Outstanding Walks Lake District

Welcome to Outstanding Walks Lake District, where you can enjoy the best and most varied walking opportunities across England's largest national park. Presented in seven glorious chapters, this fabulous compendium of carefully selected locations contains a wealth of walking ideas, catering for all tastes and abilities. The book begins in the South Lakes, sampling sites in Cartmel, Coniston and Beatrix Potter's Hill Top, with walks that lead you to comparatively easily gained panoramas across Windermere from Orrest Head; to the hidden gem of Seathwaite Tarn in the secluded and little-visited Dunnerdale; and to Arnside Knott, with it's fabulous views across Morecambe Bay and across the South Lakes region. Fantastic circular walks through the Langdale valleys and along the Troutbeck Valley are complimented with ascents to the fell summits of Crinkle Crags, Fairfield and Wansfell Pike in the Central Lakes chapter, while Cathedral Cave, Penny Rock Wood and Townend are just three of the fascinating places of interest well worth visiting away from the tourist honeypots of Ambleside and Grasmere. In the Western Lakes chapter, at Ravenglass, the Lake District National Park reaches the coast, and walks explore the quieter areas of Eskdale and Ennerdale, while more challenging circuits test lungs and calf muscles on the climb to England's highest spot on the walk to Scafell Pike via Lingmell and the summit scaling of Haystacks and High Stile. Sightseeing at historic Hardknott Fort, visiting Wordsworth's house in Cockermouth and watching red squirrels in Holme Wood are just three of our Don't Miss suggestions in this chapter. Based around Keswick, chapter four covers the North-West Lakes, with gentle walks to the magnificent viewpoint of Friar's Crag over Derwent Water and to the more than 5,000-year-old Castlerigg Stone Circle. Increasingly more energetic outings tackle Cat Bells, Lord's Seat, Skiddaw and Great Gable. Away from the fells, alternative days out for enjoying a variety of Lake District treats include an excursion on the Derwent Water launch, a trip to the architecturally splendid Alhambra cinema and an intriguing visit to the Derwent Pencil Museum. Ullswater and Haweswater and their surround fells are the focus for chapter five. Easier walks lead you to lovely Silver Bay and to the gushing magnificence of Aira Force; those with a head for heights can tackle Helvellyn via Striding Edge or a gloriously rugged circuit in Grisedale to St Sunday Crag. See the early spring spectacle of the Ullswater daffodils, book the hide to watch badgers at Haweswater and pause for reflection amid the calm of Shap Abbey. For a different perspective on the Lake District, in chapter six, Northern Fells and Northern Cumbria, and chapter seven, Eastern Cumbria, walks lead to viewpoints that look back into the National Park from High Pike and Carrock Fell and from Winder. Caldbeck, Carlisle and the expansive Solway coast offer contrasting walking scenery, as does Great Asby Scar and visits to Appleby-in-Westmorland and Penrith. Enjoy this lavishly-illustrated volume in the comfort of your own home, using its balance of inspiring and practical content to plan your own Cumbrian adventures, and then redeem the OS Maps digital subscription that comes free with this book to undertake the walks and visits presented within its pages. Enjoy the fells and vales, the meres and tarns and waters, the woodlands, the waterfalls and the enormous breadth of natural history, heritage and cultural interest the Lake District has to offer. The most outstanding of these treasures are brought together in this carefully curated selection of 60 walks, 48 'don't miss' sites and 42 picture essay locations, in total including more than 300 very special features of interest for you to visit. There are 27 short walks (that can be completed within 3 hours); 18 half-day walks; and 15 full-day hikes, including the ascent of England's highest mountains. From Whitehaven to Penrith and Carlisle to Ulverston, Outstanding Walks Lake District offers days out suggestions and walking routes to present the most wonderful locations for sightseeing on foot - let this beautiful book lead the way to making the most of your stay in England's largest national park.