Best walks in Cumbria

Find the best hiking routes in Cumbria, including path descriptions and maps.

Cumbria is the third largest county in England behind North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire with a total land area of 6,768 sq km – that's almost three times the size of Luxembourg.

Despite its size, Cumbria has one of the lowest populations in the country, and just one city – Carlisle. Countryside prevails here, meaning there is ample opportunity to explore the county on foot, from the wild Northern Pennines to the picturesque waters of the Lake District.

Buttermere and Rannerdale Knotts

This autumn walk includes some of the Lake District’s most beautiful trees and forests, where myth and legend tangle with the Scots pines and the golden needles of larches.

Route details

7.5 miles
4 hours
Moderate

Map and route

Cat Bells

This Lake District mountain is small compared to its neighbours, yet what it lacks in height it makes up for in accessibility, views and atmosphere.

Route details

5.7km/3.5 miles
2.5 hours
Moderate

Map and route

Lingmoor Fell Circuit

This lowland loop walk through the heart of the Lake District National Park is packed with splendours – from glistening tarns and craggy fells to magical, mossy bridges.

Route details

13.4km/8.3 miles
5 hours
Hard

Map and route

Ennerdale and Haystacks

The view from Haystacks with High Stile separating Ennerdale and Crummock Waters, The Lake District, Cunbria, England. — The view from Haystacks with High Stile separating Ennerdale and Crummock Waters ©Getty

Ennerdale is the most remote valley in the Lake District and one of the National Park’s best-kept secrets – follow this lakeside route to the summit of Haystacks.

Route details

22.9km/14.2 miles
7 hours
Hard

Map and route

Keswick to Latrigg

Easy and accessible, this short walk to the summit of a classic Lake District fell is the perfect day out.

Route details

8km/5 miles
3.5 hours
moderate

Route and map

Hawkshead and Latterbarrow

Winter veil: the village of Hawkshead in the Lake District National Park wakes to a blanket of thin frost and low-lying mist ©Simon Whaley

The small village of Hawkshead in the middle of the Lake District National Park is a great base for exploring the surrounding hills, including the modest peak of Latterbarrow.

Route details

5km/3.1 miles
2 hours
Easy/moderate

Map and route

Wasdale Head Inn, Gosforth

Above the Wasdale Inn rises Wasdale Fell, a favourite with trail runners ©Alamy

This venerable inn, hidden within the valleys and mountains of the Lake District, has housed some of Britain's best novelists and poets – find out what inspired these great writers with a five-mile walk.

Route details

7.9km/4.9 miles
3 hours
Moderate

Map and route

Grizedale Forest

Rippling across the crags between Windermere and Coniston, Grizedale is 8,000 acres of mixed forest laced with tracks and endowed with a renowned series of outdoor sculptures.

Route details

12.2km/7.5 miles
4 hours
Moderate

Route and map

Old Man of Coniston

The village of Coniston, an attractive little spot bisected by the bustling waters of a mountain stream, sits near the northern end of beautiful Coniston Water in Cumbria. Walk beside high tarns and copper-mining relics to a magical fell-top vista in the Lake District National Park.

Route details

11.1km/6.9 miles
5 hours
Hard

Map and route

Brigsteer Woods

Walk past a medieval castle and glowing wild daffodils with this four-mile walk in the Lake District National Park.

Route details

6.6km/ 4.1 miles
2 hours
Easy/moderate

Map and route

Holme Wood and Loweswater

Holme Wood is a classically English mixed woodland of oak, chestnut, ash, sycamore, alder and lime ©Getty

Holme Wood lies not far from the Lake District National Park boundary and sits on the shores of one of its most idyllic lakes – explore this special corner of Britain with a four-mile walk.

Route details

5.9km/3.7 miles
2 hours
Moderate

Map and route

Bowness-on-Windermere to Kennel Wood

A mile or two from the bustle of Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District National Park stands a lonely oak, at its most enchanting after a night of snowfall in winter.

Route details

2.8 miles/ 4.6km

Moderate

2 hours

Map and route

Rydal and Grasmere

Rydal Water at Grasmere in the Lake District in autumn — A stroll in the footsteps of the Wordsworth family offers exquisite reflections of autumn colour in the still waters of Rydal Water at Grasmere in the Lake District ©Alamy

On this six-mile walk in Wordsworth country, the Lake District’s autumn hues rival those of New England. But it’s just at picturesque in winter, spring and summer.

Route details

6 miles
4 hours
Moderate

Map and route

Levens Hall

Armed with OS Explorer sheet OL7, head off through the landscaped parkland south of the river, curling north through a tranquil realm grazed by rare black fallow deer and the critically endangered Bagot goats, of which only a handful survive.

The route

7.7km/4.8 miles
2.5 hours
moderate

Map and route

Howgill Fells

This challenging walk in the north-western corner of the Yorkshire Dales begins in the village of Sedbergh and climbs into Howgill Fells – take a break on The Calf, with staggering views west over the Cumbria landscape and east over North Yorkshire.

More like this

Map and route

Smardale Gill

In spring and summer, luxuriant grasses flood the verges of Smardale's river ©Getty

An old viaduct, built in 1861, rises almost 30m on 14 stone arches above Smardale Beck – it’s a fine vantage point for spotting all-year-round residents to the national nature reserve, such as sparrowhawks, buzzards and treecreepers. Enjoy a spectacular 7-mile walk through a secluded gorge in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Route details