Walking The Cumberland Way in the Lake District

One of several reasons why it’s best to walk the Cumberland Way with a guide who knows exactly where they’re going is that, officially speaking, it doesn’t actually exist, and it isn’t waymarked. Even with a good map and route notes, you could potentially miss dinner. In fact the county of Cumberland no longer exists either. With the boundary changes of 1974 the area was absorbed into the new country of Cumbria. It lives on, however, both in the famous Cumberland sausage, a Lake District delicacy, and the Cumberland Way which is unarguably one of the great English long-distance walking routes. The walk begins in Ravenglass, the only coastal town in the Lake District, and leads across the national park as far as Appleby-in-Westmoreland (though some itineraries finish earlier, in the village of Brougham on the edge of the park).

If you have time to spare after arriving in Ravenglass, you might support a beloved local heritage attraction by taking a trip on La’al Ratty, one of the country’s oldest and longest narrow-gauge railways, before setting off. Then it’s on towards the atmospheric Wastwater, a lake with plunging depths, over Black Sail Pass and past several of the region’s most imposing peaks, among them Scafell Pike and Haystacks, the latter a favourite of legendary Lakes writer Alfred Wainwright.

You continue east through the Newlands Valley, along the shore of Derwentwater, before reaching the popular market town of Keswick. Then it’s up to the Bronze Age Castlerigg stone circle before descending through moorland, past Ullswater and the finish line. By the way, if megalithic stone circles are your thing, then note that Castlerigg draws just a fraction of the crowds of Stonehenge and offers some quite spectacular panoramas on a clear day. Strictly speaking the Cumberland Way ends in Appleby-in-Westmoreland, but some itineraries come to a close earlier, as it leaves the park, at historic Brougham Hill, parts of which date back as far as the 13th century.

Those with a real passion for walking vacations will appreciate that tackling the Cumberland Way offers other benefits too, beyond their own enjoyment. As David Kay explains, “Our walking vacations in the Lake District are operated as ‘not for profit’. What that means is all profits from the trips are placed into a trust fund, and a large proportion of that goes to The Ramblers, the walking charity that uses the money to promote walking, maintain paths, rebuild bridges, increase access and generally help to protect the countryside.” In addition, you might also receive an evening visit from a mountain rescue team to explain their vital work in the region and hopefully boost financial support.

The Cumberland Way lends itself well to point-to-point walking of course, but you may well be on a center-based trip instead, staying in a delightful country house on the shore of Buttermere. The advantages are obvious: only needing to unpack the once, enough space to accommodate the entire group and a wonderfully remote location far from the crowds that clog many other parts of the Lake District. Transport will be provided each day to and from the trailhead, and every afternoon you can take the short walk into the village, or watch red squirrels scurrying around through the picture window in the lounge. Your evening meals will either be in-house, using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients wherever possible, or in a nearby restaurant, thereby pumping a little more money into the local community.