simply a solitary youth hostel up in the fells.

These 12 stages can be combined to create longer days, or you can make your own intinerary based on shorter days. Combining several of the shorter stages could create a seven-day walk, well within the capabilities of the averagely fit walker. In this way the Tour comfortably fits into a week’s holiday, with travelling time at either end. (Your itinerary is likely to be based around the availability of accommodation and facilities, which are detailed in the table on p18.

If you have more than a week, consider timetabling rest days or days to explore the surroundings from one of the overnight halts. You might be able to fit in some of the high-level alternative routes in Part 3 and the day walks in Part 4, if time and energy permit.

High-level alternatives

For those for whom the pull of the high mountains is too great to resist, there are some excellent high-level walking alternatives described in Part 3. These include options for Coniston Old Man, Scafell Pike (England’s highest mountain) and Helvellyn.

Each of these high-level alternatives can be substituted for a stage of the main Tour. For example, for the walk between Coniston and Eskdale, you have the choice of the main route Stage 4, following the Walna Scar road, or taking the high-level alternative route 1 (High Level 1) over Coniston Old Man – both end in Eskdale.

If your fitness and experience levels are up to it, it’s well worth considering at least one of these high-level alternatives – on a fine day your efforts will certainly be rewarded with an experience to remember. Note the ‘fine day’ caveat – conversely there is no joy in climbing a Lakeland peak in the mist, to arrive at the summit tired and cold with a view of – mist! (It is particularly important to read the sections on ‘Navigation and Outdoor Safety’ in this Introduction if you are taking the high-level routes.)

Taking all the high-level alternatives in the guide would create a challenging eight-day walk of just over 97 miles (156.5km).