Favourite Footpaths in the Lake District

WHAT'S your favourite footpath in the Lakes? Our question was prompted by a competition set up by the Ramblers organisation to find the UK’s favourite footpath. Well, we think there’s so much choice here in the Lakes that you don’t need to look any further. We’ve chosen five that we love...including a surprise entry at number five. Read on, then let us know which is YOUR favourite footpath in the Lakes.

Around Buttermere

This delightful circular walk is a favourite footpath in the Lakes for many visitors. Buttermere is in the western Lake District, accessed through Borrowdale and then over the spectacular Honister Pass. Down at the other side you’ll come to Gatesgarth, where there’s a pay and display car park. This is the start of your walk around one of the loveliest of all the lakes. It’s about five miles all the way round, but there are no steep hills, just a few rocky sections on the lakeside paths...and a thrilling tunnel to walk through which was cut through the rock.

The views all the way round are spectacular. Buttermere lies at the head of the River Cocker and is overlooked by impressive mountains including Fleetwith Pike and the delightfully-named Haystacks, which the guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright considered the best of them all. (He died in 1991 and his ashes are scattered up there.) At the far end is Buttermere village and the Buttermere Court Hotel, which used to be known as the Fish Inn. The inn became famous in a Victorian melodrama, for it was here that Mary Robinson, known as the Beauty of Buttermere, was seduced and bigamously married to John Hatfield. Mary’s second marriage was happier and she lived to a ripe old age largely unaware that her story was famous in literature and would be portrayed on the London stage. Her tale has been the subject of a novel and stage play by Melvyn Bragg.

Along the Windermere shore

This is the perfect round trip for anyone staying here in Windermere and wanting to leave the car behind. Walk down into Bowness and take the ferry across to the Claife shore, and there you can start a walk north along the lovely quiet side of Windermere. But first, go up the steps inside the folly known as the Claife viewing station, and look at the lake through a stained glass window. It’s spectacular!

The path is wooded, occasionally undulating, and full of interest every step of the way with the water as your constant companion. Your destination is Wray Castle, another Gothic Victorian folly that you can explore inside and out. There’s the fabulous Joey’s Cafe for coffee and cake, and some of the finest trees in England just beside the castle, starting with two enormous redwoods, a Coast and a Giant. From here follow the footpath back down to the lake shore and wait for the “Green” cruiser to pick you up for a sail to Waterhead. From there, hop on a bus back home. The bus stop is right outside our gate. A perfect day out.

Orrest Head

We never tire of this delightful path to the little summit just across the road from us here at the Cedar Manor. Definitely a contender for our favourite footpath in the Lakes. It takes you to the finest viewpoint to see all the Lake District fells spread out before you, with the full length of Windermere in the foreground. And yet you can be up there in about 20 minutes. Parts of the path have been re-laid and redesigned to make it fully accessible for wheelchairs and push chairs. It’s all waymarked, and at the top is a splendid seat and panoramic illustration of the fells you’re looking at. Just what Wainwright didn’t have all those years ago when he first came to the Lakes and walked up here. Just as well; he might not have needed to write all those guidebooks.

Howtown to Glenridding

Here’s another way to enjoy a favourite footpath in the Lakes. And this one runs along the shore of our very favourite lake, Ullswater. Head over the Kirkstone Pass to Glenridding and here you can catch one of the Ullswater Steamers which will ferry you up and across the water. Howtown is a tiny unspoiled place, but you can have a coffee before you set off back. Try the delightful tearoom here then head along the lakeshore path. It’s around seven miles, and a much more winding and rocky path than the one beside Windermere. Across on the other side of the lake you can see the magnificent Helvellyn range of mountains. But here, just above you, are some delightful smaller fells which are much less well known and quieter. If you have the time and feel like a proper climb, do the detour up Hallin Fell. Then it’s back along the lakeshore and around the foot of the lake back to Glenridding.

Lakeland Way

And let’s finish off with a giant of a route which looks set to become a favourite footpath in the Lakes...all 144 miles of it! The Lakeland Way is a new long-distance walk traversing picturesque valleys and over mountain passes, starting and finishing at the small coastal village of Ravenglass. At a steady pace it’s going to take you about 12 days, so you’ll probably want to do this in sections. But it takes you through some of the finest Lakeland scenery.

The walk follows old coach and drove roads, and tracks used by early traders travelling between the valleys by packhorse. On some sections you’ll follow in the footsteps of Roman soldiers, as they marched along the valleys and high over the fells between strategically located forts. The Lakeland Way has been devised to take in the scenery, nature and history, rather than being a rush to bag summits along the way. It is not an “official route” or waymarked, but it’s the personal creation of walking enthusiast, Richard Jennings. He’s dedicated it to the people who have worked and shaped this wonderful landscape. And he took the header image above, of the footpath from Warnscale to Buttermere.