Walking and Scrambling in the Lake District

It's Spectacular!

The Lake District is one of the most popular rural areas in the North West of England with its infamous lakes and mountains - great for walking, running and scrambling! The central area of The Lakes is the Lake District National Park, which is one of 14 National Parks, which lies in the region of Cumbria.

The Lake District is about 885 square miles of beautiful fells, mountains, and unsurprisingly, lakes. It was designated as a National Park in 1951. The Lake District plays host to England’s only mountains that range over 3,000ft, among which is Scafell Pike – the tallest mountain in England at 978 metres (3,209ft), making the Lakes incredibly popular with people interested in hill walking. Geographically, as well as the challenge of reaching some of England’s tallest peaks it is a very picturesque place to visit. Its geography has most dramatically been influenced through extensive periods of glaciation, the most recent of which ended about 15,000 years ago. Notable features therefore include the U-shaped valleys, and the lakes that sit within them. Upper regions of the Lake District often feature high levels of rocks and cirques – amphitheatre-like valleys, with tarns - or mountain lakes. The lower levels of the Lake District fells are often open, relatively flat valleys of moorland. Both Pine and Oak forests sit beside each other, with a backdrop of 3,000ft peaks and a great range of expansive lakes, making the Lake District an excellent location for walking and hiking all year round.

10 of the highest peaks in the Lake District are:

1. Scafell Pike, 978m (3,210 ft)

2. Scafell, 965m (3,162 ft) 

3. Helvellyn, 951m (3,118 ft) 

4. Skiddaw, 931m (3,054 ft) 

5. Great End, 910m (2,986 ft) 

6. Bowfell, 902m (2,960 ft) 

7. Great Gable, 899m (2,949 ft) 

8. Pillar, 892m (2,926 ft) 

9. Nethermost Pike, 891m (2,923 ft)  

10. Catstycam, 889m (2,917 ft)

Conquering Scafell Pike and the Lake District peaks

People looking to conquer Scafell Pike, or any other of these peaks should understand that they should be regarded as a hard walk, primarily because of loose rocks and boulders. Large stages of these peaks will require a good level of fitness and the need to scramble on occasions, and don’t forget to do your planning of your route, including a secondary route (incase of flooding or rock fall prone areas).

Preparation for such Challenging Walks

Make sure you are fully prepared in regards to the clothes and equipment you take hiking. Prepare for all conditions as the weather can easily change in the Lake District. Make sure you tell people where you are going (including any back-up routes to avoid flood prone or rock-fall areas). Ensure you are fully equipped for your hike (and more if something slows you down), and have the experience to do such a challenging hike. And remember to walk at the pace in within the capabilities of the group’s weakest member - it's no fun racing ahead only to double-back for them!

Lake District Lakes

The clue to why the Lake District is such a beautiful place to go hill walking is in the title. The lakes provide a great focal point when walking around the surrounding hillsides. The following lakes are just a select few of the many striking lakes that were formed in the last ice age and now provide a landcape to be marveled at whilst taking a leisurely (or more challenging!) walk around.

Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, making it a very popular destination for walkers. The name Windermere comes from the Old Norse name Vinandr – meaning Old English mere. Windermere is 10.5 miles long stretching from Newby Bridge to Ambleside and varies from a ¼ mile to 1 mile wide at Millerground (400m to 1,500m). The lake covers an area of 5.7sq miles. It reaches a depth of about 65m near its northern end and has an elevation above sea level of just 40m. The Windemere Eachy (or lake monster) has created some very interesting folklore in the area, with a large eel-like monster appearing since the 1950’s. It has not been seen lately but is sure to make an appearance soon – so keep your eyes peeled and cameras ready when out walking around the Windermere area!

Bassenthwaite Lake is a very shallow lake with a depth of about 70ft, but is one of the largest lakes in the Lake District. It is long and narrow, with approximately 4 miles length and 3/4 mile width. It is the only lake in the Lake District with ‘lake’ in its name, with others being tarn, water or mere. A round trip of at least 8-12 miles in the Lakes sounds like a very pleasant challenge for any walker to me!

Buttermere is in the north-west of the Lake District. It is 1¼ miles in length and ¼ mile in width, and just 23m deep. It has an elevation above sea level of 100m. Buttermere village sits at the north-west end of the lake and is surrounded by hills, making it a place of considerable scenic beauty, sat at the head of the River Cocker valley. Fells surround this area offering some beautifully scenic and challenging walks, Grasmoor fells to the north-west, Robinson fells to the north-east, Haystacks to the south-east and High Stile range to the south-west.

Coniston Water in the Lake District is the third largest lake. It is 5 miles long, ½ mile wide, and has a maximum depth of 56m, making it a really quite a remarkable expanse of water. Coniston Water covers an area of 1.89sq miles and has an elevation of just 44m above sea level. Coniston Water drains to the sea via the River Crake (which takes it name from the Celtic meaning 'rocky stream').

Derwent Water occupies part of the Borrowdale Valley immediately south of Keswick town. It measures approximately 3 miles long by 1 mile wide and is about 22m deep. Although it is not the biggest, it certainly is one of the most popular with ramblers as it's beauty is resounding, with the 18th century house, situated on one of the lake's many islands, called Derwent Island House - a National Trust Property. The hillsides around Derwent Water are great for walking with areas providing superb views across the lake and wooded slopes across the valleys. Kewisck, Portinscale and Lodore also have marinas on the lake which provide a great chance to jump between different hills around the lake a get different perspectives of its beauty. There is an extensive network of footpaths around the surrounding hills and woodland and is certainly recommended by the Walk and Ramble team.

Ullswater is the second largest lake in the Lake District. At approximately 9 miles long and 1,200m wide with an average depth of about 60m, it is certainly one to be admired. Many regard Ullswater as the most beautiful of the English lakes and has been compared to Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, taking the form a narrow ribbon lake, so typical of the Lake District. It's surrounding mountains give it the slowly meandering Z-shape, and provides it's walkers constantly changing scenery as you follow the paths that bend with it. Hill and mountain walkers have taken to the village of Glenridding for it's convenience to the nearby Ullswater lake and nearby Hevellyn fell (England's 3rd largest peak) so makes an ideal base for such walks.

Walking Information, Advice and Tips

Walk nad Ramble continually try to provide excellent help and advice on topics that our visitors are interested in.  If however, you do not find what you are looking for in the walking and outdoor gear advice section, please feel free to contact us, we will do the research and answer your questions. Other Walking, hiking and running tips include lightweight backpacking, 

Popular Lake District walks include:

- Seathwaite to Scafell Pike

- Dunmail Raise to Helvellyn

- Grasmere to Langdale Pikes via Easedale Tarn

- Eskdale to Scafell

- Wasdale to Sca Fell Pike via Piers Gill path

Popular Lake District scrambling routes include:

- Helvellyn's Striding Edge

- Great Gable's Climbers Travers

- Blencartha's Sharp Edge

- Grasmoor's Gully above Crummock Water

- Pavey Ark's Jake's Rake scramble

- Scafell's Lord Rake scramble