Walking in the Lake District: a complete planning guide

What is Best Walks in the Lake District?

Best Walks in the Lake District is Mark Richards' large-format collection of 50 circular day walks across the Lake District fells, arranged in a clockwise spiral that starts among the Langdale Pikes and works south to Coniston and Eskdale, west into Wasdale and Ennerdale, north through Buttermere and Borrowdale, over to Skiddaw and Blencathra, and finally east via Helvellyn and Ullswater to end in the quieter dale of Longsleddale. Richards calls each route a "Great Mountain Day": not simply a walk, but a full day's engagement with a fell environment that has, in his words, "all the characteristics of true mountains" and deserves the same respect.

What sets this guide apart from a generic route list is the breadth of its selection. Alongside the famous names, Scafell Pike, Helvellyn, Great Gable, Blencathra and the Langdale Pikes, it deliberately makes room for quieter fells such as Black Combe, Mellbreak and the Buckbarrow, Seatallan and Middle Fell round, on the grounds that a satisfying mountain day does not always require the busiest path. The book also carries a foreword by Sir Chris Bonington, contemporary photography throughout by Grey O'Dwyer, and Richards' own hand-drawn fellscape diagrams for every route, a signature feature carried over from his decades of Lakeland guidebook writing.

This planning guide answers the most common questions walkers have before choosing a route. For complete stage-by-stage descriptions and mapping for all 50 walks, see the Best Walks in the Lake District guidebook.

How does the guidebook divide up the Lake District?

The 50 walks are not grouped by difficulty or theme but follow the geography, moving in one continuous clockwise arc around the National Park. Broadly, they fall into these areas:

• Langdale and Coniston (Walks 1–8): From Lingmoor Fell and the Langdale Pikes south to Wetherlam and the Coniston and Duddon fells
• Eskdale and Wasdale (Walks 9–17): Black Combe, Harter Fell, Scafell Pike, Scafell, and the ring of fells around Wasdale Head, including Pillar, Great Gable and Kirk Fell
• Ennerdale and Buttermere (Walks 18–24): Haycock, Steeple, Mellbreak, the Grasmoor massif, and the High Stile and Buttermere fells
• Borrowdale and the northern fells (Walks 25–35): Great Gable and the Gable Girdle, Glaramara, the Newlands and Coledale Horseshoes, Skiddaw, Blencathra and Carrock Fell
• Helvellyn, Ambleside and Ullswater (Walks 36–48): The Dodds, Helvellyn from both north and south, the Fairfield and Scandale Horseshoes, and the Martindale and Riggindale skylines above Ullswater
• Kentmere and Longsleddale (Walks 49–50): The Ill Bell ridge and a final pair of fells above Longsleddale, where Lakeland gives way to the softer Pennine country

Three routes in the book are true horseshoes in the classic sense, the Fairfield, Newlands and Coledale rounds, though as the author points out, nearly every walk in the collection strings together more than one summit and returns to its start, so most have a horseshoe shape in practice.

The widest spread of distance and difficulty falls in Eskdale, Wasdale, Ennerdale and Buttermere, where the guide's longest and most committing Grade 3 days are concentrated. The Langdale, Coniston and Kentmere areas offer the narrowest range, making them a reliable starting point for readers working up to the harder walks further west.

Which Lake District walks are in the book?

Which walks suit beginners, families or car-free days?

The guidebook itself flags a handful of routes as good entry points or practical choices beyond a car:

• First fellwalking adventures: Walk 1, Lingmoor Fell, is highlighted as an easily accessed, straightforward traverse with a marvellous view, reachable by bus from Ambleside
• Car-free options: Walk 33 (Carrock Fell and High Pike), Walk 46 (Place Fell, reached from Glenridding by bus or lake steamer), Walk 25 (Green Gable, from Seatoller via the Keswick bus), Walk 28 (a Borrowdale wander taking in High Spy, King's How and Brund Fell, reached by bus to Rosthwaite), and Walk 37 (Helvellyn from the west via Legburthwaite, on the year-round 555 service)
• Steady climbs with big rewards: The author separately singles out Walk 17 (Seatallan) and Walk 46 (Place Fell) as routes with secure paths and richly rewarding views, notably west towards the Helvellyn range, for walkers not yet ready for steeper ground

How difficult are the walks?

Every route is graded 1 to 3 on the guidebook's own scale. Grade 1 routes are devoid of serious hazard, need only straightforward map-reading, and take up to 6 hours. Grade 2 routes are more committing, calling for a full 8-hour day and a willingness to be remote from valley bases. Grade 3 routes are rougher and tougher, with the possibility of mild scrambling, and demand composure and a good head for heights on the optional harder sections.

