Cumbria & the Lake District
All of Cumbria, one walk at a time.
Route maps you can take with you, honest notes on parking and dogs, and the towns, pubs and places to stay at the bottom of every path. From the high fells to Hadrian's Wall and the Solway coast.
Walks
Walks to start with
Easy · 1.5 km · 50 m up
Aira Force waterfall loop
About 30 minutes
A short woodland loop on National Trust land above Ullswater to the foot and top of Aira Force, one of the Lakes' best known waterfalls.
Moderate · 5.4 km · 312 m up
Alcock Tarn from Grasmere
About 1 hour 30 minutes
A short, steep climb from Grasmere to a quiet fellside tarn, with one of the best views of the vale on the way down past Dove Cottage.
Hard · 7.1 km · 559 m up
Black Combe from Whicham church
About 2 hours 30 minutes
The great sea-facing fell at the south-west corner of the Lake District, climbed on a clear bridleway from Whicham's church.
Mountain · 9.4 km · 840 m up
Blencathra via Sharp Edge from Scales
About 3 hours 30 minutes
The Lake District's sharpest ridge: up from Scales to Scales Tarn, along the knife edge of Sharp Edge to Blencathra's summit, and down Scales Fell.
Moderate · 9.9 km · 286 m up
Arnside Knott and the shore from Arnside
About 2 hours 30 minutes
Arnside's best walk: along the Kent estuary shore to Far Arnside, then up to the toposcope on Arnside Knott for a view over Morecambe Bay.
Easy · 7.6 km · 199 m up
Borrowdale valley loop: Seatoller, Rosthwaite and Stonethwaite
About 2 hours
A low-level ramble through the heart of Borrowdale: Johnny Wood, the River Derwent, Rosthwaite and the quiet side valley to Stonethwaite.
Places
Beyond the Lakes
Most guides stop at Windermere. Cumbria keeps going: Roman forts, red sandstone towns, sea cliffs, salt marsh and some of the emptiest hills in England.
The Lake District
England's biggest national park: the high fells, sixteen lakes and the valley villages from Keswick and Ambleside to Coniston, Wasdale and Ullswater.
Eden Valley
The broad red sandstone valley of the River Eden: Penrith, Appleby-in-Westmorland and Kirkby Stephen, with the Settle to Carlisle line running through it.
Carlisle and Hadrian's Wall
Carlisle, Cumbria's only city, and the western stretch of Hadrian's Wall east through Brampton and Lanercost to Birdoswald and Gilsland.
West Cumbria Coast
Cumbria's Irish Sea coast: Georgian Whitehaven, Maryport's Roman museum, the cliffs at St Bees and Ravenglass, plus Cockermouth inland.
Furness and Cartmel
The Morecambe Bay peninsulas: Ulverston, Barrow-in-Furness, Cartmel and Grange-over-Sands, plus Arnside across the Kent estuary.
Solway Coast
A protected landscape of salt marsh, dunes and huge skies on the Solway Firth, from Silloth to Bowness-on-Solway and the end of Hadrian's Wall.
Howgills and Westmorland Dales
Rounded, grassy fells and limestone dales in Cumbria's south east: Sedbergh, Orton and the Lune valley down to Kirkby Lonsdale.
North Pennines
High moorland on Cumbria's eastern edge: Alston, Hartside Pass, Cross Fell and some of the wildest country in England.
Towns and villages:Keswick, Ambleside, Windermere, Bowness-on-Windermere, Kendal, Penrith, Carlisle, Cockermouth, Ulverston, Kirkby Lonsdale, Appleby-in-Westmorland, Alston, Whitehaven, Maryport, Grange-over-Sands, Sedbergh, Brampton, Silloth, and more.
- Autumn Potfest in the Pens
23 to 25 October 2026, Skirsgill Auction Mart, Penrith
- Cumbria Dark Skies Festival
23 October to 20 November 2026, Venues across Cumbria
- Carlisle Carnivale
Sat, 24 October 2026, Scotch Street, English Street, Bank Street and Castle Street, Carlisle
- Muncaster Halloween Family Festival
24 October to 1 November 2026, Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass CA18 1RQ
- Scarecaster at Muncaster
29 to 31 October 2026, Muncaster Castle, Ravenglass CA18 1RQ
Eat & drink
After the walk
Gilpin Hotel & Lake House
Luxury Hotel, Windermere, dogs welcome££££
A Relais & Chateaux retreat offering garden suites, a private lake house and some of the finest hotel dining in the north of England.
L'Enclume
Fine Dining, Cartmel££££
Simon Rogan's three-Michelin-starred restaurant in a former Cartmel smithy is one of the great tasting-menu experiences in Britain. Much of what reaches the table is grown on Our Farm, his own regenerative farm.
The Drunken Duck Inn
Gastropub, Barngates, dogs welcome££££
A Lakes institution on the hillside at Barngates, with a lively bar, good food, rooms and wide views towards the Langdale Pikes.
Plan
Plan the day
- Where to park
Car parks at the start of the walks, who runs them and what they charge.
- Leave the car
Walks you can reach by train, bus or lake steamer.
- Bring the dog
Routes without stiles, and pubs and stays that welcome dogs.
- When it rains
Indoor days out, and walks that are better wet.
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