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Cumbria and the Lake District

Cumbria: Hover over the map to find promoted routes and countryside areas
Click on the map for information about long distance paths, National Parks and AONBs.

See also Walking in Barrow and Dalton.

The county of Cumbria contains some of the most renowned countryside in England. The landscape of the Lake District National Park, with its rocky volcanic peaks, open fells and wooded slopes surrounding large and spectacular lakes, inspired the Romantic poets and now attracts visitors from across the world. With 3,560km/2,225 miles of public paths and many more permissive paths and open access areas, the Park has much to offer walkers. It boasts England's highest peak, Scafell Pike (978m), and its steepest roads, and is best known for rugged fellwalking of the kind celebrated by outdoor writer A Wainwright. But there is easier walking, too, around the lakes, in the valleys and lower slopes and through attractive towns and villages. Parts of the Park can get overrun with visitors, especially in high season, but there is still peace to be found away from tourist honeypots.

Outside the Lake District, Cumbria has the fascinating Furness and Cartmel peninsulas and part of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB in the south; a dramatic coastline of cliffs and beaches overlooking the Irish Sea in the west; the historic city of Carlisle, Solway Coast AONB and remote borderlands beyond ancient Hadrian's Wall in the north; and the beautiful Eden Valley, the North Pennines AONB and a corner of the Yorkshire Dales National Park in the east. All of these areas are easily explored on foot.

For more information on walking in Cumbria, follow the links above.

Walks books and other walks suggestions

Such is the popularity of the area that it has been suggested all the walks books written about it would form a whole new mountain by themselves! You'll find a good selection in local bookshops and information centres, with many other suggestions for linear routes and circular walks. National Park Authorities will be able to advise on walks in their areas. And you can devise your own routes using OS maps (see below

Here is a selection of current useful titles, some of them especially suitable for families:

Ramblers' guides

  • Walks Around Carlisle & North Cumbria by Carlisle Ramblers, ISBN 0 9521458 0 4. 17 fairly easy walks in the lowland countryside around Carlisle. £3.50: More details.

  • More Walks Around Carlisle and North Cumbria by Carlisle Ramblers, ISBN 0 904350 43 6. 37 circular and linear walks around Carlisle including coast, countryside and Roman wall. Lots of easy and shorter options. £4: More details.

  • Walks in the Kendal Area: Book 1, 3rd edition by Kendal Ramblers, ISBN 0 904350 40 1; Book 3, 2nd Edition, ISBN 0 904350 37 1. Low level walks within 16km/10 miles of Kendal. £2.95 each: More details

Walks by public transport

  • Car Free Cumbria by Jon Sparks: Vol 1 North ISBN 0 9540190 0 8; Vol 2 South, ISBN 0 9540190 0 8. John Gillham/Grey Stone £5.95 each. Collections of varied day walks, some fairly demanding, using buses, trains and ferries. The northern volume inclues all the Lakeland 3000-footers, while the southern volume visits Black Combe and the Howgills, and includes the Lakeland Skyline walk from Silecroft to Shap.[2003]

  • 55 555 Walks by Robert Swain, ISBN 0 9540713 0 1. Yan Press £9.99. Possibly the first walks book themed around a bus route, offering varied walks, including many shorter and easy strolls, along the lengthy Stagecoach 555 route between Lancaster and Keswick.

  • Walks Settle Carlisle: Six short walks from England's most scenic railway. Northern section: Garsdale Armathwaite. Leaflet 60p from local outlets or the Settle Carlisle Development Company (see under Yorkshire Dales

  • Give the driver a break. Free leaflets from Lake District National Park, also downloadable from their website:
    - Borrowdale Explorer, including the 11km/7-mile footpath from Seatoller to Nichol End, returning by boat.
    - Discover the Fruits of Grizedale Forest, by bus from Bowness.
    - The Majestic Langdales, including various walk suggestions from Old Dungeon Ghyll.
    Series also includes more general leaflets suggesting days around Ambleside, Keswick and Buttermere; Coniston; and the Brockhole visitor centre.