Sixteen of the 50 walks include a genuine, though generally brief, scrambling encounter: Walks 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 27, 30, 34, 35, 43 and 44. Almost all of these also offer a walking-only alternative for those who would rather avoid the scramble. One notable exception is flagged explicitly in the route summary table: the descent of Sharp Edge on Walk 34 is rated Grade 3 in its own right and is described as suitable only for experienced hill-goers, distinct from the Grade 1 rating of the main walk.

When is the best time to walk in the Lake District?

The fells are walkable throughout the year, but conditions vary sharply by season:

• Spring and autumn offer the most reliable underfoot conditions and clearer light, and are generally considered the sweet spot for the higher, more exposed routes in the book
• Summer brings the longest days, useful for the bigger Grade 2 and 3 outings such as Walk 19 (Steeple, Scoat Fell and Pillar) or Walk 49 (the Ill Bell range), though popular fells such as Scafell Pike and Helvellyn are busiest at this time
• Winter walking is entirely possible, and several of the author's own photographs in the book were taken in snow and ice, but the guidebook is explicit that winter conditions demand appropriate skills, equipment and route judgement, particularly on the Grade 3 scrambling sections

Whatever the season, the guide stresses checking the mountain forecast the night before and again on the morning of the walk, using the Met Office mountain forecast and the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS), since Lakeland weather is notoriously changeable.

What accommodation is available?

The walks are based around established Lake District centres rather than a single trailhead, so accommodation choice depends on which area of the book you are working through. Key bases include Ambleside, Grasmere, Keswick, Patterdale, Seatoller, Boot, Coniston, Ennerdale and Wasdale, each with a range of B&Bs, inns, campsites and, in the busier centres, hotels. Basing yourself in one of these towns for a few days makes it possible to pick off several neighbouring walks without moving accommodation, particularly around Ambleside (for the Langdale and Fairfield walks), Keswick (for the northern and Borrowdale fells) and Patterdale (for the Helvellyn and Ullswater walks). The guidebook does not include a dedicated accommodation appendix in the way a long-distance trail guide would, so it is worth booking centrally in your chosen base and checking availability directly with each town's tourist information service.

Getting there and back

Many of the walks can be reached without a car. The book's introductory essay by the Lake District National Park Authority's CEO makes a direct case for using public transport where possible, given how narrow the road network is and how limited open-country parking can be. In practice:

• Windermere is the nearest railway station for the southern and central walks (Langdale, Coniston, Ambleside, Grasmere)
• Penrith serves the northern and eastern fells (Ullswater, Helvellyn from the east, the Dodds) via connecting bus services
• Regular bus routes cover several trailheads directly, including the 555 (Ambleside–Keswick corridor, useful for Legburthwaite and Grasmere) and the 78 (Keswick to Seatoller and Rosthwaite, serving the Borrowdale walks)
• Lake steamers on Ullswater provide an alternative approach to Glenridding and Patterdale-based walks such as Walk 46, Place Fell
  Where a car is unavoidable, the guide asks walkers to use formal car parks rather than roadside verges, both to keep routes open for emergency vehicles and because parking fees contribute directly to the upkeep of the fells through schemes such as Fix the Fells.

What are the route highlights?

• Scafell Pike and Esk Pike (Walk 11): England's highest summit, reached on a long day from Brotherilkeld through the wildest part of the National Park
• The Fairfield Horseshoe (Walk 39): A classic anti-clockwise ridge round from Ambleside taking in Dove Crag, Hart Crag, Fairfield and Heron Pike
• The Newlands Round (Walk 29): Five scenic fells above Derwentwater, including Catbells, Maiden Moor and Dale Head
• The Coledale Horseshoe (Walk 31): A fine run of summits from Braithwaite including Grisedale Pike and Hopegill Head
• Green Gable and the Gable Girdle (Walk 25): Singled out by the author himself as his pick for a single unmissable day, crossing the dramatic base of Great Napes
• Sharp Edge on Blencathra (Walk 34): One of the best-known optional scrambles in the Lake District, described in the guide as exclusive to experienced hill-goers

How does Fix the Fells relate to these walks?

The guidebook devotes a dedicated chapter to Fix the Fells, the partnership behind the upkeep of the paths described in every route. With around 18 million visitors a year and increasingly severe rainfall events, the fells' thin peaty soils and steep gradients are particularly vulnerable to erosion, and Fix the Fells' team of rangers and volunteers maintains 344 upland paths across the National Park using techniques from stone drains to sub-soil inversion. The guide encourages readers to support this work directly through a voluntary donation, noting that Fix the Fells currently raises over £750,000 a year to keep the paths in this book walkable.