Readers of last week’s blog will know that we recently spent a (rather wet and soggy) week in the Lake District. The first half of the week was slightly better weather wise and we did manage to get up a few hills, bringing our total Wainwright tally to 132 – just over 60% completed. Unfortunately the second half of the week was a write off for Wainwright bagging, with an abandoned ascent of Base Brown marking the end of our fell walking exploits for the week.
Happily, the Lake District has plenty of very nice lower level walks, where getting a bit wet isn’t quite as miserable as it is being battered by the rain up on a fell, and I was more than happy to have an excuse to take it easy for the rest of the week. I think the dogs were also happy to have a lie in!
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Grizedale Forest
Eons ago (pre-Covid), we had a rather wet weekend in the Lakes, and opted for a mooch around Grizedale Forest in order to keep the worst of the rain off us. We had a lovely walk and it was so quiet that I included it in my blog post about undiscovered Lake District walks: which, as the Lake District becomes increasingly busy, I worry won’t have any undiscovered walks left in it at all. Therefore I was very reassured by the fact that when we called back here on this trip, we spent 2 (dry) hours here and only saw two other people.
We followed a 3 mile route from our Countryside Dog Walks book for the southern Lake District, which itself makes use of the way marked Carron Crag trail starting from the Grizedale Forest visitor centre. I have to say I was glad we had the book to guide us, as the way markers were somewhat lacking at the start and end of the trail – although very good in the middle.
We parked in the main visitor centre car park which is pay on exit (£8 for just over two hours), but I believe the nearby Kennels car park may be free of charge, and is in fact where the walk starts from in the book – I just didn’t realise this until I’d nearly gotten us lost at the start of the walk by following directions which were actually starting from a different car park. Whoops!
The trail climbs uphill, steeply enough to get your heart pumping but not steep enough to make your lungs properly burn – plus, after a while, the trees drop away in places, giving you the opportunity to stop and ‘admire the view’ to catch your breath. Once you’re up the initial hill the gradient eases significantly, too, and it’s an easy walk from here to get to the top of Carron Crag.
Although it’s not a Wainwright, Carron Crag does have a trig pillar, perched atop a rocky outcrop at the summit of the hill. It’s worth clambering up to the top, where you’ll gain the views of the surrounding hills, which aren’t visible from the path below. I ended up climbing up it twice after the wind whipped a dog treat packet out of my hand at the top, which I then had to retrieve from the bottom, before climbing up again.
The return to the start took us past a few sculptures which had been installed in the forest. We only saw two, but I suspect there may be more elsewhere if you were to actively seek them out. The walk back down to the car was steady, joining up with our outward route to drop back down.
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. This is a fantastic option for dog owners, with dogs able to be off lead almost all the way around this walk, and no livestock to worry about. Like all of the walks in the Countryside Dog Walks book, it’s completely free of stiles. Just keep your eyes peeled for mountain bikers, who share some of the trails here.
Buttermere
Is it weird that we’ve been going to the Lake District for nearly 10 years, but we’ve never done the classic walk around Buttermere? With Thursday’s forecast falling into the category of ‘very wet’, we knew our options were limited to stay inside all day, or get wet. Perusing our Pocket Mountains guide for the Lakes, the walk around Buttermere caught my eye, and I realised that while we’ve walked around Derwentwater, Grasmere and Tarn Hows, we’ve never visited Buttermere (although we did park in the village when we climbed Rannerdale Knotts a few years ago).
Making the most of our National Trust membership, we parked in their pay & display car park on the edge of the village – I’m pretty sure we get our membership fee back in parking alone. A circuit around the lake is around 4 miles, and a similar route is available online on the Lake District national park website.
With rain threatening, I was relieved to see that half of the walk appeared to pass through woodland, which would at least keep the worst of the weather off us. Of course, the rain held off until we were through the woods and out in the open. Typical! But, I was a lot happier down here than I would’ve been up on the fells, and the path around the lake is flat enough that we could power walk through the rainy spells which came on periodically throughout the hike.
Part of the reason why we’ve never made it to Buttermere was because it’s one of those places that you always see plastered all over Instagram, and we’re not huge fans of busy walks. But, with the weather as it was, we really wanted a nice easy walk and we reasoned that the forecast would keep numbers down.
I think numbers were low, as the car parks both had plenty of space, but there were still a couple of groups in sight at all times. Plus, and I’m sure the internet will come at me for saying this, but I didn’t actually think this ranked anywhere near my top ten walks in the Lake District. Maybe the rain didn’t help, but (aside from the nice view you get of Fleetwith Pike for some of the walk), this could’ve been a lakeside walk anywhere. I’ve said it!
Dog friendly rating: 4/5. This is a stile free walk, with loads of opportunities for water loving dogs to have a swim. There may be sheep and cows along some sections of the walk, but they are very used to people and dogs passing: just make sure your dog is on a lead for any sections with livestock.
Whinlatter Forest
Whinlatter is one of my go-tos in the Lake District, and it’s a fantastic place to squeeze in one last walk before you go home on departure day. Not only does it have a variety of way marked trails ranging from short to long, it’s also close enough to the A66 that once we’ve finished our walk, we can be on our way home in no time. Usually we park at the main Whinlatter visitor centre, where we started for the Comb Beck trail and Whinlatter Wainwrights walks we’ve previously done, but this time we headed off the beaten track a little to do one of the trails starting from the Noble Knott car park.
I was expecting that, similar to the Comb Beck trail, we’d just be meandering through the trees with no mega views. Not so with the Heavy Sides trail, which starts out with cracking views of Bassenthwaite Lake and the Northern Fells, before delving into the forest.
The Heavy Sides trail is just an all round pleasant walk. It meanders through the forest, with ferns, foxgloves and trees creating a vibrant tunnel to walk through, and we found it to be extremely quiet when we were here. Apart from the fly past that we got from a jet – see if you can spot it in the photo below.
The route is well way marked with white arrows pointing the way, but don’t be deceived by the short length: while the trail may only be 1.5 miles long, at no point is this walk flat, continually angling uphill or downhill. It’s never too steep though, and it’s made much easier by the fact that the path is flat and well surfaced throughout.
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. This is another stile and livestock free walk, which is perfect for being able to let your dog have a run off the lead. Just be mindful of where the trail drops back down towards the main Whinlatter Pass road.
Where we stayed
We stayed in Greengarth, a semi-detached house close to the centre of Keswick, and I think it’s up there as one of my all time favourite places we’ve ever stayed – we’ve already booked to go back next year. Sleeping five people and two dogs in two doubles and a single, Greengarth is extremely spacious and well equipped. I couldn’t think of anything to improve, which is a rarity for me! If you decide you’d like to stay here, I’d hugely appreciate it if you used my referral link to book – it doesn’t affect the price you pay, but will earn me a small commission for sending you their way 🙂
Dog friendly rating: 5/5. Two dogs can join you free of charge, and the large garden is securely enclosed enough that even Merry couldn’t escape. The spacious downstairs meant that there was plenty of space for both us and the dogs, without Coal’s tail sweeping various items off low surfaces. Plus, the floor is easy to clean laminate, which is always a relief when you’re dealing with dogs who have been on a wet walk!
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