Family walks

  • Making Tracks: Fun walks for children in the Lakes by Joanne Wright, ISBN 0 9519437 7 4. Orchard £9.95. Pack of 10 walks attractively illustrated to appeal to 6 - 11 year olds. [2003]

  • Rocky Rambler's Wild Walks, ISBN 1 85284 347 0. Cicerone, £8. Child-friendly walking guide laid out like a board game. [2003]

  • Jarrold Short Walks: Lake District, ISBN 0 7117 1604 8. Jarrold, £5.95. 20 walks with notes for children [2003]

  • Walks with Children: North Lakeland, ISBN 1 85058 601 2; South Lakeland, ISBN 1 85058 578, by Ruth and Richard Irons. Sigma Leisure £6.95 each.
    Shorter walks starting from playgrounds, designed to appeal to children
    All-Terrain Pushchair Walks: North Lakeland     by Ruth and Richard Irons, ISBN 1 85058 802 3; South Lakeland by Norman Buckley, ISBN 1 85058 817 1. Sigma Leisure £6.95 each.
    Each volume has 30 graded routes suitable for all-terrain pushchairs, from the very easy to adventurous, and from 2-7km/1-4.5 miles, plus useful information and advice.

  • Family Walks around Keswick and Northern Lakeland, ISBN 0 907758 93 2. Scarthin £5.95.

Specialist walks

  • Lake District Natural History Walks: Case Notes of a Nature Detective by Christopher Mitchell, ISBN 1 85058 807 4. Sigma £8.95. 18 walks, mainly shortish (below 8km/5 miles), focussing on flora, fauna and geology across the Lake District. Clear maps, public transport notes, but the text presents recollections of the walks rather than route descriptions.

  • A Literary Guide to the Lake District by Grevel Lindop, ISBN 1 85058 821 X. Sigma £10.95. Substantial volume exploring the many literary connections of the national park, although the author assumes you will be touring by car with the occasional walk.

General circular walk collections

  • Lake District Walks: Pathfinder Guide by Brian Conduit and Hugh Taylor, ISBN 0 7117 0463 5, and More Lake District Walks: Pathfinder Guideby Brian Conduit, John Watney and Hugh Taylor, ISBN 0 7117 0817 7. BothJarrold £9.95 each. Each volume has 28 graded varied walks 5km/3 miles to 14.5km/9 miles across the National Park with OS mapping, but all from car parks. [2004]

  • Walks around... series. Footprint £3.50 each. Presented on foldout weatherproof sheets with clear mapping; include numerous shorter routes of 3-5km/2-3 miles, keeping to well-used paths. [2004]
    Ambleside, Grasmere, Langdale and Elterwater, ISBN 1 871149 58 4. 14 walks
    Coniston, Hawkshead, Grizedale & Far Sawrey    , ISBN 1 871149 59 2. 16 walks.
    Keswick, Borrowdale, Thirlmere & Threlkeld    , ISBN 1 871149 57 6. 16 walks.
    Ullswater, Haweswater, Penrith & Swindale    , ISBN 1 871149 60 6. 15 walks.
    Windermere & Kendal, Newby Bridge, Staveley & Grange-over-Sands, ISBN 1 871149 69 X. 16 walks.

  • Waterside Walks in the Lake District by Colin Shelbourn, ISBN 1 85058 805 8. Sigma £7.95. 25 varied walks from 1km/0.5 miles to 13km/8 miles with sketch maps, but all from car parks.

  • Exploring the Lakes and Low Fells: 40 easier circular walks by Bill Birkett: volume 1, ISBN 0 7153 1077 1; volume 1, ISBN 0 7153 1078 X. David & Charles, £12.50 each.

