Rannerdale

Rannerdale

North Western Lake District

Route: Circuit of Rannerdale Knotts

Area: North Western Lake District

Date of walk: 18th August 2015

Walkers: Andrew

Distance: 4.5 miles

Weather: Bright at start but clouded over, spots of rain at end

When I looked through the curtains at dawn this morning there was a low mist in Lorton Vale and so without ado I drove to the shore of Crummock Water in the hope of grabbing some atmospheric photos – a few of these are shown below

About 8 hours later I returned to the same place for the start of today’s short walk. I headed up Rannerdale and just beyond the foot of Rannerdale Knotts I crossed the footbridge over Squat Beck to continue up High Rannerdale to the end of the valley

As I gained height it gradually clouded over and the light became quite poor. At the top of the valley I turned right to descend down towards Buttermere village. When I reached the edge of the village I followed the road for a short distance before taking a path along the fellside signposted ‘Buttermere Hause’

This brought me round to the foot of Rannerdale Knotts, and I the followed the path below the rocks to complete the circuit of the fell. It just remained to cross Squat Beck again and retrace my steps back to the start

Rannerdale is famous for its bluebells which flower on the open fellside in May – if visiting in bluebell season, please read this note:

IMPORTANT NOTE: I’ve been asked by the National Trust (North Lakes) to add this message to my post, and I do so willingly in order to try and help safeguard this wonderful display:

“Rannerdale’s bluebells are renowned as a natural wonder, beloved of visitors and photographers; however, they are being ‘loved to death’. Once the plants are damaged by trampling they can’t photosynthesise enough energy and it can take them years to recover. Over the last 5 years, nearly 25% of the bluebells have been lost. To save the bluebells, and access to them, the National Trust are asking visitors to fight the urge to get in amongst the flowers and just simply stick to the path. Only by protecting them today can we ensure everyone has a chance to enjoy this special spring display in the future.”

Could I please urge anyone following this walk to comply with the message

For other walks here, visit my Find Walks page and enter the name in the ‘Search site’ box

Click on the icon below for the route map (subscribers to OS Maps can view detailed maps of the route, visualise it in aerial 3D, and download the GPX file. Non-subscribers will see a base map)

Scroll down – or click on any photo to enlarge it and you can then view as a slideshow

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