GNARLIEST LOW-LEVEL WALKS
Want a bit more oomph to your low-level walks? Fed up of boring rainy day bimbles? Here are five valley-level Lake District walks with more excitement than you’d expect.
Mellbreak Loop, Loweswater 9.1km 277m ascent
From Loweswater, you can walk around (not up) Mellbreak via the western shores of Crummock Water and the remote Mosedale Valley. The latter has a wonderful back-of-beyond aura, but it’s the lakeshore hike along the base of Mellbreak’s dark escarpment that inspires. Wainwright described it as an “unforgettable” place “where loneliness, solitude and silence prevail.”
Ennerdale Lake Circuit, Ennerdale 11.6km 110m ascent
Rising abruptly out of the coastal plains of West Cumbria, Ennerdale is a remote, wild place with a unique character. It somehow feels more like Scotland, New Zealand or Scandinavia than north-west England. From Bowness Knott car park, you can indulge in this wildness with a low-level loop of the lake – and, if the clouds lift, the majestic peaks of Pillar and Steeple will be unveiled too.
Coniston to Great Langdale 18.8km 529m ascent
The Cumbria Way is a 73-mile walk through (obviously) Cumbria, journeying the length of the county from Ulverston to Carlisle. If you don’t have the time to walk it all, the Coniston to Great Langdale leg might be the finest day stage. You’ll hike alongside idyllic Tarn Hows, visit the impressive Skelwith Force waterfall, and – b