  • The Lakeland Pack: 20 Classic Walks by Peter J Beresford, ISBN 0 9519437 0 7. Orchard £11.95. Varied selection of walks on weatherproof cards. [2003]

Hillwalking guides

  • Lakelander Fellranger by Mark Richards. HarperCollins
    New in-depth detailed fellwalking guides describing every path, crag, fell and valley, inspired by Wainwright with sketches, colour photos and maps.
    Central Fells, ISBN 0 00 711365 X. £12.99
    Mid-Western Fells    , ISBN 0 00 711368 4. £12.99
    Near Eastern Fells    , ISBN 0 00 711366 8. £9.99 [2004]
    Southern Fells, ISBN 0 00 711367 6. £12.99 [2005]

  • Pocket Mountains: The Lakes by Nick Williams, ISBN 0 95444217 6 0. Pocket Mountains £5.99.
    Genuinely pocket-sized colour guide with 40 circular walks covering all the classic tops, some on little-used paths. [2005]

  • The Lakeland Peaks by W A Poucher, ISBN 0 7112 2405 6. Frances Lincoln, £12.99.
    Photographic guide to the fells with 250 photos, descriptions of 140 routes and other practical advice. No mapping but many photos have routes superimposed. This is a new edition of a guide first published in 1960, using the original photos but with text updated by the author's son John Poucher. [2005]

  • A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells 2nd edition, revised. Book One: Eastern Fells, by A Wainwright, revised by Chris Jesty, ISBN 0 7112 2465 X. Frances Lincoln, £12.99 [2005].
    These well-loved classic hillwalking guides, hand-lettered in distinctive style with beautiful sketch maps and drawings, had not been revised since first published in the 1950s. Chris Jesty, who worked with Wainwright, is bringing them seamlessly and sympathetically up-to-date, with altered routes shown in red. Note that the original, unrevised versions still remain in print (see below) so be careful which version you choose.

  • A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells Original version. Book One: Eastern Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2227 4; Book Two: Far Eastern Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2228 2; Book Three: Central Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2229 0; Book Four: Southern Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2230 4; Book Five: Northern Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2231 2; Book Six: North Western Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2232 0; Book Seven: Western Fells, ISBN 0 7112 2233 9. All by A Wainwright, Frances Lincoln, £11.99.
    New revised versions of these classic guides are now being published (see above), but the originals listed here, unchanged since the 1950s, will also remain in print. Take care which version you choose: the revised versions are preferable for practical use.

Other useful publications

  • Exploring Woodland: Lake District & the Northwest, ISBN 0 00 717548 5. HarperCollins £5.99.
    Directory of woodland sites in northwest England including Cumbria, jointly published with Woodland Trust.

For guides to specific routes, see Paths and routes in Cumbria

Maps for walkers in Cumbria

The following Ordnance Survey Explorer maps cover Cumbria:

  • OL2 Yorkshire Dales
  • OL5 English Lakes Northwest
  • OL6 English Lakes Southwest
  • OL7 English Lakes Southeast
  • OL19 Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley
  • OL31 North Pennines
  • OL42 Kielder Water and Forest (only covers a small part of Cumbria)
  • OL43 Hadrian's Wall (only covers a small part of Cumbria)
  • 303 Whitehaven and Workington
  • 314 Solway Firth
  • 315 Carlisle
  • 323 Eskdale and Castle O'er Forest (only covers a small part of Cumbria)
  • 324 Liddesdale and Kershope Forest

Harvey publish waterproof Superwalker 1:25 000 maps of Lakeland on six sheets, and a complete spiral bound 1:40 000 atlas of the Lake District National Park, plus the Howgill Fells and Yorkshire Dales. For details see the pages about the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales

More on maps for walkers

Group walks

If you don't want to walk on your own, why not try going out with a led group? Contact your local Ramblers' Area or Group

National Parks, AONBs, Countryside Projects, councils and other organisations also run walks. Details are usually available in TICs or from park offices: see our Parks pages.

For more information on healthy walking walks aimed at beginners contact the Walking the way to Health Regional Case Officer at the Countryside Agency Northwest office or see the website for a list of current projects.

Useful contacts

Other organisations