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Anthony Foster · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsGuide · England
Easy Lake District walks: lakes, tarns and small fells
Ten walks for the days when you don't want a mountain: round Buttermere, up Orrest Head, along the Coffin Route.
By the TRXO team · · 5 min read
- walks
- 10
- long
- 1.4–10.7 km
- biggest climb
- 360 m
- by public transport
- 6
- dog-friendly
- 10
Not every day in the Lakes is a Helvellyn day. Some days it's raining, some days the children are with you, and some days you've done a big one and your legs would like a word. The Lake District is as good at those days as it is at the big ones, which is a thing people only realise on their second visit.
These are the walks for those days: lakeshores, a tarn, a waterfall, and the small fells that give you a mountain view for an hour's climbing. Most of them start from a village with a café and a bus stop. We've put the flattest first and the two or three with a real climb at the end.
Where they are
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Coniston
Tarn Hows
- 3 km distance
- 50 m ascent
- 1 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA surfaced path round a tarn with the Langdale Pikes behind it, and the one walk in this guide that works with a pushchair the whole way. It's an hour and a half and it's busy in summer for exactly that reason. The Victorian landowner who built the tarn knew what he was doing.
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2
Buttermere
Buttermere lake circuit
- 8.1 km distance
- 130 m ascent
- 2–3 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe lake the fells seem to have been arranged around: Haystacks at the head, High Stile along one side, and a path that goes right round in two and a half hours, through a tunnel in the rock on the way. Flat enough for anyone. The village has two pubs and an ice cream farm, and the bus from Keswick runs in summer.
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Grasmere
Rydal Water and Grasmere by the Coffin Route
- 10.3 km distance
- 300 m ascent
- 3–4 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXTwo small lakes, a cave and the path the dead were carried along to Grasmere church before Rydal had its own. Flat, sheltered and lovely in any weather, which is why it fills with people on wet days. Wordsworth's two houses are on the route and Dove Cottage is worth the stop.
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Keswick
Friar's Crag and Derwentwater from Keswick
- 6.2 km distance
- 80 m ascent
- 1.5–2 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXKeswick's own walk, from the market square to a wooded point on Derwentwater that Ruskin called one of the three finest views in Europe, and on round the shore. Castlehead, the small wooded hill on the way back, is ten minutes of climbing for a view over the whole lake. An hour and a half, or all afternoon with the boats.
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Elterwater
Elterwater and Skelwith Force
- 7.2 km distance
- 170 m ascent
- 2–2.5 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXA riverside loop from a village green past a small lake with the Langdale Pikes standing up across it, to two waterfalls. Skelwith Force is short and loud; Colwith Force is taller and quieter in the woods. Half a day with a stop at the Britannia Inn, which is most of the point.
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Ullswater
Aira Force and Gowbarrow Fell
- 6 km distance
- 360 m ascent
- 2–2.5 h time
- Moderate grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe famous waterfall under its stone footbridge, then up onto the fell above it, where the whole of Ullswater is laid out below the summit cairn. The waterfall is twenty minutes from the car park; the fell adds two hours and is worth every one. The Ullswater Steamers stop at the pier, so you can arrive by boat.
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Windermere
Orrest Head from Windermere station
- 2.7 km distance
- 110 m ascent
- 1 h time
- Easy grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXTwenty minutes from Windermere station to the view that started Alfred Wainwright off in 1930, and it has lost none of it: Windermere below, the Coniston fells, the Langdale Pikes, the whole central range. Surfaced most of the way. If you have an hour between trains, this is what to do with it.
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Applethwaite
Latrigg from Applethwaite
- 1.4 km distance
- 80 m ascent
- 0.5 h time
- Easy grade
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXKeswick's small fell, a grassy whaleback at Skiddaw's feet with Derwentwater and the whole of Borrowdale below. From the car park on the Skiddaw road it's twenty minutes to the top; from Keswick it's a proper hour's climb. The bench on the summit is one of the best-placed in England.
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Grange in Borrowdale
Castle Crag from Grange
- 7.9 km distance
- 300 m ascent
- 2.5–3 h time
- Moderate grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe smallest Wainwright, a wooded rock in the Jaws of Borrowdale with old slate quarries on its flanks and a view down the valley to Derwentwater that belongs to a much bigger hill. The last part up the quarry spoil is steep and loose. Three hours from Grange with the return along the river, and the Keswick bus goes right past.
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Ambleside
Loughrigg Fell from Ambleside
- 10.7 km distance
- 340 m ascent
- 3–4 h time
- Moderate grade
- by public transport
- dogs welcome
Route, map and GPXThe hardest walk here and still a half day: a knobbly fell between Ambleside and Grasmere with Windermere one way and the Langdales the other, and Loughrigg Terrace, the balcony above Grasmere, on the way down. The top is a maze of paths and lumps and it's easy to lose the summit in mist. Straight from the town, no car needed.
Before you go
- The 555 bus runs Windermere, Ambleside, Grasmere and Keswick all day and makes most of these possible without a car. The 78 serves Borrowdale, the 77 Buttermere in summer, the 508 Ullswater.
- Lake District car parks are expensive and full by mid-morning in August. The bus is quicker as well as cheaper.
- Lakeshore paths flood after heavy rain, especially at Buttermere and Rydal. Wet feet rather than danger, but boots help.
- Dogs are fine on all of these on a lead near sheep, which is most of them.
Questions people ask
Which is the easiest walk in the Lake District?
Tarn Hows: surfaced, level and an hour and a half round. Buttermere is the easiest full lake circuit.
What's a good Lake District walk with a pushchair or wheelchair?
Tarn Hows all the way round. Friar's Crag from Keswick is surfaced to the point. Aira Force has a surfaced path to the lower viewpoint of the fall.
Which small fell has the best view?
Orrest Head for the least effort; Latrigg for Derwentwater; Loughrigg for the lot.
Can I do these by train?
Orrest Head starts at Windermere station. Everything else is a bus from there or from Penrith for Keswick and Ullswater.
Read next
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GuideThe best walks in the Lake District for a first visitTen walks that show you what the Lakes are about, from a two-hour stroll above Keswick to the long day on Scafell Pike.
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GuideThe Wainwrights to do firstTen fells to start a round of the 214, chosen for the view, the path and the chance of getting to the top with a smile on your face. - Trail NotesAll postsEvery guide, article and blog post by the TRXO team.
